Patricia wasn’t happy with her company’s Performance Appraisal system. She was clear about the reasons why.

• One size appraisal forms don’t fit. They are often irrelevant for the role under review.
• The suggested rating criteria are general, vague and can be interpreted in different ways. The discussion is centered around what the rating criteria means or doesn’t mean, instead of what happened.
• The Performance Appraisal system is centered around an annual discussion, designed to cover events ranging across an entire year, without any supporting documentation other than a person’s memory.
• The Performance Appraisal is a backward looking process.
• Most actions that come from the Performance Appraisal discussion are corrective in nature. Fixing weaknesses instead of building on strengths.
• After the Performance Appraisal discussion, nothing really changes. Any impact, good or bad, usually fades within a few days. Maybe after a few minutes.

I congratulated her analysis. “Job well done. Most people won’t sit and write these things down. With this analysis, we can make some headway.”

Patricia smiled. “Thank you.”

I smiled. “So, now the work begins. Your challenge will be to take each of these reasons and create something new. Your new Performance Management system has to address each of these issues, especially the last one. I want to see something that truly creates meaningful change.”

Patricia had some work ahead of her.