Perspectives on performance -- the importance of an effective appraisal system in the management of law firms

Effective staff appraisal is an increasingly important aspect of modern law firm management.

Appraisal systems are designed to satisfy the employee's need to find out how well they are performing and to improve their work as a result.

Appraisals should be a motivating, not demotivating, experience and are not an excuse to save up praise and criticism for a once-a-year meeting.There are three types of appraisal system.

The personnel management system seeks to produce comparative data about people, establish reward and performance norms, create a foundation for succession planning, and monitor the application of personnel policies.

The system requires a personnel bureaucracy to make it work.

In the pay and promotion system, appraisal is used to determine pay and suitability for promotion of individuals in the organisation.

The financial objectives of the system may make the open discussion of performance and honest identification of development needs difficult.

The performance appraisal system is focused on the individual's current performance, career and personal development aspirations considering the organisation's needs.

It results in the development of plans and control measures to improve performance.Performance appraisal is a two-way process which incorporates the following: a structured examination of a person's behaviour at work; a review of the employee's skills and knowledge related to the job; a discussion about the effectiveness of relationships with colleagues; the creation of a plan for an individual's development; a review of progress made since the last appraisal; the setting of goals and the reviewing of outcomes; and the reviewing and updating of the job description (job descriptions are now required as part of the requirements for legal aid franchises).If carried out properly, appraisal should result in employees who are better directed and motivated than before.

It will also enable managers to assess how effective they have been in communicating their plans and in securing adherence to standards and procedures.

Indirectly, and sometimes directly, the appraiser will obtain an opinion of his or her own performance as a supervisor.

The following appraisal system 'killers' should be avoided.

There are examples of them causing resentment lasting for many years.-- Imposition of the scheme without prior consultation.-- Half-hearted support from partners.-- Telling and not listening.-- Concentrating on bad points.-- Being defensive about yourself and the organisation.-- Talking about 'attitude' and other unmeasurables.-- Giving opinions about a person's character.-- The 'I am right, you are wrong' approach.-- Seeing appraisal as a tedious waste of time.-- Abusing trust by indiscreet disclosure or poor security.-- Failure to face and talk about real issues.-- Making up your mind about an appraisal in advance.-- Using low ratings to show what a strong boss you are.-- Adding secret assessments to the file.-- Incompetent interviewing.-- Failure to carry out promises or implement plans.Although time may be short, it is essential that a number of decisions are made before setting up an appraisal system.

The following issues commonly need to be considered.First, consider the appraisal system's objectives.

These may include: increasing employee commitment; reducing complaints and errors; reducing staff turnover; making training more effective; or obtaining Legal Aid Board approval.

The objectives of the scheme must connect with what the firm wants to do.

Objectives without a hard business or professional purpose may discredit the firm.Who should appraise whom? Usually a boss will appraise his or her immediate subordinates.

In an organisation with many layers this forms a kind of cascade.

It may be sensible to draw up an organisation diagram to show responsibilities and reporting relationships.

Will appraisal interviews be compulsory? They should be.

Any signs of unequal treatment of individuals will damage the scheme.What training will be given to appraisee and appraiser? In large organisations, the introduction of an appraisal system usually involves extensive consultation with groups and individuals.

In smaller organisations, a more informal approach will normally be taken.

There are also many excellent training videos available.

Often the first round of appraisal is seen as a rehearsal with the first proper round being run six months later.

It is sometimes beneficial to bring in outside help for the first round.

What will the timetable be? Deadlines have to be set for scheme design, consultation, training, preparation, and interviews otherwise no progress will be made.

Individuals will need to prepare for their own appraisal as well as preparing for any appraisals they are conducting.

What forms will be used? Forms need to be designed before the consultation stage starts.How are you going to deal with the dominant appraiser and the passive appraisee and vice versa? Mild individuals with opinionated bosses suffer during appraisal.

The appraisee may see the interview as a humiliating ordeal.

The passive behaviour might subside if confidence in the system grows through experience.When the personalities are reversed, the passive supervisor can be severely demotivated by the introduction of performance appraisal.

Calling in professional assistance before the process starts may be the only answer.

Who should see the completed appraisal forms? Should forms be seen beyond the appraiser and the appraisee? Is there to be a central review? Often it is only when several appraisal forms are seen together that trends become apparent.

Furthermore, training and development needs will often be tackled on a wider basis than just the individual.

A central screening of forms also acts as a control on the appraisers.

If you are interested in legal aid franchising, you should establish if evidence of a properly functioning appraisal system would include completed forms.

What will happen to the completed information? It is important that training records are kept, but what should happen to the annual appraisal forms? Should these be discarded after the following year's appraisal or should they be kept? People are rightly suspicious of dossiers being built up on them.

Going back over long-past appraisals is dangerous.

You must decide how often the appraisal files are cleaned, by whom and how the documents are discarded.

It is not uncommon for the unwanted old record to be given to the individual concerned.

This may be done at the following appraisal interview.

Appraisal records must be kept under tight security.

Combining appraisal documents with personnel files is not recommended.

Should appraisal documents be re-typed? Working with handwritten, or personally typed, documents will add to the security of the system.

Few will speak frankly if they know that the document is to be re-typed by someone junior to themselves.Are you organised for the post-appraisal actions? The appraisal system is going to result in demand for training and development activities.

Are you prepared to provide the resources?Preparing for the appraisal interview round is essential.

Failure to do so will discredit the scheme.

The following steps should be followed.First, publish the timetable.

This is a firm-wide timetable showing: dates for issue of pre-appraisal forms; earliest and latest dates for conducting interviews; last date for agreeing individual interview dates; date for completion of central reviews; and date for returning personal action plans.You should have a system for dealing with unavoidable cancellations which ensures that people can have as much notice as possible.

You also need to be able to detect any appraisers who are damaging the scheme by putting off the interviews without sufficient reason.Secondly, obtain a firm time and date for the interview.Review the documents relating to an individual.

Appraiser and appraisee will separately review the following documents and records: job description; training record; record of last appraisal interview; fee and time achievements against targets; complaints and commendation record.Prepare and exchange the pre-appraisal questionnaire.

(Note that this will be different for professional and other staff.) The questionnaire for the appraiser is different from the questionnaire for the appraisee.

Once complete, they are copied and exchanged.

The forms will help to define the structure of the later interview.Comparative review of the exchanged questionnaires is then undertaken.

Determine areas of agreement and disagreement.

Look out for new information.

Structure the interview to cover, in detail, the disagreements and new information.The appraisal interview is an essential two-way process involving the examination of facts and opinions, which should result in an agreement about the past and the future.

The appraisal interview may be the first time that the appraiser has taken an interest in how the appraisee performs his or her work rather than how well they do it.

It may be the first time the appraisee has been expected to say how they feel about work or declare their career aspirations.

A successful appraisal interview will result in the appraisee leaving the meeting feeling better about him or herself and determined to improve his or her usefulness to the firm.

A bad interview will result in the appraisee feeling devalued and unhappy about future interviews.

An appraisal interview is not a showdown.

If an employee is not performing well the disciplinary procedure should be used.

The following tips may be helpful for appraisers at appraisal interviews.

-- You have two ears and one mouth.

Use them in that proportion.-- Summarise to show you understand.

'So what you are saying is...' 'Let's see if I understand.'-- Give your undivided attention, do not allow interruptions.-- Have all the relevant papers to hand.-- When you are critical, be factual, relate it to behaviour not motives and limit it to a maximum of three points.

Once given and accepted do not repeat the criticism.

Follow criticism with praise.

It increases the effect of the criticism and helps motivation for improvement.-- Keep to the point.

You should have produced an agenda during the preparation time.

-- Keep to time, but do not put pressure to be brief on the appraisee.

It will only increase tension and waste time on ineffective communication.

Most time wasting is caused by going off the point not by lack of brevity.-- Move towards agreeing a plan for the future.

-- Admit you are learning too.

Honest disclosure that you are learning the process will usually be reciprocated by the appraisee relaxing and being willing to start self-disclosure.-- Finish on a positive note.

Appraisal is not a catharsis from which people recover eventually.

It is a process of gaining commitment to improvement.

The interview must motivate and build.The interview record is a joint agreement which will form the basis of any subsequent changes.

The agreement of its content is the final activity in the appraisal interview.

If agreement cannot be reached, then the disagreement should be recorded and steps to seek a resolution of the conflict written down.Appraisal systems which rely on the appraisal records being filled in by the supervisor and kept secret from the appraisee defeat the mutuality of performance appraisal and inhibit improvement of working standards.The interview record should contain at least the following sections.-- Strengths and weaknesses of the appraisee.

Note here how the appraisee performs against targets.

In defining weaknesses, consider how these may be the result of the over use of personal strengths.

-- Suitability for further responsibility.

Some people could see an increase in responsibility as a very rewarding outcome.

Others will shrink from it.

New responsibilities will often be suggested by the appraisee.

The work must be available and the extent to which other responsibilities will be diminished must be recorded-- Changes in the job description.

Note the areas which will be changed in a re-issued job desc ription.

-- Training needs.

Changes in the job description, changes in levels of responsibility, personal weaknesses, as well as changes in the outside world all may create training needs.

Before agreeing the apparent training needs the appraiser must have a reasonable belief that the training needs can be met.

Where an 'Investor in people' or similar project is in place, the training needs identified can be fed into the project.

Actions agreed will need to be transferred to the appraisee's personal training records.-- Personal action plan.

Potentially, this is the most motivating of the outcomes from the system.

The appraisee will be asked to commit themselves to certain actions by certain dates.

It is suggested that the appraisee copy out this section and place it on a card in their diary, cheque book or other place where they will see it frequently.

Constant reminder of personal action plans seems to be the single most important factor in ensuring achievement.It is important to have a follow-up to an appraisal meeting and it is the supervisor's responsibility to ensure that what is promised actually happens.

The supervisor should create a consolidated action plan based on the interview records and should review this consolidated plan at least once every quarter.

The review dates should be put in the diary before the plan is finished.If the appraiser raises expectations which cannot be fulfilled, he or she should admit it as soon as possible.

Employees are much more practical and realistic than many bosses suppose.