50 Activities for Performance Appraisal Training Wendy Denham Jane Jestico HRD Press, Inc. • Amherst • Massachusetts Copyright © 1993, 2007 by Wendy Denham and Jane Jestico The materials that appear in this book, other than those quoted from prior sources, may be reproduced for educational/training activities. There is no requirement to obtain special permission for such uses. This permission statement is limited to reproduction of materials for educational or training events.
Systematic or large-scale reproduction or distribution—or inclusion of items in publications for sale—may be carried out only with prior written permission from the publisher. Published by: HRD Press, Inc. 22 Amherst Road Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 1-800-822-2801 (U. and Canada) 413-253-3488 413-253-3490 (fax) www.com ISBN 978-1-59996-052-Y Production services by Jean Miller Editorial services by Sally Farnham Cover design by Eileen Klockars Contents Preface.
ix Index to Activities by Skill. xi Index to Activities by Process. Actions Speak Louder. An Appraisal Interview.
Ask, and You Shall Receive. The Beginning and the End. The BOFF Principle. Both Sides of the Coin.
But That’s Not What I Meant. But when have I got the time?. Choosing the Right Route. Confirm It in Writing.
Discovering the Carrot. Do I appear neutral?. Do you really mean that?. The evidence I shall give….
For Better or Verse. How would you handle it?. I Think I Have the Answer. I think that’s what you said!.
It’s all experience!. Just Stick to the Facts. Keeping on Track. Let Me Explain.
The Motivation Minefield. Pathway to the Future. Perception of You and Me. The Perfect System.
Piece by Piece. Praise versus Criticism. A Question of Design. Ready, set, go!.
The Right Person for the Job. Sharpen your Targets. 227 iii 50 Activities for Performance Appraisal Training 40. The Silent Message.
So you know their job?. To Let You Know. Touch, Then Ask. We Always Listen.
What do you think?. What’s your view?. Where do I go from here?. Why am I here?.
Write or wrong!. 289 iv Preface Over the years, our experience of managing and training individuals has proven to us the benefits of participative and active learning. We believe that training can be enjoyable and extremely motivating when conducted in this way, because it leads to a greater understanding and a more powerful learning experience for each individual involved. When theories and concepts are included as part of the training process, we always confirm participants’ understanding by giving them an opportunity to practice.
We feel very strongly that the subject of appraisal training is perceived by many people to be uninteresting. We hope the activities in this manual will convince them otherwise. We would like to express our thanks to all of those who have helped us throughout the development of the activities. Our task has been made easier by their involvement and enthusiasm.
Wendy Denham Jane Jestico v Introduction Maximizing the potential of every employee is the highest priority for many companies. More and more companies have introduced an appraisal system in recent years, while others have reviewed and improved their existing system, as they have identified the direct relationship between the development of their employees and the success of the company. The rise in the number of appraisal systems and their improved quality have not been matched with similar changes in the field of appraisal training. The combination of these factors led the authors to produce this manual.
The Activities All the activities are participative, involving the participants in a variety of exercises. A choice of practical tasks, case studies, graphics, questionnaires, and role plays is included. Some of the activities include an explanation of a theory, followed by an opportunity to practice to confirm the participants’ understanding. Others begin with the participants completing a task that is then reviewed to consolidate the key learning points and principles.
For some people, appraisals are an extremely emotive subject. To allow for this, the content of some activities is unconnected to the appraisals. Once the learning points have emerged from the activity, they can be more easily related to the key elements within the appraisal process. Sometimes the same subject might be approached in a variety of ways.
For example, the importance of using good questions during the appraisal process is demonstrated through a competitive exercise, a case study, and the design of a questionnaire. This provides the trainer with the flexibility to cater to most learning styles. By slightly changing the emphasis of the activities, the content becomes suitable to all categories of appraisers with different levels of experience. Most of the activities can be adapted to groups of various sizes.
A few of the exercises are useful for an appraiser to complete with the appraisee. Some of the activities refer to the appraisal system of the participants’ company. However, most of these can be applied to participants from different companies. The timing of the activities will need to be adjusted accordingly.
The Location Training should not always be confined to a formal training environment. When discussing certain subjects, such as an appraisee’s performance, the activity can be conducted in the workplace. The Trainer There is sufficient information within each activity to fully support the inexperienced trainer, while providing stability for the most advanced trainer to adapt it to his or her own preferred training style. In many cases, the participants would benefit considerably from their line manager leading the activity.
vii 50 Activities for Performance Appraisal Training The Materials For ease of identification, all handouts for the participants are numbered using the same number as the activity. For example, Activity 26: Keeping on Track includes Handouts 26. Where appropriate, it is suggested that some handouts be made into transparencies for use with an overhead projector. In addition, some activities include overhead masters to be made into transparencies.
To relate certain activities directly to the participants’ actual company appraisal system, the trainer will need to collate information regarding that system before running the activity. The Subject Some activities can be linked to provide focused training on one subject area. Where appropriate, this is mentioned within the activity. To ease selection, the activities have been categorized using two types of matrix: • The skills • The process There are six headings in the skills matrix: • Management • Listening • Questioning • Objectivity • Feedback • Communication There are six headings in the process matrix: • Introduction to Appraisals • Preparation • Writing • The Interview—The Past • The Interview—The Future • Understanding the System A Note on Terminology The person administering the activities is referred to as the “trainer” and those at the receiving end as the “participants.” viii Symbols Handout Transparency ix Index to Activities by Skill Communication Management Questioning Activity No.
Objectivity Feedback Listening Page No. Activity Title 1 Actions Speak Louder 1 • 2 An Appraisal Interview 5 • • 3 Ask, and You Shall Receive 13 • 4 The Beginning and the End 23 • 5 The BOFF Principle 29 • • 6 Both Sides of the Coin 41 • 7 Bull’s-eye! 45 • 8 But That’s Not What I Meant 55 • 9 But when have I got the time? 61 • 10 Choosing the Right Route 69 • • 11 Competition Time 77 • 12 Confirm It in Writing 81 • • 13 Discovering the Carrot 91 • 14 Do I appear neutral? 97 • • 15 Do you really mean that? 101 • • • 16 Easy Listening 107 • 17 The evidence I shall give… 111 • 18 For Better or Verse 115 • • 19 Good question! 119 • 20 How would you handle it? 129 • 21 I Think I Have the Answer 139 • 22 I think that’s what you said! 141 • 23 In Summary 143 • • 24 It’s all experience! 153 • xi 50 Activities for Performance Appraisal Training Communication Management Questioning Activity No. Objectivity Feedback Listening Page No. Activity Title 25 Just Stick to the Facts 157 • 26 Keeping on Track 159 • • 27 Let Me Explain 167 • 28 The Motivation Minefield 169 • 29 My Learning 175 • 30 Pathway to the Future 179 • • 31 Perception of You and Me 185 • 32 The Perfect System 189 • • 33 Picture This 193 • 34 Piece by Piece 195 • 35 Praise versus Criticism 199 • • 36 A Question of Design 207 • 37 Ready, Set, Go! 215 • 38 The Right Person for the Job 219 • • 39 Sharpen your Targets 227 • 40 The Silent Message 237 • 41 So you know their job? 239 • 42 That’s different! 243 • • 43 To Let You Know 251 • 44 Touch, Then Ask 253 • 45 We Always Listen 257 • 46 What do you think? 267 • • 47 What’s your view? 271 • 48 Where do I go from here? 273 • 49 Why am I here? 283 • 50 Write or wrong! 289 • xii Index to Activities by Process Introduction to Understanding The Interview The Interview Preparation Activity No.
the System The Future Appraisals Page No. The Past Activity Title Writing 1 Actions Speak Louder 1 • 2 An Appraisal Interview 5 • 3 Ask, and You Shall Receive 13 • • 4 The Beginning and the End 23 • • 5 The BOFF Principle 29 • 6 Both Sides of the Coin 41 • • 7 Bull’s-eye! 45 • 8 But That’s Not What I Meant 55 • 9 But when have I got the time? 61 • 10 Choosing the Right Route 69 • 11 Competition Time 77 • 12 Confirm It in Writing 81 • 13 Discovering the Carrot 91 • • 14 Do I appear neutral? 97 • • 15 Do you really mean that? 101 • 16 Easy Listening 107 • • 17 The evidence I shall give… 111 • 18 For Better or Verse 115 • • 19 Good question! 119 • • 20 How would you handle it? 129 • • 21 I Think I Have the Answer 139 • 22 I think that’s what you said! 141 • • 23 In Summary 143 • • • 24 It’s all experience! 153 • • xiii 50 Activities for Performance Appraisal Training Introduction to Understanding The Interview The Interview Preparation Activity No. the System The Future Appraisals Page No. The Past Activity Title Writing 25 Just Stick to the Facts 157 • • 26 Keeping on Track 159 • • 27 Let Me Explain 167 • 28 The Motivation Minefield 169 • 29 My Learning 175 • 30 Pathway to the Future 179 • • 31 Perception of You and Me 185 • • 32 The Perfect System 189 • 33 Picture This 193 • • 34 Piece by Piece 195 • • 35 Praise versus Criticism 199 • • 36 A Question of Design 207 • • 37 Ready, Set, Go! 215 • 38 The Right Person for the Job 219 • 39 Sharpen your Targets 227 • 40 The Silent Message 237 • • 41 So you know their job? 239 • • 42 That’s different! 243 • 43 To Let You Know 251 • • 44 Touch, Then Ask 253 • • 45 We Always Listen 257 • • 46 What do you think? 267 • • 47 What’s your view? 271 • • 48 Where do I go from here? 273 • 49 Why am I here? 283 • • 50 Write or wrong! 289 • xiv 1 Actions Speak Louder DESCRIPTION This activity is based on participants reading a series of statements and deciding which statements apply to whom.
This leads to a discussion on how quickly people make judgments about one another, how accurate these judgments are, and the effect of these judgments during the appraisal process.