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Contents

1. Introduction
2. Aims of the Scheme
3. The Scheme
4. Preparing for the Appraisal Meeting
5. The Appraisal Form
6. After the Appraisal Meeting
7. Reviews and Referrals

1. Introduction

The council is committed to ensuring that all employees are equipped with the necessary skills, knowledge and expertise to enable them to perform their duties to the best of their abilities. We aim to provide and encourage the provision of a high standard of service and customer care through open, constructive and realistic performance appraisal.

These notes are written to help both the manager appraising someone’s performance and the employee being appraised work towards mutually satisfactory outcomes from the appraisal.

The aim is to help each individual prepare for the appraisal meeting and to have a satisfactory meeting concluding with agreed plans for the coming year/six months. Further guidance is available to Lambeth employees; the corporate training programme runs 1:1 coaching on Appraisals for Managers and an Appraisee Skills course to help employees with their appraisal.

2. Aims of the Scheme

The aims of the scheme are to improve organisation and employee performance by developing employees to their maximum potential.

• The appraisal process involves two-way communication between managers and employees.
• Clear key objectives and expectations for performance are established.
• The achievements, skills and strengths of employees are recognised and built upon.
• Organisational objectives and competencies identified are linked to effective performance and areas of development.
• Observations on performance are made in a considered, systematic and objective way.
• Development opportunities are identified with the aim of providing appropriate learning and development.
• Employees who have difficulties meeting the agreed objectives are assisted through guidance and training.

3. The Scheme

All employees will be appraised by their line manager every year with reviews at six & twelve months that are linked to the business planning cycle

For new employees an initial meeting should take place as soon as possible after induction to the post. The purpose of the meeting is to establish a plan for managing work and performance in the following appraisal period.

4. Preparing for the Appraisal Meeting

Please prepare thoroughly for the meeting by using the following guidelines and noting any points that you wish to discuss.

After the appraisal meeting your manager will record the appraisal rating for each objective, your new objectives and Personal Development Plan and any other points agreed and return the form to you to check and sign. If the form does not accurately reflect the discussion, this should be bought to the manager’s attention for amendment or further discussion.

If you need help or clarification about any points, please ask for help from your manager prior to the appraisal meeting.

5. The Appraisal Form

The appraisal form is designed to facilitate a productive discussion between two people to define and agree the employee's plan for the coming year.

The completion of the Appraisal Form is a documentary record of this discussion. The process should not become merely a form filling exercise.

The Appraisal Form has three parts; The Appraisal record, the New Objectives Setting Form and the Personal Development Plan. The following is a brief description of each form and how it should be completed.

a. Appraisal Form

The first part of this (objectives review by job holder) is completed and given to the line manager prior to the meeting date.

The line manager will need to prepare for the meeting by determining what they intend to discuss during the appraisal meeting and by referring to previous appraisals and supervision notes.

The line manager’s comments and appraisal ratings are filled in either at the time of the meeting or shortly after.

When documenting how an employee has performed against a specific objective, it is important to state precisely what has been achieved, to confirm that the objective had been achieved, and if not, why not.

It is important to support these conclusions with actual evidence. In most cases this should be measurable.

In the six month and twelve month appraisal, all objectives should be reviewed.

Rating Performance

The appraisal score is a way of indicating to what extent the performance requirements have been met. This rating is also used as a benchmark for measuring employee performance from one year to another.

5	Significantly exceeded target Employee demonstrated that they exceeded their target and as a result made a significant additional contribution.
4	Exceeded target Employee demonstrated that they exceeded their target, achieving more than was intended.
3	Met target Employee demonstrated that they had fully achieved all aspects of the objective.
2	Almost met target Employee demonstrated that they had achieved some aspects of their objective but not all.
1	Has not met target Employee demonstrated that they had not achieved the objective.
N/A	Not able to appraise Give the reason for not rating the employee in the appraisal record.
Overall Rating Enter the agreed overall rating so that it truly reflects the employee's overall performance. This may be an average of all the individual ratings.

b. New Objectives Form

Setting Objectives

The objectives which are agreed between the manager and employee should be linked to business objectives and be SMART.

Specific:	clear, unambiguous, straightforward and understandable
Measurable:	progress must be measurable, either quantitatively or qualitatively
Achievable:	realistic and capable of being achieved
Relevant:	focused on business needs
Time Bound:	to be completed within an agreed timescale

• Objectives concentrate on outcomes and not activities.
• Each objective should identify exactly what will happen as a result of activity in this area.
• The total number of objectives should offer challenges for the employee and should be fully achievable in the year ahead. However please do not feel obliged to “fill” all the spaces provided. The general number of objectives is five/six
• It is acceptable to add additional objectives during the year and to modify existing ones where business factors make this necessary
• Objectives are not intended to reflect routine parts of the job however it may be appropriate to set objectives/standards for routine work as well as for projects or initiatives for jobs which are operational in nature e.g. Administrative posts. However, it is not appropriate to set objectives for meeting attendance/punctuality targets.
• If objectives are long-term, (in excess of twelve months) agreements should be reached on what ‘milestones’ will be achieved within specified timescales.
• Objectives should be reviewed at six and twelve months.
• If objectives change the following procedure should be followed:
  • What progress has been made towards achieving the objectives?
  • What modifications were made to the objectives and why?
  • What factors support or hinder the achievement of the objectives?
  • Which objectives were difficult to measure and why?

c. Personal Development Plan

The personal development plan is designed to enable employees to take responsibility for their own development. The plan should reflect individual objectives as well as areas for improvement identified from the appraisal of performance against objectives and the job competencies.

All learning and development activities should be demonstrably linked to business unit and corporate aims.

When thinking about what learning and development activity is needed, please consider which option is the most appropriate for the development need. The following may be helpful in selecting the right medium:

• internal and external training programmes
• on the job coaching
• mentors/counsellors job shadowing/covering for leave or absence/secondment
• working with a team outside own function
• involvement with a professional institute
• books/journals/videos/tapes
• internet
• flexible open learning programmes

When discussing the personal development plan it is appropriate to discuss the employee’s career intentions since these may have a significant bearing on the development needs for the coming period. These career intentions may also give rise to the addition of competencies to give a framework for development.

6. After the Appraisal Meeting

After the appraisal meeting (or during), the manager will complete the Performance review comments by line manager section of the appraisal form, summarising the results of the discussion. As an employee, if you feel that you wish to make additional comments about your own appraisal, please do so in the Job Holder’s Comments box.

Records of appraisal meetings are confidential and although the counter – signatory adds their comments and signs the documentation they do not keep a copy. The manager and the employee should each retain a copy of the signed documents.

The Manager should also return the monitoring form to Learning & Development, HR at Phoenix House or email it to appraisals@lambeth.gov.uk

The appraisal process should not stop here. During regular supervision throughout the coming year, both manager and employee should review progress against the objectives and personal development plan which have been agreed. It is important that discussion takes place to ensure progress is continuing as planned and any actions and revisions are considered, agreed and recorded.

7. Reviews and Referrals

Since performance appraisal is a discussion between a manager and an employee there may be times when their views may differ. In most instances these differences should be resolved through discussion. However, on some occasions the two people will be unable to reach consensus. On such occasions it may be necessary for the appraisal to be referred to the counter-signatory or line manager’s manager.

When the employee feels it is necessary to refer the appraisal form, they should sign the form and raise the matter with the counter-signing manager who will consider all aspects of the appraisal and their decision on the matter will be final.

At the end of this process the manager and the employee should each retain a copy of the signed documents.

End