“I know, I know… many of you dread me. I land in your calendar like a tax bill, and I’m usually accompanied by a folder of forms that none of you really wants to fill. But humour me for a moment. What if I told you I’d rather be different?”

If the annual appraisal cycle had a voice, it might sound a bit sheepish. It might confess that bunching twelve months of feedback into a single sweaty conversation isn’t fair on anyone.

It might plead:

“How about giving me some space? Just focus on performance – and stop lumping pay, ranking, and development into one tense session.”

(Organizations like Adobe did exactly that, with monthly check-ins and a separate conversation for pay. They found engagement went up and attrition down.)

It might also say:

“Can you make me about the work over the full year – and not vague impressions or the most vivid details that come to mind when you get into the room?”

It’s a valid point. Research shows feedback improves performance only when it’s task-focused, timely and delivered in a way that lands with the recipient. Identity-based comments, such as “you’re not strategic enough” aren’t just unhelpful, they tend to be harmful to motivation and growth.

The annual appraisal might also venture a request:

“As well as painting a path, can you actively support people in paving it?”

How impactful is feedback if people can’t fully act on it – or experience an outcome as a result of implementing it?

Possible paving stones might include job rotations, mentoring, special projects, coaching, job shadowing and stretch assignments.

At heart, the annual appraisal probably wants people to feel good about what they’re doing well, be aware of how they can be even better, and know there are options ahead to learn, contribute and grow.

And it probably also wants to weed out the people who are obstacles to their own, others’ and the organization’s growth.

Most of all, the annual appraisal probably wants more facetime. It would possibly improve stakeholder sentiment if it improved its visibility.

Rather than evoking an ‘all or nothing’ feeling once a year, the annual appraisal would probably relish a refashion – developing itself into a feedback approach that works all year round.

Now there’s a stretch goal.

And if you want some tips on creating a more impactful approach to ensuring engagement and growth as a result of feedback and appraisals, you might want to consider the following.

Organizational Level

1. Move from the annual review to regular, short, specific, timely feedbacks on performance. A ‘check-in’ model, as Adobe follows.
2. Separate the growth and rewards conversation. Focus attention on growth, then on rewards.
3. Beware the bias. Educate people on common biases – such as the halo/horns, recency, availability and ‘like-me’ biases.
4. Share pathways to growth. Ensure there are mechanisms for people to grow: job rotations, peer coaching, mentoring, micro-learning budgets, stretch assignments and job shadowing. Offering a new avenue opens up possibilities in people’s minds – and through concrete options.
5. Mindset. Many people label feedback as negative or positive. All feedback, if delivered effectively, is constructive. A helpful mindset is: I’m vested in your growth. I’m giving you feedback to support you realize your potential – whether it’s reinforcing (this is what you did well) or redirecting (this is how you can improve). Changing the mindset to ‘here’s how we grow’ rather than an unpleasant checkbox activity can make all the difference to the energy around feedback and appraisal time.
6. Measure. What gets measured gets done. But again, it’s not just that it gets done – it’s doing it so that the feedback is specific, actionable, timely – and delivered in a way that lands with the recipient so they act on it.

Team Level

1. Ensure check-ins happen. Maintain an attitude of ‘I’m helping people and the organization grow.’
2. Prune and pivot. When focus changes, change the goals.
3. Concise, clear, kind. Keep the feedback short and specific. Use a framework if it helps e.g. Situation – Behaviour – Impact: In the meeting I noticed you interrupt X three times, which seemed to deter them from sharing any more ideas… What might be more effective in future meetings?
4. Invite feedback from your team. This requires them to feel safe, so create an environment that encourages that. Thank people for their feedback. Tell them what you will change – and work to change it.
5. Aim to have the feedback land well and be accepted. This is a reinforcement of #3 above. How do you want the person to feel after you’ve given the feedback? Can you work back from that? This will impact the timing, environment, choice of words, degree of directness and tone.

Individual Level

1. Adopt a mindset of learn, contribute, grow. The feedback is intended to support your growth. Of course, this may not always be the case. Either way, you’re learning something.
2. Ask for feedback. Ask for feedback at important moments. If you don’t get it, but want a record, you could share your reflections of what you did well and how you could improve. Again, you need to determine how to approach this based on your reporting manager’s preferences and your team or organizational culture.

Full disclosure. I was inspired to write about this after reading an article in The Economist on The Annual Performance Review – as well as multiple conversations over the years relating to people’s feelings around this organizational ritual.