What are some suggestions to improve the process of performance appraisal in the company?

During my intern, I learned how boring and judgmental appraisals can be. HMA Consulting was devoted in making this easier for all managers and according to top consultants this is their process.The key is to make performance appraisals effective enough to provide an accurate employee-to-departmental analysis. Most of the frustration with reviews is due to the fact that they tend to be annual (How are you supposed to remember everything that happened in a whole year?), and that they are seen as a boring, pointless exercise imposed by HR on managers and staff.

Here are some things you can do to turn your review process around.

• Frequency: Your staff may cringe at this, but to make the performance review process better, you should do it more than once a year. People dread when review time rolls around, particularly because it implies looking back at an entire year of events, goals, milestones, achievements, etc. This clearly daunting task is enough to make most people want to hide under their desks. Having reviews more often—say quarterly—can help both managers and staff set more achievable goals (and ones they will still remember in three months, as opposed to a year).
• Purpose: The performance appraisal can have multiple purposes, and they can’t all be effectively achieved with one method. Cramming everything into one review can prove counterproductive and fruitless. Try developing different conversations for different purposes instead. For instance, encourage managers to set performance goals with their employees on a regular basis, and have them invite the employees to set their own goals. Separate reviews can also be set up to plan career advancement and chart potential raises and promotions.
• Flexibility: As with most things in life, performance appraisals are not one-size-fits-all. It’s important to develop a flexible framework so that managers can set and reset goals. Consider setting up a system for peer-to-peer reviews, which allow feedback to flow laterally.  This better reflects today’s corporate structures, which aren’t quite as top-down as they used to be. Also, set up informal as well as formal review processes, using online tools and other methods that encourage a feedback-rich environment.
• Tone: Employees respond better to constructive feedback, something the typical performance appraisal process often skips or flat-out works against. Make sure your reviews focus on giving praise and credit when it’s due, while also offering constructive feedback on ways to improve. This balance will help employees feel appreciated and inspired to work to improve their performance.