Staff performance appraisals work best if they are strictly an annual event - true or false?

Definitely true. Staff performance appraisal & the staff productivity go hand in hand. Appraisals prove that every individuals work & efforts in the company is being monitored but in a positive way. Management by fear will only result in resignations by the best employees. You need to show either the carrot or the stick to get things executed. The way I look at it, the carrot, if given in the right way, works far better than the stick.