Program Formats

Performance Appraisal Training Workshop

Two Day Program

Our most popular format is the full two-day workshop.  It is designed to provide the greatest opportunity for skill mastery.  It follows an orderly, logical and building-block process of incremental practice followed by integrative practice.   On the first day, the specific skills and techniques for each component of the Performance Appraisal are covered and practiced separately.  During the second day, each participant conducts a full performance appraisal, integrating all the individual skills and techniques covered earlier.

Our program begins with a discussion of the role of the annual Performance Appraisal in the ongoing process of performance management at your organization.  Following this, we address the issues of setting objectives and standards of performance, and explain in detail how to create an Employee Development Plan.  Getting data on performance through traditional methods or some version of 360-degree feedback is covered, in keeping with your organization’s procedures.  The face-to-face Performance Appraisal discussion is the part of the appraisal process the invokes the most feelings and awkwardness for both employee and manager.  We show how to take the tension out of the discussion by preparing ahead of time, creating the proper athmosphere, and using an organized but flexible approach.  We also show how to structure the discussion, how to probe and listen, and how to handle conflict and defensiveness.

Also covered in depth is writing the appraisal, from gathering the necessary data to rating performance and writing the narrative section.  Techniques for note taking and conducting fair and legal appraisals are also covered.

One Day Program

Of course, there may be times when your managers are available only for one day, or your budget is especially limited, so we have developed an intense skill-building one-day version of our program.  No topics are omitted, but are covered more briefly, and most individual skills practice exercises are preserved.  The integrative practice is omitted of necessity, yet participants get the essential tools and skills they need.

The Briefing Session

For clients that want to give a  Management Team or Task Force a quick summary and overview of the issues in Performance Appraisal training, the Briefing Session is an option.  The minimum length is two hours, and we can include a model Performance Appraisal Form and Rating Scale.  This is not offered as a skill-building session but rather as an opportunity for executives or a Task Force to plan strategically for Performance Appraisal training or get a jump-start in revising Performance Appraisal Forms and Rating Scales.

For Those Who Cannot Attend The Seminar

While there is no substitute for the skill-building practice and the opportunity to ask questions about your special issues in the Seminar, there are options.