Tips for a successful appraisal interview

 
BEFORE YOU BEGIN

• Define goals, interests and priorities for the interview in advance. Are there any specifications, guidelines, framework conditions that need to be taken into account
• Choose a suitable location for the appraisal interview. Possibly meet on “neutral ground” in order to be able to conduct the meeting as equals.
• Think about a good opening for the meeting.

     

AT THE BEGINNING

• Even before the interview begins, attention should be paid to creating a positive mood on the part of both the manager and the employee. The manager should also take particular care to create a safe and trusting environment for the MAG to take place.
• Both parties should prevent potential disruptive factors (switch off phones, put a “do not disturb” note on the office door, etc.) so that the meeting can be conducted with full attention for each other.

     

IN CONVERSATION

• The 70/30 rule: A MAG must not be a monologue by the manager. On the contrary. The employee should be allowed to speak up to 70% of the time. After all, one aim of the appraisal meeting should be for the employee to open up to the manager.
• The manager can encourage the dialog by signaling their openness, e.g. by adopting an attentive posture, asking open questions, listening patiently, summarizing what has been said with possible follow-up questions and subsequent reference and comments.
• Examples of open questions:

 

To download

Concerning the employee's tasks/area of work	Which tasks do you particularly enjoy doing - what motivates you the most? Are there areas that are less enjoyable or perhaps even stressful? Do you feel overwhelmed or perhaps underchallenged? How could we change this? Are there any problems that we should tackle as quickly as possible? Who do we need to do this? Does the vacation cover work or when colleagues step in in case of illness? If not, how can we solve this? What further training measures are you interested in? Are there any areas in which you would like to learn more?
Concerning the employee's well-being and work-life balance	How do you feel when you go to work on Mondays? Do you feel sufficiently rested after a weekend or vacation? If not, what needs to happen to make recovery possible? Are you able to regenerate sufficiently after periods of extra work? What could the university or the team, me, the manager, do to ensure recovery after stressful periods? What would you wish for? How do you feel about working with the team? Are there any difficulties or situations in which you do not feel comfortable? Do you have enough freedom for your daily work? Perhaps the opposite is also true: would you like more guidance and feedback?
Concerning leadership and organizational culture	Do you receive sufficient feedback and information from me as a manager? Where could I improve in my leadership? How do you rate the culture and atmosphere at the mdw? Do you have any suggestions for improvement - what could we do better?
Regarding the employee's future and development prospects	Gibt es an der mdw oder im Team Tätigkeiten, die Sie ebenfalls interessieren würden? Haben sich neue Interessensgebiete ergeben? Wohin möchten Sie sich gerne entwickeln? Welche Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen würden Sie benötigen, um die neuen Aufgabengebiete zu bewältigen?

 

• The perception and appreciation of the employee's performance by the manager plays an important role in the MAG.
• Feedback can be both positive feedback and an opportunity to articulate and concretize suggestions for improvement. When giving feedback, it is important to use respectful wording. It is therefore advisable to formulate observations and personal perceptions in “I” form. The more concrete and clear the statements are, the more useful they can be for the further course of the conversation and future work performance.
  “I” messages with the WWW formula:

 

Perception: Description without evaluation	Effect: expressing feelings and needs	Request: Proposal for future interaction
IMPORTANT: Stay on the level of observation and description, DO NOT explain and evaluate.	IMPORTANT: Negative feelings arise because your needs are not being met! And not because your counterpart is behaving in one way or another	IMPORTANT: A request is not a demand! You cannot force anyone to fulfill your needs, even if you often think you can.
I perceive ..... I see that ... I notice that ... I am not sure whether I ...	That causes me ... Somehow it strikes me as ...	For the future, I would like ... I would be very happy if we could come to an agreement regarding .... Please tell me whether you ....

 

AFTER THE MEETING

Follow-up involves both parties adhering to the agreements made during the performance review. The manager should check this at the next appraisal meeting at the latest.

Compiled by:

Human Resources Development - Center for Continuing Education, mdw - University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna

Sources:

Eudaimonic.at - Well-being and potential development at work and in everyday life, https://www.eudaimonic.at/blog/ich-botschaften/ (last accessed January 30, 2022)

Karriereblog.at - Hello coach! Good leadership shows itself in the performance review, https://www.karriere.at/blog/mitarbeitergespraech-fragen.html (last accessed January 30, 2022)

Suggestions. Reflections on conducting conversations - types of conversations, Gudrun Weinberger, JABIL, “Successfully conducting difficult staff appraisals”, seminar 2011

Non-violent communication: A language of life, Marshall B. Rosenberg, revised and expanded new edition, Junfermann Verlag, 2016