The Importance of Performance Appraisals
             One of the most critical elements of being a supervisor, manager, or team leader is knowing how to give effective performance appraisals to employees of an organization. This important human resources process helps employees grow along with the company because it focuses their attention on how to become better, more motivated, and eventually more successful. By utilizing a skilled performance appraisal system, these managers can empower employees to take charge of needed improvements, as well as create a more positive and productive work environment. In the simplest terms, performance appraisal may be defined as a structured formal interaction between a subordinate and supervisor, that usually takes the form of a periodic interview, whether it be semi-annual or annual. The work performance of the employee is examined and discussed in great detail in order to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for improvement, and skills development (Archer North).
             Performance appraisals involve setting goals, judging the results achieved, and creating performance criteria that can be met and measured over and over again for each of the employees' job descriptions. The three things that should be focused on are: 1) Performance, not personalities; 2) Valid, concrete, relevant issues, rather than subjective emotions and feelings; and 3) Reaching agreement on what the employee is going to improve in his performance (McKirchy, 9). According to the book, Powerful Performance Appraisals, conducting a good appraisal means the manager must be very clear that the objective is the job-related performance of the individual, and not the personality factors, such as laziness. Furthermore, I think that by focusing on specifics, rather than generalized issues, employees will know how to fix their mistakes or improve their performance. Many times when people hear something negative about their personality, they...