The performance appraisal process is broken.
While positioned as a tool to manage performance, it’s primarily designed to create documentation to justify both compensation and disciplinary decisions.
If you’re in a position to fix this process for your organization, you absolutely should. Here’s how.
But this post isn’t about fixing the system. It’s about what to do when you can’t. Because even a bad process can still be used to spark the conversations that actually improve performance.
So, if you’re dreading the upcoming appraisal cycle with your team, here’s where to start.
Start with a Reality Check
Many years ago, in my first-ever performance appraisal, I learned that my peers had been complaining to my boss for months. They felt I wasn’t a team player and wasn’t investing in relationships with them.
They were right. I was new to the corporate world, having come from sales, where success was a solo sport. I focused on hitting my goals, not on building relationships.
My boss lowered my rating because of that feedback—feedback I was hearing for the first time. To say I was frustrated is an understatement.
It seems ridiculous to me now, but at the time I was genuinely surprised. I didn’t realize that relationships with peers were part of performance. But it mattered to my boss.
The process felt unfair, and I felt blindsided.
That’s how most people feel about performance appraisals.
They’re blindsided by feedback about things they didn’t know were problems or that happened months ago. They can’t even remember the details. And often it’s about something they would have fixed had they known.
Others complain about discovering new expectations during the appraisal that were never made clear before.
And many feel their efforts are overlooked because managers forget or focus only on what’s happened recently.
If you want to make this process more meaningful—and less painful—keep these principles in mind:
- No surprises. If an employee is surprised by feedback or expectations, that’s a management failure.
- Clear expectations come first. You can’t fairly evaluate someone against standards they didn’t know existed.
- Managers don’t see the whole picture. We’re biased toward recent performance and often miss key contributions.
- Employees own their performance story. They need to be part of telling it.
- Past performance can’t be changed. The goal is to set them up for future success.
When you embrace these truths, you create a foundation for using the process in a more intentional and collaborative way. That shift sets the stage for what comes next.
Use the Process to Drive Real Conversations
Most of what makes performance work (or fail) doesn’t happen during the appraisal meeting. It happens in the everyday moments of doing the real work of performance management.
As managers, our job is to create the conditions for great performance every day. To do that well, these five drivers are essential:
- Clarity: Knowing exactly what’s expected—the “what” and the “how.”
- Feedback: Understanding in real time how performance compares to those expectations.
- Know-How: Having the skills and competencies to succeed.
- Capability: Having the resources and ability to perform effectively.
- Desire: Feeling motivated and committed to doing the work well.
If any one of these is missing, performance will suffer.
Before you even think about writing an appraisal, pause and use this opportunity to check-in with your people.
Three Conversations to Have Before You Write
Invite your people into a few conversations about their performance and experience over the past year.
This approach transforms the process from a report into a reflection. It allows you a chance to realign before you do anything formal.
Here are three conversations that will actually impact your team’s performance (appraisal or not).
1. Clarity and Alignment Check-In
- On a scale of 1–10, how clear did you feel about what was expected of you this year?
- What were the 3–5 key goals or priorities for your role?
- How did those priorities shift or evolve throughout the year?
- Where did you feel uncertainty about expectations?
2. Performance Check-In
- How do you feel your performance compared with what was expected?
- Where did you exceed expectations?
- Where did you face challenges?
- What would you do differently if you could do it over?
3. Learning and Growth Check-In
- On a scale of 1–10, how would you rate your growth and learning this year?
- What are the biggest things you learned?
- What was most challenging?
- Looking ahead, what do you want or need to learn next year?
Tell your employee that you want to have these conversations to help you write a fair and meaningful appraisal.
The key is to provide the questions in advance, let them reflect, and then reflect on yourself. When you both come prepared, the conversation becomes much richer and more revealing.
These conversations are also a mirror for your own management effectiveness. If you and the employee aren’t aligned on expectations or performance, that’s on you. Use what you learn to ensure the appraisal doesn’t punish the employee for gaps you could have prevented.
Once you’ve had these conversations, you’ll have a clearer, more complete picture of the employee’s performance story. That brings you to the next step.
Write a Fair Appraisal
Now that you’ve gathered input and perspective, you can approach the formal part of the process with greater confidence and care.
When you sit down to write:
- Remember, it’s part of their permanent record. Consider what you include carefully.
- No surprises. If you haven’t discussed it, talk about it first before including it in the appraisal. You may decide it doesn’t belong in the record at all.
- Treat it as a summary. The appraisal should reflect ongoing conversations throughout the year, not replace them.
Think of the performance appraisal as an overview of the employee’s performance story for that period.
Performance management, on the other hand, is an ongoing process of setting expectations, giving feedback, and supporting growth.
When we confuse the two, we end up focusing on compliance instead of improvement. At best, the appraisal is one small part of performance management. At worst, it’s an obstacle we have to work around.
Your Choice as a Manager
Even when the formal process feels rigid or bureaucratic, you still have a choice.
You can treat it as paperwork, or you can use it as a moment to build connection, clarity, and trust with your people.
That choice determines whether the appraisal becomes a compliance exercise or something that actually unlocks the employee’s potential.
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