APPRAISE
What to Appraise?
To appraise is to measure or estimate the attributes of an entity or situation. What (or who) is to be appraised? Is it a specific program or particular feature(s)? Is it some person(s) or their performance? What should definitely be avoided is appraising the wrong thing, however gratifying that might be to the appraiser – effective appraisals must be focused on relevant variables to deliver the assessment required.
Why to Appraise?
The general purpose (why) for appraisal is assment, determining the costs and/or benefits, size and/or shape, location and/or duration, etc. Clarify whether the objective of the appraisal is discovery of performance effectiveness or direction of subsequent behaviour. If discovery, stick to the facts; if direction, then include suggested improvements. Be careful NOT to appraise for the wrong reasons (scapegoating, rivalry, red-herrings, etc.).
When to Appraise?
If a process is being appraised, it should be either completed or sufficiently advanced to permit an adequate assessment – a premature evaluation would be ill-informed, since the data from a full process-cycle would not be available. The same principle applies to appraising a person – what initially appeared as inappropriate behaviour could either change through learning, or eventually be proven correct as performance continued.
Where to Appraise?
The best advice for this consideration is where NOT to appraise: not in “the thick of things”. Do not conduct a process appraisal in the midst of functional operations, and do not conduct a personnel appraisal during task performance, or in the presence of others. Those who are involved or implied in an appraisal may, understandably, be sensitive to what an assessment reveals or requires – so create a comfort-zone and be constructive.
How to Appraise?
It may appear “obvious” that the way to render an appraisal is to find something or someone either praiseworthy or blameworthy – but few of those so ready to deliver such assessments have ever actually experienced the combination of circumstances and expectations under which the appraised program or person was operating. More helpful would be the policy of encouraging the desirable and discouraging the undesirable.
References
