The Effects of Performance Review in Appraisal: Evidence and Implications

From the organisation's point of view, feedback assists effective learning. From the individual's viewpoint it can satisfy any personal need for information on progress and facilitate social comparison with others. Whether criticism achieves any beneficial effects is dependent on the amount of critical feedback; a balanced review of performance, covering strengths and weaknesses; clear, relevant feedback content emphasising the performance of the individual; the availability of other sources of feedback; the extent of subordinate participation in the interview; and the relationship between the manager and the subordinate. Self‐appraisal may be a more robust approach and may overcome many of the problems normally encountered in discussing performance. There is ample evidence for its effectiveness.