Appraisals damaging staff morale, warns CIPD

Employers who do not make time for regular conversations between managers and staff about what is expected of them risk harming their organisation's performance, she added.

“You’ve got to talk regularly – and it’s got to work both ways,” Ms McCartney said. “Employers need to talk about their expectations and managers need to say, ‘You’re doing this right, you need to work on this’, so the review system feels fairer.

“If people feel they have worked hard all year but then suddenly get told they are not performing it can drive them to go hunting for a new position. Even when you’re busy you need to schedule time every month in the diary for it that doesn’t move. Not an unrealistic hour, but just a few minutes to talk about obejctives.”

She also advised keeping these conversations simple: “Kill the spin and talk in an open, honest and jargon-free conversation.”

The study found financial constraints that are a hangover from the recession are a major factor in employee’s unhappiness with not as much money available to award pay rises.

However, Ms McCartney said managers need to be inventive to retain staff without spending cash.

“It doesn’t have to be about money and progression,” she said. “To keep hold of talent they should be thinking creatively, offering sideways moves and secondments so people gain more experiences.”

Donna Ronayne, vice-president of marketing and business development at Halogen Software, which worked with teh CIPD to produce the report, said: “With employee perceptions of the job market improving organisations need to be proactive about their retention strategies if they want to prevent their best talent from jumping ship.

“Managers [also] need to be given the tools and training to identify and highlight those employees that add the most value to the business for differential reward, and progression.”

Executed properly, reviews should be a rewarding process said Petra Wilton, director of strategy at the Chartered Management Institute.

“Done right, appraisals should actually be helpful for individuals," she said. "Feedback about your performance and areas for development can make you better at your job and more satisfied at work too.

"But done badly, appraisals can come across just as criticism. Employers need to make sure that all their managers are qualified and confident having those tough conversations.”

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