People: Staff appraisals

If there is one thing that employer and employee will almost always agree on it is that staff appraisals are a waste of time. But are they? Phil Mellows finds out.

Staff appraisals. It's a safe bet that before you've even finished reading those dreaded words you will have turned the page. Staff appraisals - employees hate them, managers hate them. What a waste of time. Yet, assuming there are a handful of you still with us, the theory behind them is fine. In all but the most small and intimate organisations it is hard for a boss to know what people are thinking and feeling, whether they are happy in their work, how they see their future.

Ambitious employees may be overlooked for training, others may be in the wrong job. The kitchen hand may be dreaming of making cocktails behind the bar. The barperson might be eager to mastermind a marketing campaign. The door supervisor could fancy their hand at making pastries. How do you know they're not?

An appraisal seems like a sensible solution. It makes you ask them the appropriate questions, formulate a plan to develop each individual and maximise the potential of your workforce. In theory.

It is almost a cliché that, in practice, appraisals are rubbish.

Staff see them as a threat and are thrown on to the defensive. Not quite sure what they are supposed to say, they hedge their criticisms and expectations.

Not getting very much out of the exercise, managers see them as a worthless chore. Any decisions that are made about a person's future are soon forgotten, and at the next year's appraisal the whole sorry process is repeated.

It's not surprising that staff retention consultant Learnpurple has calculated that, across the UK hospitality industry, 85 per cent of people don't have an appraisal.

So why on earth was it that, when Alison and Richard Smith (pictured)​ opened their first pub - a Punch lease called Bar One Nine in Keynsham near Bristol (pictured bottom)​ - at the end of last year, one of the first things they did was to put in place a sophisticated appraisal system - even though they had only two full-time employees?

In their past lives as middle managers in the telecoms industry, the Smiths, who are trading as the Spreading Chestnut Co, had experience of appraising staff.

"Alison was doing appraisals for her company and was getting frustrated with them," said Richard. "But we realised we would need an appraisals system from day one, and if we did it, we would have to do it properly and make sure everyone knew what they were doing it for."

It was at that point that, leafing through The Publican Newspaper, they spotted a mention of Learnpurple's Talent Tool Box - an on-line appraisal system.

So they bought it. In fact they became the first pub and bar operator and the first start-up business to sign up for the scheme.

They have already carried out initial appraisals on their two members of staff - and, remarkably, it has had an immediate impact.

Barman James Swingler expressed a desire for more responsibility and an interest in project management, so the Smiths have put him in charge of developing an outdoor courtyard bar.

They have also used it to involve staff in the future of the business - and made adjustments to the furnishings and décor as a result of their feedback.

"Our staff are the most important thing for us," said Richard. "It's good to know what they're thinking, to know how we can help them achieve their ambitions.

"They think the Talent Tool Box is fantastic, really professional, and through using it we have started to see the real person coming out."

Talent Tool Box is tailored to the needs of a particular organisation and the Smiths have included in the questionnaire "blue sky time" where the employee can share their dreams.

"If they say they want to run their own bar you have to take them seriously and help them towards that ambition," said Richard.

A professional system of staff appraisal is also key to the Smiths' own long-term ambitions.

Aiming for an estate of up to eight bars, they know they will need a strong team of managers and staff on their side and, for Richard, having an effective appraisals system can help to differentiate the company in the jobs marketplace.

"It shows that we're dedicated to our people and that will give us a better chance to recruit the managers we want," he said.

Jane Sunley, the founder of Learnpurple, is impressed by the way Alison and Richard have taken an approach that is rare in the hospitality industry.

"From the start they wanted to do something different with their people, to involve them in the business," she said. "They wanted a system in place to help them communicate with their staff as they grow, to get their opinions and ideas.

"An appraisal system can make people feel valued, show that the company cares about them - even if nothing happens as a result.

"It's difficult to chat to people like that in a busy world but much easier if you can just log on to a computer for the information."

How it works​

Learnpurple's Talent Tool Box starts with an on-line questionnaire for each employee. Staff members complete it in their own time. The system reminds them if they haven't done it but the idea is that it's fun to do rather than extra work.

The answers form the basis of a one-to-one discussion from which will emerge a personal development plan outling training and goals. Nothing can guarantee that the plan is carried out but the system, again, will issue reminders. Reviews can be carried out as frequently as required.

Results are analysed so businesses with more than a few employees can quickly identify trends and spot high fliers.

• www.learnpurple.com

How the Smiths spread their wings​

Alison and Richard Smith's commitment to staff appraisals is only one aspect of a generally enlightened attitude towards their staff.

The couple left steady jobs in telecoms IT to set up the Spreading Chestnut Company and launch a small multiple pub group - with the goal of early retirement in mind.

But to achieve that they knew they would need the right team of people around them.

"The first thing we did was to present staff with our vision for the company," said Alison. "It is important to involve them and also to help them succeed in their own goals. I'd be proud if one of our people set themselves up in competition to us!"

As well as receiving regular appraisals every member of staff will be put through the National Certificate for Licensees and food hygiene exams, receiving training both in the bar and at local colleges.

"Training is not just a matter of teaching people how to pull a pint," said Alison, who was herself one of the first people to attend the brewing industry's new Beer Academy. "It's also the ability to talk to customers about different drinks."

Alison and Richard aim to be sensitive to their people's more personal needs, too. For instance, because she couldn't leave her children, chef Teresa Andow was interviewed for the job at her own home. A staff room is planned upstairs at Bar One Nine and the Smiths offer support to staff who want to give up smoking - in line with the bar's daytime no-smoking policy.

"You have got to appreciate that the rest of people's lives don't stop when they come into work," said Alison.