Staff appraisals

Content on this page:

• How it works
• Your responsibility as an employee
• Support and advice to bear in mind

The staff appraisal is a conversation with your line manager aiming to jointly create conditions for a well-functioning organisation anddevelop the organisation and you as an employee and is based on the goals of the organisation as well as your own individual goals. By taking shared responsibility for the staff appraisal you, as an employee, become a participant in organisational planning. 

How it works

Staff appraisals are to be conducted annually with all employees and are compulsory. The appraisal is to address the work situation as a whole and have a long term perspective with

• A retrospective approach
• Current situation
• The future,

and is to be based on the organisation as well as on you as an employee . The appraisal is to concentrate on

• your work situation 
• your work tasks and workload 
• co-operation and relationship issues 
• your manager's leadership
• your job satisfaction and future plans
• the organisation's strategies, objectives and competence needs,

The appraisal is to lead to the compilation or updating of an individual plan with  goals and professional development needs action plan for you. 

Your responsibility as an employee

Your line manager is responsible for ensuring that the appraisal is held. As an employee, you are responsible for preparing for it; you should follow up the previous year’s appraisal and go through the goals and professional development plan established on that occasion.

Activities, individual goals and professional development

Agreed activities, individual goals and the professional development plans should be followed up continuously during the year. Both your manager and you as an employee are responsible for implementing the activities described in these plans. 

On the page Staff forms and templates you can download a template for individual goals and professional development plan and a support material for staff appraisals. 

Support and advice to bear in mind

You should prepare:

• a description of your work situation
• your own goals and tasks
• the need for concrete activities and development to achieve the goals and be able to fulfil your assignment.

It may be that your manager will ask questions during the staff appraisal that you consider sensitive. For example, it could be about your health and well-being. You don't have to answer questions that you think are private but remember that your manager is doing this to show consideration. 

It is also a way for your manager to fulfil their responsibility as an employer, for example by working on the work environment or working to prevent risks for discrimination. Well-being is an important element in being able to perform, thrive and develop at work