Every member of staff should have an appraisal conversation with their manager once a year. This will either be the anniversary date which they started working for the Trust or the date their 20 week review took place.

There is a joint responsibility to ensure the appraisal is booked within the correct time frame and that it takes place. Postponements should only occur in extreme circumstances (service needs/personal issues). Protected time must be made available for the manager and member of staff to undertake the meeting.

Top Tips for a successful appraisal

• Allocate sufficient time for you and the appraisee to prepare for the appraisal and offer protected time if required.
• Support the individual start the process via ESR (see above information on recording Appraisals)
• Check the appraisee is happy with the location and time of the meeting.
• Try to avoid any distractions and interruptions by ensuring your telephone or bleep is only used to contact you for emergency’s during this time.
• We recommend you allocate 1 hour to complete the appraisal however, you may wish to spilt this time into 30 minutes reviewing the previous 12 months and then booking 30 minutes at an alternative time to discuss looking forward.  If you do need to split the appraisal review, we advise you to book the second part as soon as possible.
• Prepare for the appraisal by completing any parts of the form in advance and think of specific examples to share with the appraisee about their work, behaviour, and development needs.
• Focus on the conversation during the appraisal rather than completing the form fully. This will allow you to keep focused and engaged fully with the appraisee.
• Support the staff member to do most of the talking prompted by you. Recognise some staff may be intimidated by the process, at least at first. Always ask open questions, encourage them to talk, emphasise the positive and always give praise and recognition where it is due.
• If you have kept up good, regular dialogue with the appraisee all year then there should be no surprises in the meeting.
• Try to emphasise positive things. Identifying skills gaps is vital but so is giving people encouragement and recognition.
• Objective setting is a key element of a good appraisal. Objectives should be set for both performance objectives and for personal development. 
• Each year HHFT sets Trust level objectives for the year ahead and identifies the key priorities under each of the objectives.  We encourage all managers to have a conversation about what the Trust level objectives mean for them and their team. 
• There are many ways to address an identified development need and it is not always necessary to attend a training course. Consider exposure to other tasks, for example attending meetings, reading, learning from others, or shadowing.

Dont forget to record the information on ESR and subit as that will ensure you can review how things are going through the year.

Please contact organisationaldevelopment@hhft.nhs.uk if you have any queries about the appraisal process or paperwork. Alternatively please visit NHS Employers website for additional tools & tips. 

Every member of staff should have an appraisal conversation with their manager once a year. This will either be the anniversary date which they started working for the Trust or the date their 20 week review took place.

There is a joint responsibility to ensure the appraisal is booked within the correct time frame and that it takes place. Postponements should only occur in extreme circumstances (service needs/personal issues). Protected time must be made available for the manager and member of staff to undertake the meeting.

The Benefits of an Appraisal

For staff, the key to an effective appraisal is to see the benefits of the review at an individual, team and Trust level: 

• To support and develop staff
• To acknowledge your achievements over the last 12 months
• Recognise strengths, skills and abilities
• Identify areas for development
• Provide a clear understanding of your role and the valued part you play in the team and Trust objectives
• Agree a set of objectives for the next 12 months
• Enable the Trust to develop our staff so that we can succession plan and recruit from within

Top Tips for a successful Appraisal

Before your appraisal, take time to prepare and think about your performance over the last 12 months and your delevelopment going forward. The more you put into the appraisal, the more you will get out of it. Provide examples to illustrate what you have achieved. If you need some protected time at work to enable you to prepare, please speak to your line manager or supervisor.

Prior to your review meeting:

• Complete the required sections of the paperwork on ESR (see recording your Appraisal information above) . This will enable you to have an in depth conversation with your manager during the meeting.
• Make sure the appraisal is booked in an environment you feel comfortable to talk. If you are unhappy with the location of the meeting, contact your manager or supervisor as soon as possible to discuss alternative options.  
• The appraisal is a two way process however, it is about your performance and development so expect to do a lot of the talking.
• Be honest about your development needs. Identify the areas that you need to progress or develop, so you can identify and agree your development plan.

• If you have kept a record on how you are doing on your objectives and personal development, include this in the paperwork. Alternatively, you may wish to use emails and comments or outcomes that demonstrate your performance and development level, and your development needs

• It is essential that you keep yourself up-to-date with the mandatory training requirements for your role. If you are out of date with any training, please access dates on Green Brain to schedule in dates as soon as possible.

• Each year HHFT sets Trust level objectives for the year ahead and identifies the key priorities under each of the objectives.  We encourage everyone to consider what the Trust level objectives mean for them and their team prror to the appraisal review. 
• Check you have regular 1:1s scheduled with your manager / supervisor so you can have check in points to discuss your progress and development needs. If these are not booked, take the initiative and arrange these for the next 12 months.

• Try to keep a record of how you are doing on your objectives and personal development as the year progresses.This will make it easier for you to prepare for your next appraisal. 

• Ensure you keep your line manager / supervisor updated on progress or any problems or changes that might affect your performance or development, throughout the year instead of leaving it until your annual appraisal date. Start the discussions during you 1:1s– your line manager/appraiser will welcome your views. 

• Ensure your final document has been submitted on ESR so you can refer to it at any point during the year.

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Please contact organisationaldevelopment@hhft.nhs.uk if you have any queries about the appraisal process. Alternatively please visit NHS Employers website for additional tools & tips. 

Recording Appraisal s - Online training with the experts

Course members are provided with handouts and are also encouraged to reflect on their key learning points and how they will progress these to help them develop their managerial skills.

What will I learn:The course provides course members with the knowledge and understanding of the appraisal process. By the end of the course you will:

• Understand the appraisal process and how to use the appraisal paperwork
• Discuss and identify solutions to common queries about appraisal
• Understand how to review past performance and assess against previous objectives
• Know how to conduct an appraisal review, set objectives, taking account of verbal and non-verbal communication, constructive feedback and motivational factors
• Know how to support appraisees in developing their knowledge and skills

Who should attend: Any person responsible for conducting staff appraisals including nurses. 

Alternatively, you may wish to watch the following videos to learn more about Appraisals

• What is an appraisal
• Preparing for appraisal
• Conducting the appraisal
• Follow up appraisal conversations
• Deep dive setting smart objectives
• Deep dive strength based approach to appraisal

How to complete an Appraisal on ESR 

What will I learn:The workshop provides course members with the knowledge and skills to effectively complete appraisals on ESR. By the end of the training session, participants will be able to:

• Navigate to the appraisal section within ESR.
• Initiate and complete an appraisal using the ESR functionality.
• Understand how to set, review, and record objectives and development plans within the system.
• Use ESR to monitor appraisal completion rates and identify due or overdue appraisals.
• Know where to access guidance, resources, or support for ongoing use of the appraisal system.

Who should attend: From the 01 July 2025, all staff (excluding doctors) are expected to use ESR to record Appraisals.

If you wish to gain further knowledge and skills on conductucting and Appraisal or how to complete an Appraisal on ESR, please book onto one of the workshop via Green Brain. 

A Trust appraisal isn't the same as revalidation - you need to have a Trust appraisal every year and report it to appraisalconfirmation@hhft.nhs.uk