They either don't carry them out in a timely fashion, or even don't carry them out at all. They certainly rarely follow up the results. Designers of appraisal schemes are familiar with the issues of the ratings literature, beloved of the occupational psychologist - the halo and horns effect, the central tendency, the recovery error, loose and tight raters, and the competitive rater and so on. But a reading of the literature about appraisals and managerial behaviour suggests to me that there are some aspects of management that need to be sorted out first. Of course I'm not the only person to point out that the following are prerequisites for appraisal to be successful.
Appraisers have to know what they are talking about.
They need to believe that their subordinates can be developed and changed. They have to have the time to be able to work with their subordinates to make the decisions that appraisal systems usually ask of both parties. The full version of this article takes a closer look at each of these areas in turn. For appraisal to make sense, it has to be realistic and expert if the judgement that managers make is to be accurate. Even more important is that the judgement made needs to be respected by the subordinate.