Performance appraisal

The performance appraisal is a dialogue between the manager and the employee and an opportunity for the employee to influence their work situation. The conversation should primarily be focused on the future. It should be held regularly, at least once a year.

Feel free to use the digital guide for Performance appraisals. You can take digital notes and save them to your computer.

Support for your conversation

The information on this website should be seen as a basis for the performance appraisal aimed at both managers and members of staff. It serves as support concerning what areas should be addressed at a performance appraisal.

Under each area, there are examples of questions that you can use in the conversation.

At the bottom of the page, there are also a number of extra questions for further discussion that can be used, and a separate block of questions that are specifically aimed at performance appraisals between two managers.

During the dialogue, you outline the current situation and what needs to be done in the coming year for you as an employee to develop, and you also discuss how the organisation’s activities and the work environment can be developed.

The goal of the performance appraisal is to create the best possible work situation. The dialogue addresses questions about health and personal circumstances, and as an employee, you decide what and how much you want to share. The performance appraisal is a confidential conversation.

The dialogue is mandatory and should be conducted at least once a year. The dialogue should be scheduled well in advance so that both the manager and the employee can prepare. Use this material as a guide to identify what is important to discuss.

Workgroup and workplace – what does it mean?

In this material, the term workgroup primarily refers to the group that you, as an employee, feel closest to. The term workplace refers to the organisational affiliation, like what office or department the employee belongs to and who the employee's manager is.

The following areas are good to bring up in a performance appraisal:

1.) Introduction with a brief retrospect

Is there anything specific you want to bring up or wish to have an answer to during the dialogue? What is particularly important for us to discuss? Do we share that view?
Have we done what we agreed upon at the last performance appraisal? If there are significant differences between what we said and what has been done, what is the reason for that?

2.) Mission, tasks, responsibilities, and goals

How do you view your responsibilities and tasks?
What are you most proud of or satisfied with in your work?
What expectations do we have on each other as manager and employee?
Do you feel that you get the support you need?
How can your tasks and responsibilities develop or change according to you?

3.) Work environment and health

How do you feel about your workplace?
Do you have a balance in your life (parenting, illness, family, support for loved ones, age, etc.)?
What do you see as the most important thing that can be done to develop your workplace and workgroup?
Do you have a reasonable workload? If not, how can it be improved?
How does the annual workload planning and workload distribution work at the workplace?
Is there anything you want to bring up regarding your physical work environment (safety, ergonomics, noise, lighting, or similar)?

4.) Work climate, cooperation, and communication

How do you perceive the work climate and cooperation in the workplace? Is there anything we need to improve?
What do you think about how we handle workplace health problems?
What are your thoughts on how we communicate with each other, between employees, and between manager and employee?
How do you think information about the workplace's development should be provided? Do we share knowledge and information with each other in a good way?
Are you interested in getting more involved in the work with work environment at the workplace?

5.) Skills development and qualification

In what way do you want to develop in your work in the long term? What are your own goals and plans? What opportunities exist?
How do your wishes correspond to the expected development at the workplace?

Questions for the manager's performance appraisal

To a large extent, the above questions can also be used in a performance appraisal between two managers. However, it may also be motivated to delve into partially different areas. Some examples of questions that are based on Linnaeus University's leadership principles:

Are you getting the support you need in your managerial role, do you have the right conditions and frameworks? Need for dialogue, coaching, training/other initiatives?
Encourage responsibility and trust, how to work together in the best way?
Lead the conversation, are our briefings and exchanges effective in facilitating the conversation and providing you with the necessary information about our operations? Do you have the right conditions to bring these issues forward to the work group and senior management?
See the bigger picture, do you have a sustainable work situation, is there time to develop the operations and meet your members of staff? Are there any areas you want to develop in your role and for the work group as a whole?

Use the support material

In the PDF document Performance appraisal, you will find questions that can be used at a performance appraisal. It also includes a development plan form that you can fill out digitally. Finally, there is also a page to summarise the conversation. Please do this and remember to save the PDF to your own home directory/computer.

Performance appraisal including development plan form and summary form (PDF).

Do you have any questions or comments?

This support material was produced in spring 2023. The material has been tested at several offices/departments and been adjusted in several rounds. It is good if managers and employees provide feedback on how well it works so that the basis can continue to be developed.

Talk to your HR partner or contact Marion Tersmeden, development consultant at the HR Office with your feedback. Thank you!

Upon the salary dialogue

For salary policy and material about salary dialogue and salary review, see information about salary setting