As the year draws to a close, a large numbers of managers across the country will be approaching their “Review Period”, looking to arrange annual reviews or appraisals with each of their employees. For those who are looking to get the most from this process or perhaps haven’t received formal training in this area, Steven Kirkpatrick, Managing Director of Adecco Staffing in UK and Ireland offers some advice.

Prepare

It may sound obvious, but it’s essential to prepare for each review well in advance. Every member of staff needs to be treated as an individual and their review should be prepared for separately. Consider each person’s progression since their last review, identify the good work they have done, any issues that you have come up against and how you see their career progressing. By looking at their previous review you can make sure targets have been met and both parties have kept to their side of the agreement. By attempting to run reviews ‘off the cuff’ and without correct preparation the review process is likely to become a waste of time.

Get feedback – don’t just talk

Reviews should be a two-way process; not just an outlet for managers to express their opinions of their employee. Be sure to have some questions lined up that you would like to ask and take note of what your team member is saying. Always get your employees’ view on how they felt their year has gone, things they liked or disliked, and where they would like their career to be this time next year. Understanding their feelings towards their career and the business, will inevitably make it much easier to manage them in the future.

Be constructive

Part of the purpose of a review is to highlight any issues from the past year. However, it is important not to use the session as a way of endlessly criticising an employee’s weaknesses. Be sure to match every problem or issue with an action or solution. This should be a joint exercise, so find out whether or not your employee agrees with you and also what they think could be done to resolve the issue. By doing this you are offering constructive feedback and creating solutions to any problems as a team. These can be agreed upon with a plan of action, rather than being an enforced measure put in place by the employer.

Set targets

It’s important that every review results in clear targets being set in agreement with the employee. The targets should be measurable and on a clear time-scale, focused towards them, their career progression and overall job satisfaction. The targets need to be agreed to on both sides rather than dictated by the employer.

Take action

Reviews should not end once everyone has left the room. The idea is to take a look back at recent months, but also to plan for the forthcoming months. Ideally, the actions that are agreed in reviews should be referred to on a monthly basis in order to make sure that both parties are heading in the right direction. For this reason, set short-term, monthly goals as well as longer term targets.

Leave staff motivated

Whatever the outcome of a review, and with promotions, bonuses and pay increases aside, it’s important to leave staff feeling motivated and with a view that the appraisal was a worthwhile exercise. For this reason, end the meeting on a positive note, highlight their good work and the areas that you will be aiming to improve and cover off some of the interesting things that are planned for the year ahead.

Write it down

Always write things down. The whole review process will become completely unproductive if nothing is documented in terms of what has been discussed, what actions need to be taken and what both parties have agreed to. By doing this, both you and the employee can quickly and easily refer to their previous review in order to highlight their progression or short-comings. Most reviews should be summarised and shared with the employee within a week or so, to be signed and agreed upon. This way you both have something measurable and agreed for the next twelve months.

With the end of year fast approaching, many companies are scheduling end of year appraisals in their diaries.

As with Christmas, end of year appraisals come but once a year, so it’s important to know the best ways to have a successful and beneficial appraisal in order to get the most out of 2010

Steven Kirkpatrick, Managing Director of Adecco Staffing in UK and Ireland offers the following tips on how to ace your appraisal:

Be prepared

Preparation, preparation, preparation! Don’t just turn up and see what happens.  At the very least, you should have an idea of what you hope to achieve from your appraisal and how you’re going to achieve it. This will show your employer how organised, driven and methodical you are whilst getting the most from the appraisal for yourself.

Be open

It’s essential that you are honest and upfront as much as you can be during your appraisal  If you beat around the bush, contradict yourself or hold back any questions that you might have then the process becomes worthless. Be honest when discussing your current situation, your work and your targets for the coming year, so you can set realistic and achievable goals.

You get what you give

Be prepared to accept constructive criticism without assuming it to be negative. To ensure you make the most of the opportunity of the appraisal you have to be open minded enough to take the negative with the positive! Conversely, if you have to be critical of anything or anyone, try to suggest potential solutions, rather than just point out problems as this can create the wrong impression.

Show your best bits

Twelve months is a long period of time so it’s easy to forget or overlook earlier work and projects you may have completed. Wherever possible document and demonstrate to your employers just how much you’ve done, how you’ve met and exceeded targets and also the variety and consistency of your work. Be sure to bring materials that highlight your work covering the entire length of time since your last appraisal.

Peer approval

If possible, demonstrate the gratitude and acknowledgement of your work from peers and, where appropriate, customers or clients. Whilst you may think your work is outstanding, your situation is strengthened when you can draw your employer’s attention to the positive feedback that you’ve received for it. One of the best ways to handle this is by keeping a folder in your inbox of appreciative e-mails or kind words received.

The year ahead

Be sure to finish your appraisal with a clear idea and understanding of how you’re going to progress over the next year. While it’s useful to analyse the year that has just passed it’s important that you know what is expected of you. Most importantly you need to know what is needed for you to improve your career and develop within the company. Remember to refer back to these targets and areas of focus throughout the year so that by next year you’ll be well on track to acing your next appraisal.

Steven Kirkpatrick concludes,

“This year’s appraisal process is likely to be very different to any carried out 12 months ago. While the theme of 2009 has been heavily focused on survival and staying afloat, many experts are seeing an imminent recovery in 2010 for most businesses; as such, employees can start to focus on progression and career development again. As the economy picks up and profits start to increase, the jobs market will inevitably strengthen and employees need to be aware of this. This is not to say that end of year appraisals should be approached with an ‘all guns blazing’ response, but with a targeted focus on individual career progression in 2010, rather than solely the survival strategy of the company.

Adecco finds that the North West is currently the UKs hot spot for catering vacancies

For those looking for a new job in the catering industry, closer consideration of the North West of England may hold the key to success, says recruitment and HR specialist Adecco. According to data collated from the company’s online job boards, the region is experiencing high levels of demand for catering workers across all levels.

Despite challenging conditions within the economy in the past 18 months, food and drink related industries such as catering and hospitality have shown remarkable resilience, with the catering sector maintaining relatively high levels of staffing demand from employers. This has proven to be especially true in the North West, where, from experienced Head and Sous Chefs to restaurant managers or even those simply interested to make a first move into the industry, employment opportunities are still numerous and varied.

Adecco’s Branch Manager in Kendal, Mandy Blackwell comments:

“Demand for catering staff in the North West has proven to have outstripped supply in some cases, with many of the jobs on our books remaining unfilled for a significant period; some of them for several months at a time. Many industry employers within the region are on the lookout for talented, hardworking new recruits so we welcome anyone with experience in catering to visit their local branch and find out more about the opportunities available to them.”

Anne Durnall, HR Manager of Langdale comments:

“Here at Langdale we’ve been working with Adecco for over 5 years, helping us to fill roles for both permanent and temporary work. We currently have a problem finding catering staff and Chefs with experience of a working at a resort. There seems to be a real shortage of this kind of quality experienced catering staff in our region at the moment despite the number of opportunities available.”

For information on how to locate your nearest Adecco branch visit: www.adecco.co.uk/findabranch/

Spring’s Peter Searle takes reins as CEO of Adecco Group UK and Ireland

(London) 20th October 2009 – Adecco Group UK & Ireland is delighted to today announce the successful acquisition of Spring Group plc, in a move that will see Spring’s Peter Searle take control of Adecco’s UK& Ireland businesses as Chief Executive Officer and participate in the Adecco Group’s Executive Committee.

The deal, which follows a period of consultation in accordance with the Scheme of Arrangement procedure, since Adecco declared its initial interest in acquiring Spring Group plc on August 11th, will see the latter’s resources redeployed under the Adecco banner, creating one of the largest forces in UK recruitment and staffing.

“This deal will see the best qualities of two very successful recruitment firms combined into one powerhouse organisation, and I am honoured to be charged with the responsibility of ensuring that Adecco Group UK & Ireland enjoys the full benefit of this major acquisition,” said Searle. “From my own experiences of being Country Head Adecco UK & Ireland in the past, and most recently CEO at Spring Group plc, I know that both these organisations are filled with passionate, dedicated people who will be determined to meet the challenges of a more difficult market head on, and I’m pleased to be leading them”.

Searle, who held a number of roles with Adecco before joining Spring Group as CEO in October 2006, will take control of the combined recruitment operation across the UK and Ireland. The acquisition will strengthen Adecco’s UK market position with the addition of Spring’s specialist expertise in a range of areas that extend from Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) to HR consultancy and managed IT and telecommunications services.

The portfolio of existing brands within Adecco’s UK and Irish set up – which, alongside the mainstream staffing operation, include secretarial specialist Office Angels, dedicated IT recruiter Computer People, engineering and technical division Roevin and the finance centric Ajilon brand – will continue to operate as they did prior to the acquisition, as will the Spring Group brands.

“We have no immediate plans to change the very successful and tailored blend of brands that sit within the expanded Adecco Group, but will instead be looking at how we can enhance the company’s existing offering with the skills and talents that the acquisition of Spring will bring,” confirmed Searle.

Adecco Group today also announced the acquisition of MPS Group, Inc. (‘MPS Group’), a leading provider of professional staffing services, for an enterprise value of EUR1 782 million, or USD 13.80 per share.

On the acquisition of MPS, Searle said “The combination of Adecco, Spring, and the MPS Group, will give us an even stronger platform to significantly expand our professional staffing business in the UK and further enhance our ability to provide compelling staffing solutions to all our clients.”

1 Spot exchange rate: 1.49 USD/EUR

London, 24 September 2009 – Adecco Group UK & Ireland, a division of the world leader in human resource solutions, today announced the signing of a charity partnership with ParalympicsGB, the registered charity responsible for Britain’s teams at the Paralympic Summer and Winter Games.

The partnership will see ParalympicsGB become Adecco’s “official charity”, and complements the firm’s role as the Official Recruitment Services provider for London 2012, as well as reinforcing Adecco’s ongoing commitment to supporting and encouraging diversity both within the workplace and the wider community.

“With London 2012 now less than three years away, the countdown is on,” said Susan Yallop, Director at Adecco. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to support an organisation which not only works for such a worthy cause but is also one that shares our core values of determination, integrity, responsibility and developing talent.”

As the body responsible for selecting, preparing, entering, funding and managing Britain’s teams at the Paralympic Games, sponsorship funding will assist in all elements of ParalympicsGB’s activities in the lead up to the Paralympic Games in 2012 and the Paralympic Winter Games in 2014. As part of its commitment, Adecco will also initiate a fundraising programme to raise donations for and awareness of ParalympicsGB.

 “The standard of competition in Paralympic sport continues to reach new heights every year, so making sure the team is best prepared to perform has become an increasingly challenging responsibility,” said Phil Lane, CEO of ParalympicsGB. “Adecco’s ongoing sponsorship commitment will play a vital role in helping us provide Britain’s finest disabled athletes with the support and resources they need.”

 ParalympicsGB aims to send the best prepared Great Britain Team to each Paralympic Games, and relies primarily on sponsorship and fundraising for its funding. The organisation is responsible for managing all elements involved in sending the GB Team to the Paralympic Games, including providing the optimum and most cohesive performance environment for both athletes and support staff.

 Its mission statement includes a commitment to performance excellence by members of the GB team at key international sporting events as well as maintaining second place in the Paralympic medal table (ParalympicsGB have finished second at the past three Summer Games).

 As the official recruitment services provider for London 2012, Adecco supports London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) in filling a wide range of positions between now and 2012, as well as helping LOCOG employees with outplacement services once London 2012 has concluded.