Performance Management Series Part 1: Top tips for appraisals with Q&A

Mid-year appraisals are a vital checkpoint in the performance management cycle. They’re not just about evaluating progress but about fostering open dialogue, aligning goals, and creating actionable plans for the remainder of the year. Done right, they can boost engagement, address challenges early, and ensure everyone is working toward shared success.

But preparing for these can be a daunting task, join us on the Sofa to discuss how to prepare for these important meetings and take the opportunity to ask any questions you may have on this area.

During the session we will be covering the following:

• Some top tips for preparing for mid-year appraisals
• Any new considerations, in light of changes to Performance Related Pay
• Sharing of best practice advice for dealing with appraisals

Let us introduce you to this week's professional speakers

Jenny Salero

Jenny qualified as a solicitor in 2012 and joined Judicium as a consultant following her qualification. Her grasp of complex HR queries such as restructuring MATs to operate as efficiently as possible has enabled her rise from a consultant to Team Leader of the HR Advisory Team. Her responsibilities still include dealing with the variety of queries in schools HR as well as supporting the team on a daily basis. Jenny is also an experienced trainer. She runs the training sessions for the NAHT’s HR Essentials Course. In her spare time she likes to participate in park runs as well as get creative with crafts and baking cupcakes.

Kelly Rayner

Kelly is the Deputy Head of the Judicium HR & Employment Law advisory team. She is a qualified solicitor and has specialised in Employment law since 2002. Kelly advised both employers and employees on a wide range of employment law issues and represented clients in litigation matters in the Employment Tribunal. She joined Judicium in 2013 and over the last 11 years has specialised in supporting our clients within the Education sector with the management of day-to-day and complex employment law and HR issues. Kelly spends her spare time with her very lively five-year-old daughter. She loves to travel, especially to sunny places!

Suzanne Ravenhall

Sue is CIPD Level 7 qualified and has worked across several commercial environments, before moving into Education HR. She became an HR Director where she was an active participant of the SLT, taking on a range of extra duties. She served in a combination role as School Business Manager/Finance Director, taking the school through an Academy conversion and resultant reorganisations. Her finance and HR experience has led to an increased commercial awareness and understanding of the financial impact of HR decision-making. Sue is married to a Royal Navy diver and bomb disposal officer. She has two teenage children, three dogs and a cat. Her favourite things are whippets and tiramisu!