Biomedical Scientist Elizabeth Holyoak looks at how to get the most out of an appraisal – with a particular focus on those who may face discrimination.
“My Contributions”, “Values-Based Appraisals”, “Times to Talk”, “Annual Reviews”... whatever your organisation calls them, annual appraisals are a fact of life for most IBMS members. However, when it comes to sitting in a room with a senior or line manager (or in some trusts a Band 6), how do you make the most of that experience?
It can be easy to think it’s just a box-ticking exercise your organisation demands each year, but appraisals have a purpose and they can be leveraged to your advantage, particularly if you are from an ethnic minority, disabled, LGBTQ+, or other minority background. That includes women (who are 77% of the NHS workforce but only 47% of very senior managers).
Most NHS appraisals follow a similar structure, with the occasional tweak from the human resources department.
- A section on your job role and what went well: what have you achieved this year, any new skills/learning?
- A section on what has not gone well: this could be personal issues you have faced, or workplace issues such as new rotas, laboratory mergers or slow portfolio work marking.
- Values-based behaviour: almost all NHS employers have 3–5 words or phrases that are set by the Board to guide staff behaviour and ethos. They are usually fairly meaningless to your job but attempt to “set the culture”. You may have words like “kind”, “honest”, “collaborative”, “thriving”, “respectful”... in this section attempt to demonstrate those values with an example.
- Career aspirations: what is your next role, how has your portfolio progressed, would you like to do a Masters?
- Objectives section: you are normally asked to fill out 4–6 objectives and any manager worth their salt will ask you to pick some very easy things (such as finishing a single competency) along with more challenging objectives such as 6 modules of the Specialist Portfolio
- Development section: this is one of the most valuable parts of the appraisal – always ask for something, whether it’s funding for a short course, time to attend online seminars related to your specialty or permission to attend a NEQAS event.
- Health and wellbeing: this is a valuable section where you can discuss your health (physical and mental). Have you noticed that using a pipette is hurting your hands, does wintertime make you depressed, is there a bench that causes you to stress too much?
- Statutory and mandatory training check: you are expected to be up to date, however, if you aren’t then you will need to justify why (are you too busy on a bench?). This section is now vital because NHS pay progression requires you to be up to date.
A golden opportunity
The forms are often long and quite arduous but appraisals are a golden opportunity to get one-to-one time with your line manager or senior and set out goals. What gets written on the form is an agreement between you and the department to try and obtain those goals, and a good appraisal can help hold you and your employer to account. If you come back a year later and still haven’t been on a NEQAS course then you can point to your agreement and push back.
If you feel that the department is not progressing with the goals agreed in your appraisal then you can contact your trade union (if you are a member), or human resources department for help.
There are equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) benefits to taking appraisals seriously too.
For ethnic minorities
We know from numerous reports that people from ethnic minorities are less likely to be promoted than white staff, more likely to face disciplinary action and more likely to be bullied in the NHS.
The most striking figure from the 2021 Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) report is that 21% of NHS staff in England are Black and Minority Ethnic, but only 9.2% of staff in pay bands 8C and above are Black and Minority Ethnic. In total, 29.7% of Band 5s are Black and Minority Ethnic but only 19.0% of Band 6. These figures demonstrate that Black and Minority Ethnic staff are not progressing at the same rate as their white colleagues.
One potentially contributing factor is that Black and Minority Ethnic staff in England are less likely to be able to access non-mandatory training and continuing professional development than white staff, so, leveraging your appraisal could be very useful.
“This is one of the most valuable parts of the appraisal – always ask for something”
For LGBTQ+
LGBTQ+ people may find appraisals a good opportunity to raise issues if there has been discrimination from other staff. If there is an undercurrent of homophobia or transphobia in your laboratory then discussing this at appraisal can help get it onto the radar of management without you having to take out a formal grievance. Transgender staff might want to “come out” in an appraisal and start transitioning at work (many NHS organisations now have a Transitioning at Work policy, which you could bring to the appraisal to help guide the conversation).
For women
In NHS England the gender pay gap is 16.20% (mean), in Public Health Wales the gap is 16.05% (mean). NHS Scotland has a gender pay gap for healthcare science of 2.2% (mean) and an overall pay gap of 18.2% for all staff groups. Only NHS Scotland breaks down gender pay gaps per sector. Unfortunately, the gender pay gap has been around for a long time and is often attributed to the childbearing “costs” to women. In private companies and labs you may need to look at negotiating for higher wages, talk to your friends and colleagues about what they are paid, and if it’s higher than your pay, raise it at appraisal (look for articles on the internet for more detail).
In the NHS, scientists of all genders are on Agenda for Change wages, which are the same for everyone. However, childcare costs are very high and many women choose to work part-time after having a baby. In labs, our general experience is that management are not keen to grant reduced hours or “unusual” shift patterns. Flexible-variable hours are even less likely to be approved and home-working is usually impossible. It is important not to be put off by this though – everyone has a legal right to request flexible working and management can only deny it for one of eight specific business reasons. If you enter an appraisal with a specific proposal for flexible work then you can start a conversation. The appraisal can be your first step and a sounding board, then there will be a flexible working application form and a policy to follow.
For parents
Parents of all genders face challenges at work, particularly if you are a parent who has chosen to take on the majority of the caring responsibilities, or you are a single parent. You might like to investigate a flexible working request during your appraisal. Or you might need to raise that you still want to continue to study and learn after your kids have grown up a little. Your management team cannot make that decision for you, ultimately you should be able to set your priorities together.
For disabled people
Disabled people can be subject to terrible discrimination and your appraisal may be a chance to raise discrimination at work, a proposal for flexible working, examination of your trust’s special leave policy (some allow a set number of days of paid leave for medical appointments for people with disabilities), or for you to push for more training.
Disabled people are entitled to reasonable adjustments. These are changes to your workload, workplace, work type or working times, which aim to reduce or remove a disadvantage related to their disability. For example, someone who suffers from depression may have a reasonable adjustment to start work late, someone with repetitive strain injury may have a vertical mouse and someone with ADHD may be able to go for walks whenever they need to “reset”. If you are disabled then it is worth considering what reasonable adjustments can be made to help you at work and raising them in your appraisal.
For managers
Appraisals are an opportunity to get to know your staff more, to show them how valued they are and to ensure that they are bringing their whole selves to work. Don’t take them for granted and don’t enter an appraisal with preconceptions. Providing a good service relies on your workers being content, safe and secure in work. Thorough collaborative appraisals have been shown to benefit both the staff and the organisation.
Conclusion
All staff can benefit from a good appraisal so please make the most of them and make sure that everything you discuss is written down. Use your trade union, human resources department and everything at your disposal to make work work for you.
Elizabeth Holyoak is a Biomedical Scientist at Public Health Wales, an IBMS EDI Working Group member and an Equality Officer at Unite, Public Health Wales Branch.
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