This book helps supervisors and HR professionals ease the pain of performance appraisal and use the process effectively.

Most managers hate conducting performance appraisal discussions. What's worse, few feel confident in their ability to accurately assess the performance of a subordinate. In The Performance Appraisal Question and Answer Book, expert Dick Grote answers over 100 of the most common -- and most difficult -- questions about this vitally important but often misunderstood and misused tool, including:

• How should I react when an employee starts crying during the appraisal discussion . . . or gets mad at me?
• Which is more important -- the results the person achieved or the way she went about doing the job?
• Is there such a thing as a perfect performance appraisal form?

Many of the answers include a Hot Tip or Red Flag: a note to the reader making a particularly insightful suggestion.