Performance appraisal is not merely for appraisal but is for accomplishment and improvement of performance?

The comment or question is actually a bit repetitive because appraisal is about discussing accomplishments and areas of improvement. Often times the appraisal process is viewed by the appraisee as a negative or critical-only situation. This happens because the appraiser is ineffective or incompetent in the delivery process for various reasons including poor mentoring, poor judgement, personal beliefs, lack of adequate skill base in delivering appraisals, and potential personal dislike of the employee. The intent of the appraisal should be three-fold - 1) Praise the employee - let them know in what areas they are meeting or exceeding expectations of the job; 2) communicate areas of opportunity for the employee, i.e. areas they need to improve or where they aren't meeting expectations as compared to goals set and/or their job description; and 3) with the employee's input, set goals to for the employee to accomplish between now and the next appraisal. Absolutely nothing should be a surprise to the employee during the appraisal. The appraisal is NOT the time to bring up some new areas of opportunity for the employee. The employee should be made well aware of their opportunities throughout the course of the, i.e. year. The appraisal should be about 70% celebration of accomplishments and strengths, 5% recapping areas of opportunities or areas for improvement, and 25% goal setting for the upcoming review. If a company doesn't institute the practice of having the employee complete a self-appraisal prior to the formal appraisal, I highly advise this as it can lead to clearer lines of open communication and ideally, affirmation that the appraiser and appraisee are on the same page. I understand this is not practical in all corporate settings and job positions.