FAQs: How to get managers on board with performance management

That’s why we partnered with HR Ninjas to explore the issue in more depth. Together with expert panellists Adrianne Sale FCIPD, Parul Varghese and Rosie Cook, we’ve brought together the key questions and insights in this set of FAQs.

If you missed the session, you can catch up here.

Manager buy‑in and common barriers

1. Why do managers resist performance management?

The most cited reasons are lack of time, too much perceived admin, low confidence or skills, especially among “accidental managers”, and not seeing the value. Time is often a proxy for deeper issues like uncertainty about how to do it well or weak role modelling from senior leaders. Addressing the why and simplifying the process usually reveals that many are already doing the conversations but not documenting or structuring them.

2. What is an accidental manager and why does it matter?

An accidental manager is someone promoted for strong individual contribution who receives little preparation for leading people. Without targeted support, these managers can feel overwhelmed by feedback, goal setting, and difficult conversations, which reduces the quality and consistency of performance management across teams.

3. How do we balance attention between high and low performers?

Avoid over‑focusing on underperformance. Maintain strong engagement with top performers through stretch goals, recognition, and development pathways, while addressing performance gaps promptly and fairly. Balanced attention protects retention and maximises overall team impact.

4. How do you convince experienced managers who have more real-life experience of managing people than we do?

Share your own experience as a line manager while also acknowledging your own development and years of HR - relationships change behaviour more than expertise alone. Invest time with each line manager individually to understand their style through classic coaching questions, and use your HR knowledge to offer a framework, structure and support. It is also worth exploring whether resistance comes from confidence in their own methods or from uncertainty about a new system.  

5. Are there any recommendations for how to support managers with the emotional challenge of dealing with poor performance when the problems are not for lack of effort, but they cannot deliver to the right standard?

What helps most is knowing that both the manager and the organisation have their back. As HR, you can provide this by spending time with the line manager, ensuring there is a clear evidence trail over time, confirming that the organisation has invested in the employee’s development, and walking through potential outcomes so no eventuality comes as a surprise. Role-play is also valuable: it allows managers to become comfortable saying the words and to practise staying focused on the key message without being drawn off course.  

Process design

6. How should we design a performance process that managers will follow?

Co‑design it with the managers and employees who will use it. Keep it simple, minimise steps and forms, and focus on outcomes. Pilot with a small group, gather feedback, and iterate. Train both employees and managers on what ‘good’ looks like and record short how‑to guides so support is always accessible.

7. How often should performance conversations happen?

Move from an annual event to continuous performance management. Use brief, regular check‑ins (e.g., monthly or quarterly) to review progress, remove blockers, and adjust goals. This spreads the workload and keeps performance and development current.  

Using AI to support performance conversations

8. How can AI reduce admin without replacing human judgment?

Treat AI as an intern -great for first drafts, summaries, and organisation, not for final decisions. Use it to capture notes during reviews and generate concise summaries; structure feedback from bullet points into clear narratives; surface key stats from past work; and analyse trends in objectives, engagement, or exit themes. Managers must personalise and own the final output.

9. What AI tools would you recommend for meeting minutes?

Using a tool that lives within your performance management platform is simply more secure: there is no extra login, no data saved elsewhere, and no risk of confidential conversation content being used to train external AI models. Appraisd’s AI Notetaker  is built for exactly this purpose:

• Works the same in -person or remote. Managers can start the notetaker from their device whether they are in the room or on a call via Teams, Zoom or any other platform.

• Permissions. Only the named participants on the review, the manager and employee, can see the recording and notes. HR receives visibility that a conversation has taken place, but not the content itself.

• Security. Built on enterprise-grade, SOC 2 compliant infrastructure. Appraisd is ISO 27001 certified, GDPR-ready, and your recordings are never used to train AI models.

• Psychological safety. There is clear disclosure before recording starts, a visible indicator throughout, and participants can pause or delete recordings at any time; encouraging more honest, open conversations.

• Maps to your form. The notetaker automatically generates structured notes aligned to each review question in your Appraisd form, ready for the manager to review and submit, saving significant time for everyone.

• Complete progress updates. Once the review is done, the manager and employee can use the captured notes in their regular check-ins to track progress.

Senior leadership team buy-in

10. If we’re working to SLT role modelling feeding down, how do we get the SLT to understand the benefits for appraisals/performance management?

Start by answering two questions: why should the business care, and why should each SLT member personally care? For the business case, quantify the cost of not doing appraisals, whether through attrition, missed targets, or legal risk, and present this in financial terms where possible. Then identify the “currency” that earns time and attention in your organisation. For the personal case, use open questions to understand each SLT member’s individual motivations and reservations. If the MD and a few key SLT members are on board, that is usually sufficient to drive meaningful change.

More questions?

Check out our webinar with HR Ninjas that covers this topic in depth.