5 Tips for Managing Rater Fatigue

Rater Fatigue. It’s real. It’s what happens when a rater gets tired of rating an Appraisal, and may hurriedly rate elements on an Appraisal form.

Rater Fatigue can affect an individual’s Appraisal score, by providing a disingenuous and possibly inaccurate reflection of actual performance.

There are things we can do to help! Here are the top five.

1. Keep Appraisal forms short. The more things to rate, the longer it takes, the more likely the rater is to grow weary. And really, raters don’t want to dig into a long list of narrow observations.
2. Set time expectations. In other words, let raters know that an Appraisal may take 20 – 25 minutes to complete. This will help raters spend the right amount of time in order to provide thoughtful responses.
3. Select just a few Multi-raters (360). Imagine you have been asked to provide feedback on 10 others…and you get to the 8th, 9th and 10th Appraisal…wouldn’t it be natural to want to wrap it up? 
4. Remember the person you are rating. Meaningful comments are important. When the appraisee reads feedback, he or she needs it to be thoughtful.
5. Share your company’s policy on confidentiality with raters ahead of time. Raters need to know if their feedback will be shared with the appraisee, or if it is for the manager’s eyes only. This awareness will help raters maintain focus and perspective when sharing their thoughts.

Good luck!