‘Performance appraisal’ - words which bring unease not just to employees but to managers.  Many managers find it challenging to provide feedback to employees whose performance have not been up to their expectations.  Having these difficult conversations need not be as challenging as one would think, and could help improve performance as well as your working relationships with your team, if done well.  At the same time, performing employees should not be neglected as well.  It is just as important to recognise their contributions and reinforce positive behaviour.