A staff appraisal is information provided to an individual concerning certain aspects of his performance on a task. It takes the form of negative or positive feedback. Positive feedback is where the employee is essentially told to "keep up the good work". Negative feedback is where an improvement in areas of work, competency or behaviors is usually sought. It is an employer's responsibility to praise and employee's strengths and alert him to his weaknesses so that his work performance may get better, and it is the employee's responsibility to process the constructive criticism or praise and seek improvement.

Tips on how to receive feedback:

1. Don't be defensive. Trying to justify your every action leaves you little time to see your supervisor's point of view. Listen carefully to judge if the feedback is correct or misplaced. Clarify issues if necessary, and do not interrupt your supervisor as far as possible. You will have time to respond accordingly.

2. Don't verbally attack your supervisor. Getting personal is not in your interest. Just stick to the facts and defend yourself if you have to, by clarifying your actions regarding specific events. Take feedback as a reflection of another person's perspective. You might learn something about yourself.

3. Don't shift the blame. Blaming someone else is not the solution. If you believe that a colleague should be held accountable for something, ask that he be included in the dialogue too. You don't want to be accused of having stabbed someone in the back later.

4. Don't ignore your supervisor. Looking blankly at him while he is giving your negative feedback tells your supervisor that you are not interested in improving.

5. Don't pretend to listen. Giving the impression that you agree to what your supervisor is saying may seem like an easy way out, but it really does you no good. Your supervisor is hoping for a sincere effort from you to improve. It is better to ask him to specify exactly what he expects from you, rather than to nod in agreement. You don't want to come back next time to face the same criticism.

Be thankful for the feedback you receive during your appraisal. Treat it as an opportunity to reflect and ponder on your actions and non-actions. If you are able to act on both positive and negative feedback, leveraging on your strengths and minimising your weaknesses, you will have an advantage over your peers. As a final tip, focus on the future and not the past. Think about what you can do instead of what you did not.