Can a performance appraisal system really influence employee engagement?

It is widely known that introducing a performance appraisal system has lots of potential benefits if used correctly, including staff retention, productivity, and company wide alignment so everyone is focused on the same goals. However, introducing a performance appraisal system will not automatically bring you employee engagement or productivity benefits. In order for this to happen, you must surround the system with the right messaging, and introduce aligned training and development. At Actus™ we know how important culture change is; but it is easy for an organisation to assume that things have been communicated effectively, and that people will want to change as a result. That is often simply not the case, and where so many change initiatives fail.

How can you enable engagement through your performance appraisal system?