Project background

The phrase ‘staff appraisals’ may cause people a little trepidation – both staff and managers alike! However, the team at NHS South West London are on a mission to change that and to help all of their colleagues see how their Ongoing Appraisal Process can lead to great things, both for the team as a whole and for each team member’s individual career goals and progression.

With this in mind, we were tasked with making two animations, this one aimed at staff, and another aimed at managers.

Appraisals for Staff

Solid foundations: the script

While animation is a highly visual format, the foundation of every explainer film we make is the script – the foundation of every script we write is our Pre-scripting Worksheet.

With this document, we ask our clients a series of carefully thought-out questions to help define and refine the heart of the message they want to convey. It also helps us get to know the target audience and sets the tone for how we want to deliver that message.

The message

When it comes to appraisals, two of the key questions that informed the production of this animation were ‘What are the audience afraid of?’ and ‘What are they hoping for?’

A big fear regarding appraisals is that they will be punitive and aimed at pointing out weaknesses. On the other hand, the hope is that they will be supportive and inspiring.

The explainer animation

With this in mind, we set out to make an animation that was engaging on a human level, using custom props and humour within the visuals to create an experience that would be friendly, reassuring and engaging (as well as educational!). In doing so, we hope to set the scene for the appraisals themselves to be something that staff are engaged with and will look forward to knowing they are well prepared rather than something they feel they need to worry about.

This film is an example of a hybrid animation in that it has filmed sections – a ‘desktop’ setting where real hands manipulate props – and digital elements. Our editing team use their skills to combine these two styles – this forms a way to punctuate the different sections of the animation, which can be watched as one continuous film or as separate sections.

See also the Appraisals for Managers film →