Appraisal Leads and Responsible Officers

There are two reporting types on SOAR:

1. Exported results from Search pages
2. Specific reports

Guidance below describes how both functions work.

If there is any particular report you are looking for that's not currently available, please liaise with the team and we will take things forward from there.

There are various search functions on SOAR, such as list of Appraisees, Appraisers, Appraisal Meetings etc.  Within each search function, where applicable there will be an "Export" button that allows you to export the search results into a spreadsheet for further analysis as needed.

Important thing to remember is hit the search button first to action the search, and then you can export the results from there.

There are a number of reports available on SOAR, the below table highlights what's available and who has access.  To access the reports:

• login to SOAR
• click on "Reports" from the menu
• click on the name of the report you require
• set the search parameters (e.g. health board, date from and to etc) and click the View/Search button
• the results will be shown with an option to download/export the results to a different format as needed

Feedback Form 6 is completed by appraisees (Form 6A) and appraisers (Form 6B) at the conclusion of the appraisal.

Anonymised reports are available on SOAR via the "Reports" page (Report 11) from the menu on the left.

You will be prompted to enter From/To dates (appraisal meeting) in the search criteria; and a report is only generated IF the search result has a minimum of 3 appraisals (to help ensure the process stays anonymised).

ROs have the function to make revalidation recommendations directly on SOAR (saves from having to login to GMC Connect separately).

This can be done individually or in batches, and we have also built in an extra step for Appraisal Leads to review prior to ROs' actioning (which can be bypassed as needed).

The process is that Appraisal Leads would review the list of people who require revalidation first and make a suggestion, based on information available on SOAR, whether the appraisee is ready or not for revalidation.  The idea is that those marked as "ready" would appear on the ROs' list with confidence that they have been reviewed already.

The function/authority to make the revalidation recommendations lie solely with the RO (not Appraisal Leads).

When someone is within 3 months of their revalidation due date, they are labelled as "under notice" on GMC Connect.  These doctors are listed on SOAR for the Appraisal Leads/ROs to review and action as appropriate.

To review the list of people due for revalidation, click on "Revalidation Recommendation" from the menu.  By default it will list those deemed as "Ready" by the system for review and actioning.  Either select all on the list and batch "revalidate" everyone as a single action, or review each one individually and action from there.

You can only batch action positive recommendations.  Those needing deferrals or not recommend will require actioning individually.

There are two types of Form 5:

• Form 5A:  Exemption from appraisal
• Form 5B:  Notification of non-engagement

When a Form 5A or 5B has been submitted by the appraiser (or local admin), the Appraisal Lead has to countersign to approve the submission and they will receive a system notification on this.  To review and sign off the Form 5:

1. Login to SOAR and switch into the Appraisal Lead role
2. Either click on the link from the email which will take you straight to the Form 5, or use the available search functions to locate the appraisee/appraisal in question
3. When in the Form 5, review the content submitted by the appraiser
4. The "Approve" button is at the bottom of the page if you are happy to sign off the Form 5; else you can reject the Form 5 (you will be prompted for comments)

To check on whose appraisals still to be signed off, you can search the appraisal using both the interview and the form statuses:

1. Click on "Interviews" from the menu
2. in the "Interview status" dropdown select "To be submitted and in progress"
3. in the "Form status" dropdown select "Form 4 forwarded"
4. Click "Search"

This will bring up a list of appraisees whose Form 4 still awaits their review and sign off.

You can change the filter for Form status to "Form 4 draft" and this will list the appraisals where it still awaits the appraiser to forward the form.

If you change the Form status filter to "Form 5A forwarded", this brings up a list of appraisals where the Form 5A has been forwarded by the appraiser, but is waiting for the Appraisal Lead to sign off.