This question came up in a discussion group I was visiting (sorry, can't remember which one!).  You can see the theory - really the appraiser and appraisee should be big enough, brave enough, and knowledgeable enough to work out what needs to be said and what needs to be recorded.

My heart likes this - it appeals on many levels.  But my head spots the flaws.  First, the performance appraisal process has a number of objectives and some of them are organisational.  This is fine, important and easily justifiable.  The orgnisation needs some information from the process that it can analyse and a big blank piece of paper is going to make that difficult.

Second, I'd like to think that HR professionals have thought about the performance review process more than the appraiser and appraisee.  If they have, then I bet the appraiser and appraisee would like the benefit of that knowledge and a well constructed form with useful communication is the best way of that knowledge infusing the performance appraisal process.

I'm sure this question was posed to be provocative.  Examining it though quickly advertises to you the role that HR should be playing in the design of a great performance appraisal form.

Brendan