As an HR Manager, what are the purposes of the performance appraisal process and conference?

A system as an integrated approach to ensuring and alignment the corporate objectives with business unit goals across individual goals.

performance management  Cycle: Designing the Appraisal Process, Conducting Awareness Campaign, Calibrating Ratings, Preparing Training Needs Analysis and Communicating output for Development & Reward Management.

Following are the outcomes of Performance Appraisal:

1. TNA

2. Pay and benefits review

3. Succession planning

4. Talent Management

5. Chance to improve poor / bad performance

6. Employee Rotation 

7. Gap Identification

8. Employee Engagement etc. 

The Performance Appraissal Process is essentially a basis established by the management of a company to evaluate and reward individual contributions of staff members to a Company's Overall Goals, Vision and Targets. Outside of reward and recognition of individual contributions, it also serves as a means for embedding corporate culture, by providing a platform for assessing how closely staff are modelling desired behaviours, assessing changes in employee competence levels and determining training needs across the organization etc. etc.

The conference, if I get your meaning right, connotes a collaborative process where appraissers and appraissees sit to review performances over a given period. Other forms of conferences can include moderations meetings organized between lower level appraissers and a management team to review appraisser scores, comments and outcomes, usually preparatory to staff movements.

performace appraisal is a major tool to determine the performance level and available skills of each employee in the organization, accordingly this will indicate if this person is fitting the post handled or not! later on it will be a skale for the deserved bonus.