HOW TO IMPRESS AT YOUR PERSONAL APPRAISAL
Introduction
The annual appraisal is always a stressful time. Both awaited and feared by employees! It can be a nervous and uncomfortable experience for most employees. It is a time when employees are evaluated against their company’s expectations. Based on performance and achievements (or under-achievements), employees have to justify their next pay increment or promotion. However you should also remember that it is a great opportunity to show the value of your work. It is a chance to celebrate success. Hence, in this brief article, my endeavour is to provide insights on how to be prepared for your appraisal interview.
1. As an employee familiarise yourself with the organisation’s review process, including the timeline, format and any specific guide lines to follow. Do not walk into your performance review meeting without being prepared. Know ahead of time what you want to discuss, the good and bad points of the past year, as well as your plan heading forward.
Think about your upcoming performance review and what you would like to achieve. The best way to be prepared for everything that can possibly happen in that interview is to be your own critic. With good planning upfront your annual performance review can be a positive experience that can further your career.
Document events and feedback as they occur. It offers you a broad view of your own performance between reviews. Collect feedback from your colleagues and clients throughout the year. Make an assessment of your past year. Review your performance and list down your strengths and weaknesses. Do some prep work before-hand.
Take a moment to reflect on your past and future goals. Note down a list of your key successes, the results you achieved, the skills that you have developed, the obstacles you faced etc. There is no harm in taking your written notes to the interview.
Be honest with yourself when jotting down your overall performance. If you tend to avoid all your less-than-successful projects and want to forget them, you are missing out on critical insights about what you can do differently in the coming year.
Remember to list out your unfulfilled objectives, mistakes and failures. At 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. the review meeting, deal with them in a factual manner. Explain what you could have done different. If you did not achieve certain objectives, explain accurately what happened.
Avoid constant justification. The important lesson is to learn from your mistakes and show your determination to progress. You could also give solutions on how to improve or rectify the unfulfilled objectives and errors. This is an extremely valuable opportunity to talk with your manager, zero in on your goals for the coming year and get clarity on how to achieve them. Your discussion should be primarily future focused. This will give you a clear vision of where you have been and where you want to go. Please remember this is a two-way conversation and not a one way conversation where your manager does all the talking.
Even if you are doing fabulous work, it is almost guaranteed that you are going to receive some sort of constructive criticism. Please note that constructive criticism is an important aspect of a performance review as well. Receiving and giving constructive feedback is uncomfortable for the receiver and the giver. So do some mental preparation ahead of time and get ready to remain open minded.
10.Do not adopt a defensive attitude when receiving constructive criticism. Do not make excuses or get flustered. Be careful about your body language. Always remember that your body talks and your words and actions must match each other.
11.Pay attention to your manager’s comments. Take note of his or her advice and consider it as an opportunity for improvement. Show that you are willing to learn from your mistakes and move forward. Unless your manager points out your flaws how can you grow and improve yourself ? The more professionally you respond to constructive feedback, the better it will be for your development, your relationship with your manager and your future in that role.
12.During your annual performance review do not forget to talk about your experience in team work, organisation and project management, skills you learned over the past year, relationships you built, money you earned or saved for the company and your personal accomplishments. These cross-disciplinary skills are invaluable to your employer and can help you to develop your career.
13.Remember modesty has no place in a performance review. If there was ever a time to name and showcase all the excellent work you have accomplished over the past year, this is the time! Research what the industry pays for your role, skills and years of experience. This is where you get to stand up for what you are worth and will help you to negotiate a better salary package.
14.Ask yourself some key questions. Where am I headed? What do I want out of my career? What do I want my future in my workplace to look like? What do I want to be doing in the next five or ten years?
15.Your performance review is the perfect time to address these issues. Thinking about this beforehand and being prepared allows you to be more thoughtful of your goals.
16.Depending on the position you hold, you may want to take on more responsibility, take on a particular assignment or acquire new skills. You may want a salary increase or a promotion. Do not forget to mix short term and long term goals. Think about the quick things you can do as well as more long term projects that you will need to work on right through the year.
17.Keep in mind that with time your career goals may change. You can expect more long term career goals as you go along. 18.Once the performance review is over, take the time to analyse the feedback you have received. Use it to adjust your action plan, set new objectives and develop strategies to achieve them. The art of feedback lies at the heart of a successful professional interview. Do not hesitate to give and ask for feedback.
Use the advice you receive to improve and progress. After all, the annual performance review is a springboard to new prospects.
Conclusion – As mentioned earlier your performance review is a two-way street. It is actually an excellent opportunity to bring up topics that are important to you. If your performance review is good, you have some added weight and your manager will be motivated to keep you on board.
“A Performance Appraisal that is conducted effectively leads to greater employee morale, higher productivity, creating a positive culture and improved overall performance and effectiveness of an organization”
Kumar Prakala