In this post, we have been discussing major 5 tips about How to prepare for your performance review discussion? After a short break on this important topic of performance management, I am back with how you can prepare for your performance review discussion as an employee in an organisation.
Even if you are not working on a full-time assignment, this subject is vital for your growth as a professional in any field you are working in. In our personal lives too, our growth depends on how we plan and organise ourselves to keep moving forward.
What is a Performance Management System in an organisation? How is a writer’s performance measured?
These also comprised of examples for individuals who are freelancing yet want to set self-goals, that can be measured and worked upon for performance effectiveness.
Progressive organisations believe in the philosophy of planning individual and department goals to align these with the larger organisational goals. A well-planned goal-setting at the beginning of the financial year (or the calendar year as the case may be), kickstarts this process in the true spirit. Performance reviews then don’t remain a once-a-year formal affair but get integrated into the DNA of the company, its managers and employees, making it a consistent and continuous activity.
As an employee, who belongs to this large system, it’s your responsibility as much as your manager to ensure you’re fully prepared for your performance appraisal discussion. It’s in your interest to have crucial conversations with your immediate boss so you are both on the same plane regarding your performance.
Here are 5 tips to prepare you for an upcoming performance review discussion:
1. Record your accomplishments
Ideally one should create a log of your performance throughout the year. This is a record of your projects/ assignments you worked upon, knowledge/skills developed, challenging situations you faced and a list of your achievements. Include weekly/monthly reports, presentations, and data points collected that validate your successes. Customer feedback, training conducted, trainee feedback, financial and productivity outcomes etc. In short, any quantitative or qualitative data that’s aligned with your work goals should be part of this log.
Most times, employees miss out on valuable information to be communicated in the review of the session due to the time-lapse of a particular incident/activity, maintaining a performance journal avoids those misses.
2. Identify areas of improvement
While highlighting your achievements, reflect upon areas you need to improve. What aspects held back your performance, what would you do differently go forward?
Create a list of the areas for improvement, training or further experience required, and share these with your manager to allow you to build a growth plan for yourself.
3. Review current goals and set new goals
A performance review meeting entails communication not only about your past/current performance but is also a means of planning your future in the company.
Hence, contemplate and establish self-goals that are important to you, and that integrate with the department/organisational goals. Consider these questions:
- What skills would you like to update/take up newly?
- What responsibilities/projects you are keen on pursuing?
- What limitations would you like to work on?
- What areas would you like to focus on to reach a specific position in the next 1-3 years?
4. Be open to feedback
Communicate openly with your manager, and be receptive to feedback. Accepting constructive criticism is a way of demonstrating your adaptiveness and eagerness to improve. Clarify expectations from the beginning. Desiring a certain raise or a promotion is normal but don’t make demands or act obstinate, understand your supervisor’s point of view as well.
To prevent surprises in this area, make sure you have at least monthly or bi-monthly feedback sessions with your manager. Document these points to help in forthcoming reviews.
Your firm may be going through tough times or you may be anticipating challenges in the near future, these could be reasons for not having a regular review. Performance lapses at your end may also result in you being put on a performance improvement plan. These are difficult conversations hence try to be mentally prepared for these eventualities. This is possible only when you stay self-aware and abreast of your internal/external environment.
5. Prepare inputs for your manager
The majority of the work performed in organisations is based on teamwork. Even if not requested, provide input to your manager about how you’ve worked together over the year. This is an excellent platform to deliberate on teamworking and improving relationships to advance further.
My organisation had an electronic performance management system wherein the goal-setting and performance reviews were accessible online; annual studies were conducted personally or over a video/phone call. I took full advantage of the digital application by continuously tracking, and recounting my activities by highlighting specific examples to showcase goal achievements. As a performance management champion, I learned it the hard yet the right way.
Conclusion:-
In today's post, we have learned about How to prepare for your performance review Discussion. In this, we have tried to explain 5 major tips to prepare for your performance review discussion. We hope that in today's article, you must have understood all the information. If you have any questions related to this article, then we can ask in the comment. If you found our article helpful, then do share it with your friends and family.
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