Wait, read these 3 tips and prepare yourself well before you do that!
You are ready to submit your performance review to your manager or into the system... You have worked hard at giving your inputs. You know what you want to
get out
from the review, you
understand
your company system, and have
collected
good performance related data throughout the year which you
have
written up.
What do you need to do before you submit your performance review? What should you say and what questions should you ask?
Position yourself as you submit your performance review
Think about what you want to say as you hand over your
performance appraisal or review form. This is important and will
help you position yourself in any way you want for the actual performance review
discussion.
Also remember that your manager may have to do a few things before the
actual discussion.
These may include
providing their comment,
assessing your performance against the objectives and giving a performance rating.
Depending on the performance system in your company there may also be other
activities such as comparing your performance against others to arrive at a rating,
forced ranking and in some cases deciding on compensation such as pay increases.
After you submit your performance review
your manager may also go and seek feedback from your customers, colleagues, subordinates
and other managers as additional data on which to base your performance and give you
feedback during the review.
Given that these things may happen from the point you submit your performance review
document to the actual discussion it is worthwhile reflecting on how you
position yourself prior to the review.
How you want to position yourself is also closely tied to
what you wanted to get out
of
the review in the first place. Go over it and reflect in your mind and then
think about what to say and how to say it.
What to say and give your manager
Here are some thought starters on what to say and give as you submit your performance
review.
On what you have written up - "I have included all my major achievements
throughout the year and completed all the sections. I have already reviewed it but
would appreciate if you could please take a look at it and let me know what you think
and if I have missed anything important."
This way, you are telling your boss that you have
done a good job in completing the form but you are still open to any suggestions that
may make your review or appraisal paper even better.
Customer feedback - "I have included important customer feedback in my
review which may give you further insight into what my customers are saying about
me. I welcome your comments and if you have any specific feedback from my customers that
I may have missed then please let me know."
You have now given your boss the feedback
others have about you and also provided some further opportunities to get additional
data.
This is also another way of indicating to your boss that you are after real world
data and feedback rather than just what your boss thinks. This is particularly important
if you have a boss that has a narrow or incorrect perception of your performance and
you need to correct that situation.
About your rating - if you are expecting a superior rating, have made your
boss aware of your intention, and have been working towards this right from the start of
the year then it does not hurt to gently remind that as you submit your performance
review.
This is
a great way to position yourself and indicate to your manager that you are still after
that rating that you had set your sights on at the start of the year.
Performance feedback - good managers always provide very specific feedback. Poor
managers do not give specific feedback, talk in general terms and sometimes even blame
others for the low or unexpected rating you may be getting at the end of the year.
If you
are afraid of such a situation then make it clear to your manager that you would like to
receive very specific feedback about your performance during the actual discussion. You
will be sending a very clear signal to your manager that they need to do some thorough
preparation prior to the review.
Additional data - if you have done a good job at collecting your
performance related data throughout the year then you should by now have a good collection
of these facts and figures.
It is not possible to include all of them in the review paper
but you may consider preparing an attachment or a separate document containing such
information which you provide as you submit your performance review.
This way you are
giving your manager a
lot more information that they can use and refer to as they get prepared for the
performance review discussion and give you real and specific feedback.
By doing a lot of
work for your manager and feeding them the information you are making their job much
easier which should result in a successful performance review discussion.
If this seems like
a lot of work on your part then think again. You only get one chance a year so make
the most of it!
Ask your manager open ended questions
Once you done this it is best to ask some open ended questions which will help flesh
out any concerns or issues that may be in your manager's mind. Sometimes your manager
may not be all that forthcoming but it is still worth a try.
As you submit your performance review you can ask if they have any questions or concerns
with the information you have provided.
You can also ask if they need anything else prior to having the discussion. Tell them
that you are looking forward to having a very productive performance discussion and if they
can think of anything else they need prior to the discussion or that you need to prepare
then they should let you know.
You can also tell them that they can borrow your book on writing
effective phrases for performance appraisals
which will also help them give you a better quality input in your review.
Finally, if appropriate, agree on a date and time when you will have the
performance review discussion and prepare well for it.
This level of preparation will pay off as you get ready to submit your performance review.
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
Click on the HTML link code below.
Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment,
your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
Loading
Subscribe to our complimentary Career Insider and get FREE goodies!
"This site is FANTASTIC, especially all the free tips!"