Employee Review Or Performance Appraisals

Your Employee Review needs to be analyzed carefully in light of other factors, before you respond, but wouldn't it be good if the annual performance review process was transformed into an annual forward strategy session. Without the usual tension, it could be a time for the manager and employee to come together to reflect on the past year, formally acknowledge accomplishments, development opportunities and identify goals.

Of course, there would still be a fair amount of time involved, but it would be worth it if both the manager and the employee could walk away feeling good about it.

However, that is not always the case so, if you weren't happy with your last performance review, should you dispute it? And if you think you should respond to the review, what form should it take? Should you confront your boss or ask for a letter to be put on file? Maybe you should just put it down to experience and leave the whole matter alone for fear of making it worse.

Our opinion is that you should respond, but in a careful way and only when you've considered what the employee review actually means in light of your company's culture, the unwritten message and your own career goals.

You can now download the "Phrases for Performance Appraisals Guidebook" and use the exact phrases that professionals use to write their concise and powerful appraisals

Employee Performance Review Considerations

These are the top considerations when you may be thinking what to do about your employee review.

1. What Is The Organizations Usual Style?

However good you are at your job, many managers who carry out employee appraisals will not agree with your own personal appraisal of your performance. Their employee review will come up with at least one point of constructive criticism and often more because they need to leave you striving to do better. However, if you feel that you're being attacked or unfairly criticized, you must take it further.

Sometimes you'll gain more kudos by taking the review in your stride and accepting the criticism, whether deserved or not. In this case your best response is to ask for support in meeting the standards, but to make sure these are fully defined for you. In some organizations though, even a single poor employee review means you need to start thinking about looking for another job.

2. What Is Your Boss Trying To Achieve?

Sometimes an employee performance review has little to do with you or your actual performance. Performance appraisals are often used as the first step to make you leave the company or prevent your promotion which then goes to someone else more in favor.

If your boss is new to the organization, she may be keen to make a mark and get certain people closer to her.

Hopefully the message is that she wants to help you progress and is using the employee review to spell out to you, the areas that are most important to her agenda.

3. Examine The Review Objectively.

You should take each point of criticism and ask your boss to explain specifically to help you understand.

For example, if your boss said your reports were frequently delivered late, ask for specific dates and times. If you're marked down on say, interpersonal skills, ask for actual examples of what happened.

If there are factual differences between your records and the boss's statements, be tactful when you point out her errors. You don't want to cause loss of face; that could be more damaging than a poor employee review and seal your fate even faster.

4. Arrange A Follow Up Meeting.

Explain calmly that you need time to think about the criticisms raised and would like the opportunity to discuss them further. Use the time before the second meeting to collect your facts and data. Collect letters of appreciation, dates and times of project completion, statistics showing how you helped the company.

If you need to discuss the situation with someone only ever talk to unconnected people and do not ever discuss your report with your co-workers or peers.

When you have discussed the differences, putting your response in a letter to stay on your file can be a positive move for the future.

5. A Negative Employee Review Is Not Always The End.

"Should I look for a new job following a negative performance review?"

Not necessarily, but working for any organization is never guaranteed so keep yourself marketable. Maintain your network and keep an eye on what opportunities are elsewhere.

If you do decide to leave and tell your boss, it's rarely a good idea to accept a counter-offer to stay from your present company. (If they can afford to make a new offer NOW why not before?)

If you do decide to go, make sure they give you a good reference that reflects your real contribution.

You can now download the "Phrases for Performance Appraisals Guidebook" and use the exact phrases that professionals use to write their concise and powerful appraisals

You are here: Employee Review

Return to People Management or continue to Leadership for more valuable insights, or go on to read more detailed information about how your work skills can be analyzed and used to your advantage in your employee review or annual appraisal.

You might also want to visit Career Management

---

You can also search this site for more about career success, or the whole of the web from here.

	Web www.your-career-change.com

Career Change | Career Change Success | Career Options | Career Success | Your Contribution | Your Options | Seven Success Tips | Overcoming Inertia