Preparing for Your Employee Performance Review

All Performance Management systems have the same goal, to measure job performance. By properly preparing your own performance feedback, you can take full advantage of the Performance Management Process. Employee Performance Reviews come in many forms:

• Performance Appraisal
• Performance Assessment
• Performance Measurement
• Job Performance Review
• Evaluating Performance

All Performance Management systems have the same goal, to measure job performance. By properly preparing your own performance feedback, you can take full advantage of the Performance Management Process

Understand the advantages performance measurement process gives employees:

• It lists qualities that your employer favors in employees.
• It allows you to outline and ‘brag’ about your accomplishments to your supervisor.
• It allows the opportunity to receive performance feedback that can guide you in your career path.

Know and understand the performance criteria:

Not all companies use the same format for Performance Reviews. It could be as informal as a 10-minute talk with your supervisor or it could be very formal, taking multiple steps and filling out forms.

If your company uses forms:

• Ask in advance for a copy of the form
• Refer to a copy of your previous Performance Review (you should keep all of your previous Performance Reviews).
• Take note of the criteria or categories listed on the form

If your company takes an informal approach:

• Ask your supervisor or HR Representative which traits (performance criteria) are considered during the Performance Review Process.
• Items your supervisor highlight in the past could give clues to the desired traits.
• Take note of the criteria or categories that are used.

Sometimes the Performance Review Process can be so informal that it is hard to find a list of criteria. If that is the case, use the basic criteria for Performance Reviews:

• Quality of Work
• Quantity of Work
• Job Knowledge
• Leadership
• Attitude
• Work Habits (Attendance and Punctuality)

Document your accomplishments:

Students that study and prepare get better grades on tests. For the same reasons employees that prepare get better results on the Performance Review. Documenting your accomplishments during the year will help you remember them when it matters the most.

Reasons to document your accomplishments:

• Your supervisor will not remember all of your accomplishments.
• We tend to remember negative interaction more often than we remember positive interactions.
• It is difficult to remember a year worth of accomplishments on the spot.
• The accomplishment you forget might be the one that makes the difference.

There are many ways to Document your accomplishments. A system that always worked well for me was to keep a small pocket sized notebook on me at all times. I write the title of each Performance Review category on the top of a page and every time I have a noteworthy accomplishment in that category I jot it down. There does not need to be a lot of detail or a long explanation. The note is enough to jog my memory.

This notebook doubles as a reminder of the criteria. I look at it at the start of each day – that way I start every day with my goals in mind.

I will be adding additional articles related to Performance Reviews:

• Filling out the Form
• Performance Review Phrases for Employees
• Preparing for the one on one meeting
• Utilizing your supervisors feedback

Please see my Yahoo contributor profile for additional articles.