Performance Review!!

Are you going for your performance review meeting? But have you prepared for it? Have you listed your accomplishments? Have you listed your value additions or contribution to organisation? Irrespective of your nature of work or department everyone in an organisation are expected to perform and performance are measured. Organisation generally focuses on what is assigned? And what is achieved?

Performance review is an opportunity to demonstrate accomplishments and bring out how you would like to evolve in this position and organisation in future.

How to prepare for performance review?

Review your GSR/objectives/Job responsibilities

Understand and negotiate on your GSR or job requirements from your reporting manager.

What are the expected results? (What)

How frequently GSR or job requirements are reviewed and revised? (When)

What are the result rating parameters? (How)

What steps need to take to reach next level?

How can I support our department priorities and objectives?

Documenting job plans and expectations:

If work not documented is not done!!

Maintain reports and records of your work done on consistently. Maintain your weekly, monthly work status, highlights, status reports or presentations.

Seeking Feedback

It is your duty to deliver best results. So have to do what is required, not what is easy for you.

Meet regularly to reporting manager, ask questions, and seek feedback on your work and get clarity on what is needed to make it better. It is always good to know what is going on in boss mind. Accept criticism; assure your boss that you will overcome those shortfalls. Make sure you do follow-up with manager every month in the beginning.

Prepare list of accomplishments

Your reporting manager may not be able to track and remember the every great stuff you have achieved in last quarter or last year. Getting routine job requirements are not accomplishments, maintaining collaborative working relationship with co-worker, supervisors are not worth bragging. Those are the things suppose to do, not for expecting rewards and promotions. But these are very important factors in overall performance.

Organisations need your value added contribution that makes difference in achieving organisational goals, Return on investment, so you have to focus on the activities that use your time, skills and resources most effectively connect that to company goals. So be very creative in presenting your accomplishments. Collect quantitative, qualitative data to support your results.

Be objective: If you can’t measure it, you can manage it!! Hence use comparable data that show your progress or out performing your set goals or co-workers. Quantify results as much as possible in facts, figures and with specific dates.

Present qualitative data like customer or client testimonial, remarks, feedback from colleagues, good remarks from reporting manager, business heads/HODs, other department etc

Highlight you results with grace, without putting any of your colleagues down with examples and samples.

Describe the impact, value addition it made on the organisation. Also describe your accomplishments initiated by you. Ensure that it has impact on you and organisation too.

Salary increment, rewards, promotions, and career development are depending on your performance review rating more than what you achieved in last quarter or year. Means proving your contributions are valuable to the organisation, communicating and selling your contribution matter more than you achieved your goals. so be prepared to craft your performance results in presentable story.