Career Planning: Effective Performance Reviews

Effective Performance Reviews: A Step-by-Step Plan to Make Them More Meaningful
By Joanne Murray, Monster Contributing Writer

It's that time of year again. You've got to add performance reviews to your already overloaded schedule. Even the best managers find it hard to break from their routines to review the effectiveness of their staff in meeting goals and priorities. The review process, however, is a powerful tool that can be tied directly to the department's overall productivity and success, serving to align staff with the organization's priorities and expectations.

Performance reviews are designed to both evaluate general performance and measure progress around specific goals. When well-structured, performance reviews offer an opportunity to acknowledge the work of staff, address areas in need of improvement, and identify professional development and training that will further support the staff members' career growth.

The Best Surprise Is No Surprise

Effective managers address staff performance throughout the year, providing positive acknowledgment and necessary coaching and feedback to address problematic areas or issues. The formal performance review, then, should contain few, if any, surprises. "The annual review should not be the annual dump of the good, the bad and the ugly on the employee," says Molly Ambrose, director of human resources at Bunker Hill Community College. "So many managers, being conflict-averse, do not address issues as they arise, nor do they acknowledge good work as it happens."

The review should serve as a point of reference to both look back in evaluation and ahead in anticipation. Performance discussions hold great importance for staff and are generally tied to salary increases and overall compensation. Managers can maximize the effectiveness of their reviews by establishing a setting that encourages open communication. The following simple, but often overlooked, steps help to create a positive climate for the discussion:

• Schedule the meeting in advance.  
• Choose a private setting, free from phone or in-person interruptions. 
• Set aside enough time for an unhurried discussion.  
• Prepare ahead. Review the staff member's goals and record significant points to be discussed. Ask your employee to come prepared to discuss his assessment of key accomplishments, as well as areas in need of support or improvement. 

Once you've set the context for a successful discussion, focus on the following guidelines to ensure a comprehensive review that allows for two-way communication:

• Begin with an evaluation of primary-position responsibilities. To what extent were these areas of responsibility performed well? In what areas has performance fallen short of expectations? Whenever possible, cite examples and note key demonstrations of both competencies and areas in need of improvement, or developmental areas. 
• Review each goal set for the performance period. To what degree were the expected results achieved? What contributed to the staff member's ability to achieve the goal and produce the desired outcomes? What hindered the goal from being met? What steps can be taken to remove any barriers that interfered with success?
• Approach the review with an open mind, prepared to adjust or revise based on the conversation. Use the discussion points you have prepared as guidelines for the discussion, allowing the employee to voice his opinion, in agreement or disagreement.
• Keep feedback about developmental areas constructive. Be specific and objective. Use facts to support your feedback, rather than generalizations about the staff member's character or attitude. When possible, offer support and training to correct these problem areas.
• Focus on professional development. Performance reviews are an excellent time to discuss opportunities for your staff member's growth in his current position.
• Look ahead, developing goals for the next performance period. Make these goals measurable and designate timelines for each.

Always summarize your review and write down new goals for the year ahead that the discussion has generated. While many organizations provide a template for this, those without one can write up salient aspects of the review in memo form to be distributed by both parties. This document then serves as a reference for the next review cycle.

Pulling back from the daily demands in order to review and assess performance allows managers to stay in touch with what's important to their organizations, focus their departments and increase the loyalty of those who report to them.

How to Prepare for a Performance Review

By Margaret Steen, for Yahoo! HotJobs

Is your performance review just around the corner? There's no need to panic -- but now would be a good time to prepare. Experts offer these tips for making your review go more smoothly:

Assess What You Already Know

Ideally, you should be checking in regularly with your boss to make sure you're doing what's expected.

"The performance evaluation process should start the day you're hired," said Janet Scarborough Civitelli, founder and president of Bridgeway Career Development. "There should not be any big surprises during the actual review."

Perhaps you're extra diligent when answering customer calls. You may think you're on track for a stellar performance review -- but your boss could be wondering why each call takes you so long. To avoid misunderstandings like this, make sure you know what the goals are for your job and how your boss measures success.

If you haven't been talking to your boss about this, it's not too late. Even in a few weeks, you may be able to improve in some areas if necessary.

Dust Off Your Previous Review

If you had a review at this company a year ago, it probably contains a list of goals. Ideally, you will have been working on these goals this year.

Often, however, you'll realize something has changed. Perhaps a new boss gave you a new direction, or the project you were supposed to focus on got delayed. Richard Phillips, a career coach and owner of Advantage Career Solutions, recommends making sure you have documentation for changes such as these, in case there's a question at review time.

What if your boss never officially told you that your goals had changed, but instead just kept piling on other work so that you weren't able to start the projects you discussed at your last review? It would have been best to bring this up with your boss when it happened.

If you didn't, however, it's important to frame your actions the right way. "Say at review time, 'I made a strategic decision that this needed more of my attention than that,'" Phillips said. "Don't make it sound like you just forgot or you blew it off."

Learn How Your Company Works

At some companies, negative comments on performance reviews are uncommon, so anything that's not glowing is cause for concern. Other companies give every worker areas for improvement.

"You definitely need to know how the process works at your company," Civitelli said. But you need to gather your information in an "emotionally intelligent" way. Don't badger your boss about whether a certain action will get you a 5 instead of a 4 on your review -- it makes you seem more concerned about your evaluation than about helping the company.

Make Your Case in Writing

Many times you'll be asked to fill out a self-evaluation before your review. If that's not part of your company's process, it's still a good idea to write a summary of your achievements for your boss before the review.

"There's an art to doing that," Civitelli said. "You don't want to be too apologetic, but you also don't want it to appear that you've never thought about anything to improve on."

Phillips suggests that any time you mention a weakness, "say what you are doing about it."

Prove Yourself Again with Your First Performance Review

By Peter Vogt, Monster Senior Contributing Writer

You did so well in your recent job interviews with Company X that you got the entry-level position you really wanted. But your days of having to prove your value to the company are just beginning.

In a few months or perhaps even a year from now, you'll be asked to demonstrate your worth again to your supervisor during your first performance review.

Granted, your review probably won't carry the same make-or-break pressure as your job interview. But it will still have a significant impact on your future assignments, work relationships, day-to-day activities and salary. So you need to be as ready for your review as you were for all those interviews. And that means preparing for it from day one.

"The key to a successful performance review is what happens during the three, six or 12 months before the meeting," says Gene Mage, president of Making It Work, a Horseheads, New York-based leadership development and consulting firm. That's the time when your working relationship with your boss will be crystallized -- or not.

But here's the hard part: In many ways, forging that solid relationship will be up to you, says Sherry Cornwell, a selection specialist and strategic business partner for Medica, a Minneapolis-based health insurance company.

"I say this because there are many organizations and managers who do not take the lead in on-boarding their new employees," Cornwell says. "In the end, it's the employee's primary responsibility not to wait for information to be given to them, but to be proactive."

In other words, sooner rather than later, you need to clarify your role and your boss's expectations of you to determine how you'll eventually be assessed at your performance review. Do you have individual goals you need to achieve? Company goals?

When your review is only a few weeks or days away, you must become more concrete by completing tasks like these:

Summarize Your Key Achievements

Think about what you've achieved since you began the job, and develop a written list of your most important accomplishments. Just as you might do if you were to highlight these achievements on your resume, quantify wherever possible, and mention specific results (e.g., "helped streamline the customer database, reducing query processing time by about 40 percent.").

Present These Accomplishments

"Brainstorm concrete examples that illustrate outstanding performance, and practice communicating them so they're on the tip of your tongue," says Alexandra Levit, author of They Don't Teach Corporate in College.

You might even want to develop and use a career portfolio, a binder filled with items that will help you show your supervisor what you've accomplished.

Your portfolio need not be lengthy or complicated to be effective, says portfolio expert Carmen Croonquist, director of career services at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

While you may not have the time or inclination to prepare a full-fledged portfolio featuring layout pages, divider tabs, captions for the various items and a table of contents, "it's still advantageous to put the items into a nice binder, even in instances where you're planning to leave it behind with your supervisor," Croonquist says.

Develop a Detailed Agenda

"If you don't care about your performance reviews, no one else will," Levit stresses. "The worst thing you can do for your career as a new employee is to go through the process passively."

Make a detailed list of what you'd like to cover during your actual review meeting that's independent of your manager's agenda, Levit says. That way, you'll be able to discuss what you want to focus on, not just what the boss wants to talk about.

No matter how much you prepare, your performance review will still be at least a bit stressful. So try not to become defensive if you get some constructive criticism during the meeting, and listen as much as you talk.

If you've done your homework ahead of time and worked hard to build a solid relationship with your supervisor, then your formal review will be "exactly that -- a formality," Mage says.

How to Handle the Self-Evaluation Component of Your Performance Assessment

By Malcolm Fleschner, Monster Contributing Writer

Maybe you're like many politicians, rappers or movie stars, and you love nothing more than to talk about yourself at great length. Then again, maybe you're a little more reserved about the prospect of tooting your own horn.

For those in the latter camp, being asked to perform a self-evaluation as part of an employee performance appraisal can cause more than a little consternation. "What is the point of this?" "What am I supposed to say?" and "Is whatever I put down going to be used against me?" are just a few of the questions employees raise when confronted with an employee evaluation form.

The first step, before you put pen to paper, is to relax, says Milwaukee-based executive coach and organizational development expert Joan Lloyd. The self-evaluation was not developed by sadistic HR departments just to torture employees, she says. Rather, it serves a genuine purpose and, when properly handled, can help further your career.

"Self-assessments have become very popular -- and with good reason," she says. "Managers can't possibly remember as well as you can everything you accomplished throughout the year. By asking you to provide input into your own employee evaluation, it reminds your boss about all the good things you achieved."

Self-Praise With Specifics

Today, many employees work independently and make more of their own work-related decisions. As a result, managers are less-aware of each team member’s day-to-day activities. That's why, when filling out a self-evaluation form, it's important to detail your accomplishments, be specific and avoid soft terms, says Stephanie Dawkins, a former global senior VP for Volvo and author of Corporate Coffee: Success Never Tasted So Good. 

"Adjectives such as 'great,' 'good' and 'a lot' are very subjective,” she says. “Try to use more measurable objectives such as 'have demonstrated project management skill via coordinating X project' or 'met all objectives before deadline.' Make sure that you have a record of personal accomplishments, projects led, objectives met, training sessions attended and skills developed to draw from."

Lloyd adds that a performance assessment is no time for false modesty, so go ahead and include factual evidence to support your record of accomplishments.

”Don't say, 'I work well with my fellow team members,'" she says. "Instead, say, 'During the Maxwell Project, I stayed late for three evenings to help Janet get the delivery ready for shipment, and I volunteered to cover for Pat when she went out for surgery. This saved the unit money and kept a high level of service for our customers because we didn't have to hire a temp.'"

Own Your Shortcomings

On the flip side, when it comes to addressing the negatives of the past year, Palo Alto, California-based career counselor and coach Richard Phillips says employees need to be proactive about bringing up what he prefers to call development areas.

"You can often head off trouble by saying, 'This is an area where I need to develop, and here's what I'm doing about it,'" he says. "You never state a weakness or a problem without a solution. Even if your solution isn't that good, it demonstrates that you're taking responsibility and that you can self-manage."

Lloyd says that, contrary to the stereotypical image of the boss who's eager to dress down employees, most managers appreciate team members who take this kind of initiative.

"As the boss, it just makes your life easier when someone says, "I know I fouled up that project,'" she says. "And then when you follow up by saying, 'But from that experience the learning lessons were X, Y and Z and now, as a result, I'm doing these two things differently,' that shows a tremendous amount of self-awareness. It also allows the boss to relax because he or she thinks, 'OK, now I don't have to bring this up.'"

Directing the Dialogue

A big part of making the self-evaluation work for you is your perspective, Phillips says. Don't view the experience as an opportunity for management to play "gotcha," but as a chance to make yourself look better than you otherwise might during the performance review and to neutralize any potential negatives, he says.

Lloyd agrees, emphasizing that the self-evaluation allows you to frame the conversation, control what winds up on your performance appraisal form and set the tone for how you move forward.

"By taking this sort of initiative, you set up the whole performance review meeting to be a win, and much more career-focused and coaching-focused,” she says. “You're more likely to wind up with a really great, open-ended, two-way dialogue about your past year. You also have greater control over what goes on the record, and that record will be crucial in terms of your future career and opportunities."

Triumph Over a Bad Performance 

Review By Margaret Steen, Monster Contributing Writer

Almost every performance review includes some criticism. But what happens when you feel like your boss has almost nothing good to say in the review? Does it mean not just that your work could be improved, but that your boss wants you gone?

Ask Before You React

If you're thinking on your feet during the review, you can ask a question or two to help clarify your situation.

For example, ask your boss to rate your overall performance on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is someone about to be promoted and 1 is someone about to be fired, suggests executive coach Debra Benton. Using a numerical scale "kind of takes the personalization out of the whole thing," says Benton, author of several books, including How to Think Like a CEO.

Put Negatives in Perspective

If you walk away from the review still worried, the first thing to do is to let it sit for a day or two.

"You may have fixated on one comment," says Richard Phillips, a career coach and owner of Advantage Career Solutions in Palo Alto, California. People tend to go into reviews listening for negative comments. And in addition, Phillips says, sometimes managers spend more time talking about the bad than the good, without putting it in perspective.

If, after rereading your written review, you still think it's overly negative, consider whether your boss is right about your performance. Perhaps there's a simple error on the review form, such as a misstatement of your sales numbers, for example. If so, the error should be easily corrected.

Keep It Specific

If you don't fully understand what your boss is unhappy about, ask for another meeting and request specific examples. If your boss says you need to be more responsive to coworkers' requests, for example, Phillips suggests asking what specific events prompted that comment, and how your boss would like to see you handle similar problems in the future.

The worst-case scenario with a review -- that your boss is saying you just aren't cutting it -- doesn't happen often. But if your boss really means you're not doing an acceptable job, then you need to ask yourself some hard questions to determine why.

If you have had good reviews previously, what has changed? Do you have a new boss with different expectations? Are you distracted by personal problems?

Weigh Your Options

"It may be giving you a true picture, but not something you want to hear," Phillips says.

It may be tempting to simply quit and look for a new job, but Phillips urges caution. It could be that you will need to find a new position -- if, for example, you have tried everything but just aren't clicking with your boss, or you have had more than one bad review. But rather than quitting immediately, it's often better to try to address the issues your boss has raised first.

"If you overreact to it, it actually ends up being harder in the long run," Phillips says. Your unhappiness about the review is likely to come through when you're interviewing for new positions. "It takes you longer to find another job, because you're out there maybe feeling a little resentful," he says.

Five Things to Do If You Get a Bad Review 

By Caroline M.L. Potter, Yahoo! HotJobs

The annual performance review is the professional equivalent of the report card. And if you remember back to your school days, you'll probably recall anticipating its arrival with a mix of excitement and anxiety. Had you performed as well as you thought you did? Would tardiness or being too talkative affect your grades?

Employee performance evaluations can evoke similar feelings. What if your worst fears become a reality in the way of a poor performance review? Read on for what Hallie Crawford -- a certified career coach and founder of HallieCrawford.com -- says you should do.

Remain Calm

"First and foremost, breathe and relax," she says. You may feel blindsided, but stay calm and take in what your supervisor is telling you without getting defensive. Focus on what you're being told -- you can even take notes. But save your rebuttals for later.

However, if your supervisor is getting angry or being unprofessional, you can try to steer the review to facts and practical information. Crawford advises workers, "Tell your boss, 'I appreciate your candor, but I'd like to get constructive feedback that will help me improve.'" She adds, "You want her to know that you understand there's a problem, but assure her that your focus is solution-oriented."

Act, Don't React

If you're feeling defenseless and caught off guard -- or (and especially) if you're feeling angry -- try to buy some time to react to your review and answer criticisms. Crawford says you should request the opportunity to mull things over. "Explain to your manager that you'd like to take a day or two to develop a plan of action to address these issues," says Crawford. "The fact that you're willing to come up with solutions will get your boss on your side, as will soliciting ideas from her as to what you should do in the immediate."

Remember That Perspective Is Subjective

You don't have to accept every criticism of your performance as fact. You can dispute some parts -- if you do it with kid gloves. "You've got to keep things civil and polite, but you don't need to roll over," Crawford says. "Acknowledge the valid points of your review, but you can dissent by saying, 'There are just a few things that I have a different perspective on; this is what actually happened.'" Doing so will allow you to direct the conversation back to your point of view rather than attacking the quality of your evaluation.

Get Real

So, you've gotten a poor review and you may or may not agree with it. You now need to decide if you want to stay at this job or move on. If you love your job, it's worth working on things, even if you disagree with your evaluation, Crawford says. "But most people have a gut sense that a job isn't a fit, yet they've ignored that instinct," she says. If that's the case, she believes in moving on to another opportunity.

She reminds workers not to decide whether to stay or go from a place of fear. "You need to come from a place of power and confidence in yourself," she says. "If you're afraid, you won't be able to make the best decision for your career."

Learn from Your Mistakes

When you land at your next job, you may feel extreme anxiety about your first evaluation. You can prevent this -- and getting another negative review -- by opening the lines of communication with your manager from day one.

"You don't ever want an evaluation to be a big surprise," Crawford says. "But you can ensure against that by asking for feedback often and checking in with your boss and coworkers." Find out how often you'll get an official evaluation but also solicit informal reviews after big projects. "People who communicate openly from day one on a job set the stage to receive feedback naturally," she says. "So be that person in the first place."

Master the Annual Review
By Lee Miller, Monster Contributing Writer

You would think that working hard, doing a good job and getting results would guarantee a good annual review and a decent salary increase. Perhaps at some companies that's true. But at many companies, doing a good job is not enough to guarantee a decent raise. Even worse, employees who have stayed with one company and have not sought out offers from other employers tend to earn less than their peers who have changed jobs at least once during the past 10 years. 

It doesn't have to be that way. If you put some of the same energy into making sure the right people know you're doing a good job [that you are actually doing well], you may get a salary commensurate with your accomplishments. Here are three tips to help you get the most out of your annual review:

1. Make It Easy for Your Boss

Bosses hate doing annual reviews. To do them right takes work. Moreover, normally no one but you really cares about what the review says. Most importantly, a lot of bosses don't know what their workers do on a daily basis or what they have accomplished. If something significant happened earlier in the year, there's a good chance your boss has either forgotten about it or thinks it happened last year. So get a copy of the review form. Then write your boss a memo or email detailing all your accomplishments, laid out in a way so those accomplishments can easily be included in your review.

2. Start Early

If you send that memo a few weeks before your annual review is due, it won't make much difference. And it isn't that your boss has already written the review. Unless your company has a corporate culture that places great value on the review process, many bosses start to write the review on the day it's due. However, what you will get as a raise and, hence, the ratings you will get on the review, were determined months earlier when budgets were prepared.

To be able to influence the outcome, you have to take action well ahead of review time. Your boss needs to hear about every success all year long and in a way that does not appear to be bragging. One way to do that successfully is to develop the type of relationship that allows you to simply call up or drop by whenever something good happens and tell your boss. Get in the habit of finding reasons to talk to your boss and to meet with him casually. Have coffee once a week or drop by his office to personally give your boss something he needs.

Another good way to let everyone know what a good job you are doing, without appearing to be bragging, is to send a memo or email to key people, including your boss, praising your subordinates for a job well done. You will not only get credit for what has been accomplished, but you will be considered a good manager, because you are sharing credit with the people who work for you.

3. Demonstrate Why Your Situation Is Different

Keep in mind that there is almost always a limited budget for raises. If your boss wants to give you a big raise, he has to either give less to others or seek special approval. Neither of those are things your boss will want to do. So you have to let your boss know that yours is a special case, and you expect a better raise than most of your fellow employees. Start by making sure you do a good job throughout the year. That means making your boss look good. Align your priorities with those of your boss.

Take every opportunity to differentiate yourself from your peers. Learn new skills. Take on additional responsibilities. Once you have demonstrated you have mastered those new responsibilities and are delivering results, you can let your boss know you expect to be compensated differently as a result.

Nine Things You Can Control in Workplace Conflicts 

By Vivian Scott, Author of Conflict Resolution at Work for Dummies

What can you do if a workplace conflict is still raging out of control, despite your every effort to resolve it? While your emotions may be in knots over the situation, the best strategy isn’t to focus on what you can’t control, but on what you can. Here are nine areas within your control.   

1. Your Plan for the Future

Consider what’s important and follow a strategy for a period of time that feels comfortable. Your plan may include leaving your current work environment, or you may decide staying is the best thing to help meet your goal for a secure retirement, health benefits or a good letter of recommendation. Knowing what you want your future to look like helps you look past the current situation and focus beyond your temporary problems.

2. Your Perspective

It’s easy to get so wrapped up in a disagreement that you lose all perspective about the situation. This is especially true when the conflict is at work and you’re experiencing it every day. Dealing with a persistent difficulty can become the routine -- until you decide to change how you look at it. Stop and reassess your point of view. See if you can find a learning opportunity in the situation. Maybe this is a chance for you to step outside yourself and extend a little compassion to the other person. Or maybe if you purposefully and mindfully examine what’s going on, you can honestly say the issue isn’t that important to you.

3. Your Responses

You can’t control the other person’s actions, thoughts or feelings, but you always have the option to control your own responses. Change how you react to what’s happening, and look for ways to respond that won’t escalate your anxiety or blood pressure. Consider how you want others to see you and choose your responses accordingly.

4. Your Investment

How long have you lived with this conflict and how much effort are you putting into it? Do you really want to be more emotionally invested than everyone else? If your answer is no (or even a shaky maybe), then try to reduce your investment in the drama. Spend less time thinking about it, talking about it and engaging in it.

5. Your Role in the Conflict

As difficult as it is to admit, you probably have some responsibility in the conflict. Consider how your actions and reactions look to others. Ask yourself, “What have I said or done -- or not said or done -- that has kept this conflict going?” It may take the assistance of friends, family or professionals to help you realize it, but you don’t need to continue being the bully or the victim. If it takes two to tango and you’re no longer willing to dance, the conflict has to diminish.

6. Your Energy

Changing where you focus your energy can be a huge stress reliever. Unresolved conflict (and unresolved emotions) can be a black hole for energy; you can give and give without any guarantee you’ll see that energy investment returned to you. Instead of putting 110 percent of yourself into the conflict, put your energy into a different outlet. Cleaning a closet, putting together a proposal for a creative project at work or hitting the gym are all great ways to channel energy and emotions.

7. Your Own Story

When I read a good book, I create the movie in my head. I’m the casting director, set designer and director. When it comes to a conflict at work, you can essentially do the same by choosing how you depict the scene to yourself and others. When you’re not emotionally involved in a problem, you can see both sides, so be objective and apply it to your own situation. Decide how this particular story will play out and how you’ll speak about it. Give an account without elevating or victimizing anyone. When a coworker or supervisor asks about specifics, consider an honest but hopeful response such as, “It’s a difficult time right now, but I’m learning a valuable lesson about expectations,” rather than, “Yet again I’m the victim and no one cares.”

8. Your Method for Processing Emotions

You can keep the impact of a conflict to yourself and stuff your emotions away, or you can find constructive ways to process what’s happening. Talking with a mentor, family member, friend, clergy or therapist can be helpful. Keeping a journal, writing letters you’ll never send (my personal favorite), exercising or even slinging rocks at a tree are all productive ways to process the emotions and perspective associated with an otherwise unproductive situation.

9. Your Character

You may follow directions and have job responsibilities, but no one can make you do anything. When you say, “He just makes me so (fill in the blank) that I had to (fill in the terrible past response or action you took),” you’re giving the other person control over your moral fiber. Take personal responsibility and don’t give anyone else the power to make you behave in a way that is unbecoming, unethical or dishonorable. Show your best side -- not an unchecked series of poor reactions.                                                                                                                                      ______________________________________________                       

Vivian Scott is a Professional Certified Mediator and the author of Conflict Resolution at Work for Dummies. Having spent many years in the competitive and often stress-filled world of high tech marketing, Scott realized that resolving conflict within the confines of office politics was paramount to success. Prior to retirement from corporate life, Scott developed the “America at Work” video series. She is also the recipient of a rare personal award from the Small Business Administration for her commitment to small business development.

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2013