An important aspect of employment and in advancing a career is the awareness and responsibility engendered by the job. While commitment, initiative, and creativity are all building blocks of success, productivity and measurable results are the ultimate determinants of continuous employment.
What are performance appraisals? Performance appraisal (PA) as they’re sometimes referred to, (also called as performance review, evaluation, career development discussion, or employee appraisal) is a method by which the job performance of an employee is documented and evaluated (en.wikipedia.org.org/wiki/Performance_appraisal). In everyday language, the PA is a yardstick for employee productivity. It is about accomplishments that can be measured, shared with others, and standardized as best practice.
Company management regularly undertakes performance appraisals to evaluate and to communicate with employees. It is not an easy process, as certain aspects of it may be taken at a personal level. However, employees must look at it as a positive approach to show work progress, get and provide feedback, then set goals.
Organizing clients, projects, and assignments with physical or electronic folders, for example, is a good way to document work progress. Making notes on your daily calendar and summarizing it once a week is another way.
Feedback is defined as material or info about a person’s work performance. All employees give and receive feedback about work productivity and team behavior. Those who are on the management track undergo peer-to-peer evaluation as well. Open minded, willing to learn employees usually get positive feedback.
Documentation and feedback are essentials to goal setting. From an employee’s accomplished work and from information provided by peers and colleagues, goals are set to improve work performance. It is also the time when accomplishments are recognized via a promotion, an award or both. Achievements can be any of the following: provision of executive assistance to a manager through drafting/finalizing, checking documents for quality control, attention to business travel details, research/preparation of relevant information, reports or updates. Learning the payment procedures for company invoices to help ease workload in the accounts section, for example, is another.
Unless an employee is only after monetary rewards, awareness and a responsible mindset are the tools to hurdle any performance appraisal conversation. It is where you recall the reasons why this work appeals to you and why you will take action to improve and be an asset to the company. It is the time to take pride in the work you’ve done and will continue to do.