Self-Appraisals — Making them Meaningful
It’s that time of the year — peppermint mochas, twinkly trees and reflections on the year that has nearly past. You may be at work on your company's required Employee Self-Appraisal. Whether it's required or not, December is a good time to reflect on what you’ve done this year and how you will project what you’ve learned and achieved into next year.
The exercise doesn’t need to be exclusively professional. Gretchen Rubin, of the The Happiness Project suggests taking personal and professional stock with four touchpoints for each sphere: accomplishments, frustrations, high points and low points. You can merge the two to create a Personal Handbook: All About Me. In it include how you prefer to communicate — in-person, by phone, by email? What’s your favorite work mode — in-office, hybrid, fully remote? How do you prefer to be engaged by your manager — daily, weekly or monthly, only as needed? What’s your love/work language — words of affirmation, acts of service, being seen/physical touch, quality time or receiving gifts? How do you feel about deadlines? Working under pressure? Knowing your preferences, needs and motivations can help you create more satisfying and productive work, and life, situations. You can design your own handbook questions and content or access a template from Manual of Me.
Your annual lookback will be more complete if you have kept notes about events and activities throughout the year. When Rubin undertook a year-end review for herself, she realized just how much happens in a single year. Your calendar can work to record occurrences. Journaling is another option. From a professional standpoint, accounting for your entire year can offer real benefits. Chances are your manager will not focus on that great project you completed in January or remember the client compliment you received in March. You can counteract any tendency for “recency bias" by having a full-year view at your fingertips.
Whether your appraisal form asks for them or not, be sure to account for soft skills in your responses. Ones to consider highlighting: Collaboration/Teamwork; Motivation; Leadership, Problem-solving; Decision-making; Working under pressure; Communication; Adaptability; Negotiation; and, Emotional Intelligence. Another consideration for your professional self-appraisal: Call out examples that align with company objectives. If you are angling for a promotion, don’t just note your preparedness, explain why an additional Marketing Manager, with your experience, can expand a particular untapped market. If you increased sales, mention that this accomplishment promoted the company goal for the year of increasing revenue.
Finally, whether your survey is personal, professional or both, give some thought to what you want next year to look like. Like the old adage, “dress for the job you want,” in the self-assessment context, you want to "write for the job (or life) you want.” Studies are legion on how envisioning outcomes and writing them down make them more likely to occur, so what do you have to lose? Imagine the stretch assignment that would better prepare you for your next career step. Then tell your manager or take whatever other steps you can to make it materialize. Imagine life changes — maybe you want to move, socialize more, pursue a passion — and outline your plan to make them happen.
Happy 2022! New adventures ahead!
