If your annual performance review is not your favorite meeting of the year, you’re not alone. Ideally, this should be a positive experience during which you gain insight as to how best to advance your career. Unfortunately, many employees dread this process. While the review process and the manager delivering it are likely beyond your control, there are steps you can take to make the experience more positive.
Understand your Key Performance Indicators: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the measurable elements of your job by which you are evaluated. You must know what they are and how they are being measured.
Complete a self evaluation: Most formal review processes include a self evaluation. Prepare your own if this isn’t a part of your company’s process. Completion of the self evaluation will give you time to reflect on your own performance, enabling you to anticipate concerns and bring to light accomplishments that may have been overlooked. In addition, your reviewer will see that you are invested in the process.
Understand your company’s major initiatives: Even if it’s not part of your job function, having an awareness of your company’s goals and KPIs will help you understand and convey your own value. In a competitive job market, it’s important that each of us can communicate just what it is that we contribute to our company and to our team.
Have an open mind: If you are open and approachable, you are more likely to get sincere constructive criticism. While hearing about your own shortcomings is probably not your favorite thing, it is the shortest path to improving your performance. Regardless of your relationship with your manager or your own opinion of your performance, commit yourself to reflecting honestly on each of their recommendations for improvement.
Ask for more frequent reviews: It can be difficult to remain focused for twelve months without revisiting your goals, not to mention that things change very quickly in today’s business environment. Request informal quarterly reviews to ensure that you’re still on the right track and confirm that the end goals haven’t changed.
Job interviews are extremely stressful for most people. With so much riding on the outcome, it’s easy to let anxiety get the upper hand and compromise performance. Read for thoughts and ideas to ease some of the stress and enable you to make the most of your interviewing opportunity.
The term “contingent workforce” is used to refer to a small group of workers employed in temporary positions either through staffing agencies or directly with employers. Today's contingent workforce offers much more. Read this white paper to learn how your company can leverage today's "contingent workforce" to become more profitable and productive.