Performance Review Preparation Tips

Following on from my last article which focused on the performance review process for managers, this article outlines what employees can do to prepare and manage their annual review process.

Firstly, employees need to reflect on the ongoing value they are able to offer the organisation and be prepared to offer detailed information about their annual contribution to the organisation for honest discussion.

As an employee, it can be very tempting (especially in the current economic and labour-market environment) to go into an annual review with a checklist of needs and expectations. 

But let’s pause for thought here.

Coming to a review well prepared is a good thing but having a fixed mindset of I want or deserve X more dollars, or I must have an X title change can in fact close down a conversation and limit your longer-term prospects. Often conflict arises in negotiation as a result of black and white thinking which can result in oppositional behaviours. A fixed mindset approach about what you need or deserve may work against you and even harm your workplace relationship with your manager. 

Understand that while a review is a negotiation that can be influenced by the employee, that ultimately the employer is the decision maker in the process. It is vital to respect the role and the authority that your manager has, and to be gracious if your expectations are not met in your review or in an expected time frame.

If you do not demonstrate the emotional and psychological ability to appreciate the constraints of the business and the team more broadly, and if you are not willing or prepared to take a longer-term view to invest in the success of the organisation, how can you expect your manager, your team or the organisation to invest in you?     

While it is not always easy, employees need to focus on the good will of managers, and trust that they will do whatever they genuinely can within the environment they are working in. 

As a coach I have found that the majority of people leaders care greatly about their team members  and strive for positivity and productivity. Managers like employees are subject to a range of market conditions and role responsibilities, some of which may never be fully appreciated by their staff.

You may feel strongly, even passionately about what you want or need, but if your manager disagrees and things get heated or locked in opposition, it can take a long time to outgrow any negative impression that you may have made in this particular conversation, or to recover from the burden you may feel from an unpleasant exchange.   

Research from MIT has shown that pay is not is not always the most rewarding outcome in a role negotiation  – and that other factors hold great power for workplace satisfaction. Factors such as the potential for greater autonomy and independence in a role, the opportunity for experimentation, for taking on additional tasks that will help prepare you for a higher paid role in the future, can be rewarding. 

Secondments, workplace training, indeed receiving coaching or having someone take on the role of mentor, are all great rewards that are non-monetary, or title based, and it can really pay dividends in a person's career trajectory.

Set yourself up for a successful exchange, by preparing for a collaborative conversation and process. Negotiate a timeframe to revisit any unmet requests, and actively explore with your manager what you could take on to make a more meaningful contribution to the organisation. 

Be open to and celebrate other types of rewards such as workplace training, mentoring your colleagues, or taking on unofficial team leader responsibilities for a time, these are real opportunities and will develop skills that will bode well for your future. At the very least you may learn more about the constraints your manager is facing through access to other departments and people.

And if your manager expresses concerns about your capability or performance, be curious, ask for specifics, ask what they would like to see instead and by when? Working collaboratively to improve your work performance will benefit you both and your team more broadly.

Best wishes to everyone who is heading into a performance review, let me know how it goes, and please do reach out if you’d like some individual or team coaching to help manage your professional development.

Best wishes

Clair

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