Your annual performance appraisal need not be a frustrating experience

Many companies will kick off the annual (or mid-year) performance appraisal season for employees soon. 

While some believe it badly needs a revamp, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the annual performance appraisal as we know it is unlikely to go away anytime soon for most employees because “pay for performance” is still de rigueur.

Some of us dread it while others may harbour great expectations. But we are compelled to dutifully submit our self-appraisals and hope for the best. 

Even if a promotion or a pay increase may not materialise because of reduced budgets, a good appraisal may offer us some insurance against job or pay cuts.

The mysterious aura around the performance appraisal process (as we know it today) can add to the anxiety we feel. 

It appears to feed on various inputs (such as your self-appraisal and the feedback from peers and other stakeholders in the company) and then comes a performance rating which determines your work fortunes going forward. 

For some, it is not too much of a stretch of the imagination to think a black box sits between the input and the output of the process, especially if the output (rating) has disappointed in the past.  

It does not have to be like this.

NEVER TOO EARLY TO START ENGAGING YOUR MANAGER

Several years ago, my manager mentioned during one of our weekly one-on-one meetings (over the phone) she planned to put me up for a promotion. At least, that was what I thought I heard. 

At that time, the performance appraisal season had not started yet. In case I was hallucinating, I played it cool and said something very politically correct like, “I’m so glad to have the opportunity to contribute meaningfully!”

She “confirmed” my promotion a couple of months later during the formal review meeting. I had not heard wrongly after all.

This episode made me realise that a good manager will, at any point in time, have a sound idea of how each employee reporting to him/her is performing — from “far exceeded expectations” to “did not meet expectations at all”. 

And therefore, our “fate” may already have been sealed before we even submit our self-appraisals for the review

It changed how I approached performance management for my team. I strongly encouraged my team to share meaningful work results regularly with my manager (you can call it “managing upwards”) and my peers so they are “visible”. 

I also started to “socialise” high-performers way before the formal performance appraisal process has kicked off.

I did this so my manager and peers were not caught by surprise when I eventually put someone up for a promotion or recommended a high rating for someone. 

In my experience, this was especially important when the individuals concerned are already at a senior level, and a “consensus” is required to seal the deal during “ranking” exercises.

If you feel deserving of a promotion or a nice salary bump but are not on your manager’s “radar”, initiate an informal performance discussion soon.

CHECK IN REGULARLY TO AVOID NASTY SURPRISES

If you already have a regular one-on-one meeting with your manager, allocate time during these meetings to update on the progress of your work, get feedback and clarify expectations. 

Otherwise, try setting up mini-performance check-ins (monthly for example) that are not too demanding on anyone’s time. If you keep to a tight agenda for each check-in, 30 minutes should be plenty of time.

The regular feedback I got from my managers (mostly over the phone or using video meetings) was motivating and valuable, especially the ones that alerted me to “course-correct” or troubleshoot something before it escalated to become a bigger issue. 

I remember one of the feedback vividly because it came from the top.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of our company had sent me an email requesting a solution to a potential reputational issue raised by a journalist. 

As the head of communications in the region, I knew the (hard-nosed) journalist well so I understood it would be almost impossible to change his mind about the story angle even if I provided all the facts and our company’s perspective.

So, I responded that while I would do my best, it was highly likely that the story would be a negative for us. I thought I was managing expectations and did not realise my response gave the CEO the impression I did not take the issue seriously enough.

He mentioned it to my manager who discussed it with me. I was fortunate I had the opportunity to clarify my position and nip things in the bud. Thankfully, I was also able to (for once) convince the journalist his thesis was unfounded, and the story was scrapped.

Because I checked in regularly with my managers, I had a good idea where I stood and avoided nasty surprises during my annual performance appraisals which became almost a non-event for me for some time. 

It was still useful, particularly when it came to setting or reviewing longer-term goals.

INTRODUCE MORE ‘SCIENCE’ INTO YOUR WORK GOALS 

Ideally, performance appraisals should be done with a completely objective lens.

But because performance is as much about the “what” (contribution) as it is about the “how” (way of getting things done), evaluating an individual’s performance can be more of an art than a science.

For example, if enough people say they have a problem working with you or your “style” rubs them the wrong way, it could affect your performance rating, which is fair enough. After all, we do not work in silos and how we work impacts others.

The Covid-19 pandemic may also muddy the water somewhat. For example, some managers may favour employees who are “always-on” while telecommuting. 

Your “performance” may not be evaluated as objectively if you are not “always on” even though you may have done an excellent job delivering results.

A simple way to help ensure you get a fair evaluation is to inject more “science” into how your work is evaluated.

If anything is worth your time doing, it should come with measurable goals that are agreed with your manager.

The more specific the performance measures are, the better. For example, it will be harder for anyone to argue that you underperformed when you delivered a cost savings of 12 per cent for a project compared to the target of 10 per cent. 

Even seemingly routine tasks such as filing expense reports for your department can be objectively evaluated if you have targets like “error-free” and “on or before filing deadline”.

Goals may change over time, and it is important for managers and their teams to be “on the same page” when this happens. 

For example, sales and marketing targets may need to be revised to reflect the prevailing business environment so that professionals in these fields are not penalised unfairly.

The pandemic has also fuelled calls for alternative (or additional) performance measures focused on behavioural traits such as agility and collaboration. 

These measures may not be new for some companies, but they are still not easy to benchmark objectively. 

In my experience, asking for written feedback from those you work closely with is a great help.

While the most immediate outcome of performance appraisals may be the impact on our wallets, if done right, they can also be valuable in helping us identify learning opportunities and discuss career development with our managers. 

Since we are required to go through the process, we might as well make the most of it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Roger Pua has more than 25 years of international work experience, and was most recently senior director of brand marketing and corporate communications at LinkedIn.