It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Performance Appraisal Time! I know you are all so excited you can hardly stand it.

Yes, I realize many companies operate on a calendar year and it is August and we have 4 1/2 months left until the end of the year. I understand that. So, sometime in the month of December your boss is going to want to sit down and have a meeting with you.

So, let's calculate backwards. If your boss has to have the appraisal written by December, that means he's going to be doing the planning and writing in October/November (assuming he's not a super-procrastinator). This means you have until the end of September to do your part.

Yes, I said, do your part. Managers hate performance appraisal writing. They do. You would too (and probably do--remember, managers have managers as well). So, it is to your advantage to make it as easy as possible for your boss to write you appraisal.

The easiest way for someone to write an appraisal? Copy and paste. And we want to make sure your boss is copying and pasting from the self appraisal that you are just about to write.

Step one--pull out last year's appraisal. This is especially critical if you have the same boss as last year. Look over any goals (you've probably forgotten about them) that you had. Is there anything you haven't done yet? If so, it's only August, so make plans to accomplish those things.

Now, start making lists. For each of your objectives, list what you have done. If you haven't done enough, make notes on what you need to accomplish between now and the end of September. Many managers make the mistake of emphasizing your most recent performance, so take advantage of that fact and start shining.

Once you've gone through all your objectives, take a quick look through your sent e-mail. Are there any projects or other areas that aren't specifically covered by your objectives, but where you did valuable work? Note those as well.

You'll be surprised how much you have forgotten. Your boss has forgotten as well. It's your job to remind him.

Now that you know how wonderful you are, write it all up. If you company has a self appraisal form, use it. If they don't, then list each of you objectives and how you achieved it, as well as what you plan to do to keep shining. Then describe the "other" tasks you did.

Now, you are almost done. The next part of your appraisal is next year's objectives. You want to be in charge of these. So, write up proposed objectives and goals. Make sure you list any training classes you want to take. You boss may not know you are interested in X, Y, or Z. Now is the time to tell him.

Last of all, have a trusted co-worker read it. Why? First of all, for typos and grammar errors. Secondly, to say to you, "Hey, Bob, you said that you single handedly turned the entire sale of anvils around. Karen and Holly really helped out with that."

Why do you want that mentioned? Because first of all, teamwork is important, and secondly, managers don't appreciate it when you are pompous and take credit where you shouldn't. Yes, you want to emphasize your accomplishments. No, you don't want to make yourself out to be something you are not. That will come around and bite you.

Now, if your company has a formal self appraisal process, send an electronic copy to your manager. Why not hard copy? Because you want to make it easy for your manager to copy and paste from your document into theirs. It's easier for the manager and more likely to result in you getting a positive review.

If your company doesn't have a formal self appraisal process, tell your manager you have made a few notes about your performance for this year. And send him an electronic copy.

Will this method guarantee a good review? No. But it will remind your manager of everything you've done throughout the year, not just the things you did the week before the dreaded appraisal is written.

Book Review: Stress Free Performance Appraisals

Book: Stress Free Performance Appraials: Turn Your Most Painful Management Duty into a Powerful Motivational Tool
Authors: Sharon Armstrong and Madelyn Appelbaum

One out of 8 people would rather go to the dentist than conduct a performance review, according to this lovely book. Given the moans and groans around performance appraisals, I have a hard time believing it's not 7 out of 8 people preferring the dentist.

Although dentistry and performance appraisals are strangely connected. A trip to the dentist can be a nightmare, resulting in drugs, pain, spitting, blood and a huge bill at the end. Or it can be a quick cleaning and discussion with the dentist about his expensive hobbies that you are funding. (Wait, maybe that's just my dentist.) I think to be a better analogy, I better say a quick cleaning and a discussion with the dentist about what you can do to maintain that beautiful smile.

According to Armstrong and Appelbaum, your performance appraisal can go either way--it's all up to the maintenance work done during the year.

The premise is that if managers set up measurable objectives to begin with and then communicate during the year, year end performance appraisals are a snap. By instructing readers to make specific statements regarding these goals they give clear help to the appraisal writer.

Armstrong and Applebaum give numerous examples and follow three employees (an excellent performer, a temporarily struggling employee, and a poor performer) through their appraisals, discussing how to approach each one.

They even discuss how to write and follow a Performance Improvement Plan (which is quite helpful).

After reading it, I do have a question of how best to apply their methods in a company with a forced ratings distribution. (I am assuming here that the average reader is not the person with the power to change that system.) I operate in a forced distribution company and let me tell you, I'm very hesitant to give positive feedback on goals throughout the year because I have very little control over what my employee's final rating will be. (If my boss decides that another group deserves extra high performers my group suffers, regardless of how my people have performed against their objectives, but that's a rant for another day.) If I've documented and discussed performance as exceeding goals all year long and then have to rate an employee average I've just lost all credibility as a manager.

Maybe I can get Sharon Armstrong and Madelyn Appelbaum to come talk to my management...

If you don't have time to read the whole thing, I recommend reading Chapter 7: When Appraisals Go Off Track. They list problems and give sample dialogs to help you navigate any appraisal situation.

Overall, it's helpful for managers who are learning to be better and HR who should know better to begin with. I can't say it lives up to its claim of complete stress free appraisals (it's always stressful to tell someone they aren't doing well), but if we followed their advice we'd have a lot less spitting, drugs, and blood at year end.

Performance Appraisal? Check.

Well, I've finally had my yearly performance appraisal. I am, of course, a wonderful employee. (Would you expect anything less from me? Afterall, I am evil and I am in HR, so of course it's a perfect match.)

My boss did point out one, umm, less than perfect area: I'm too negative.

While you ponder on that, I will tell you that yesterday I took the Offspring to a birthday party. Twenty 3 and 4 year olds in a small house with the heat on and a Sleeping Beauty look alike who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket actually had me thinking, while walking down the stairs, "you know, if I fell down these stairs and broke my leg, I could leave this nightmare early."

Anyway, my boss said that I'm a little too negative. I don't know where on earth she gets that idea.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Performance Appraisal time. What else could you possibly be thinking?

I know, everyone hates them. I hate them too. So, to be helpful, here are some hints for managers and employees.

Tips for Managers

Just sit down and write the darn things. Starting them is the hard part. Just get started and it will take less time then you thought.

Copy and paste from the self-appraisals your employees submitted. If they didn't submit them this year, make sure they do next year. And have them submit them electronically. I mean, if worker Bob has already written a paragraph about how he truly embodies the company value of "teamwork" and he truly does, just take his paragraph. Then edit it to fit.

Copy and paste from last year's appraisal. If your employee is still doing the same job, you can use some of the language from the previous year's appraisal. These are not meant to be literary works of art, they are meant to transmit a message.

Be honest. If Bob is consistently late to work, put it in the appraisal. If Sharon offends clients because she makes snide comments about their clothing, let Sharon know.

On the honesty front, don't write a glowing appraisal ("Sharon truly embraces quality") and then give a low overall rating. Be consistent. Point out the good and the bad.

Tell your employees how they can improve. ("Sharon's thoughtless remarks about other's attire is holding her back." "Bob needs to be in the office no later than 8:30." "Susan needs to consistently format her Excel spreadsheets before submitting.") Frequently, this is the only guide employees get.

Write actual goals for each employee and then make your own goal to regularly follow up.

E-mail a copy of the finished appraisal to the employee at least a few hours before you meet with her. Why? This will give the employee more time to internalize your comments and your discussion will be meaningful. If you are like most managers, your employees have little idea of what you actually think about their performance. Don't blindside them.

Tips for Employees

Write your self appraisal. I know, I know, it's probably too late. Make a note to do so next year. This is your chance to gush on about how wonderful you are. This is also the chance to bring up all the stuff your boss doesn't know about. (Which, in most cases is a lot. I'm not trying to insult managers, I'm just saying that especially for high performers, you do a lot that your boss doesn't know about. Let him know.)

If you get a bad appraisal, no weeping. Just as there is no crying in baseball, there should be no crying in a performance appraisal. If your boss blindsides you (he shouldn't) say, "I wasn't aware of these issues. I'd like to take time to think about them. Can we meet next week?" And then make sure you do.

Use the performance appraisal as a chance to suck up to your boss. Why not? It can't hurt and it might help for next year.

If there are no goals, or the goals are unrealistic (Sharon needs to double her client base by February is an unrealistic goal), discuss them now. Theoretically, this is what you will be graded on next year, so get it clear now.

Remember your manager hates these more than you do, so be kind.

If you disagree with your manager's assessment, take the time to write a response to be included. Don't whine and say it is not fair. Just document the inconsistences. What good does this do? Well, if you apply for an internal position to work for me, one of the first things I'm going to do is call employee records and get a copy of your previous appraisals. I'd like to hear your side.

Have fun with your appraisals. Fun writing them, fun getting them. And remember, once they are done you can go have some holiday fudge.