Last week the topic of midyear reviews came up numerous times so I thought I would address some of the questions that arose. In all of my years of management I can tell you that people want to receive feedback, however, the more formal process of the performance appraisal and the midyear review are perceived as a negative. There are many reasons for this one being the time that it takes to complete. Questions that come up often are: What do I write? How much do I write? How do I talk about myself in a way that doesn’t sound like bragging? What’s the importance of it if only my manager is going to see it?
All very good questions so let’s take a look at them. What do I write? Most individuals in companies and organizations have goals to be accomplished, and these goals can be quarterly goals, midyear goals or goals for the year. Always use the goals that have been set by you and your manager as a way to drive your midyear narrative. Focus on outcomes and results as a way to be clear about what you have done, and then include how you accomplished what you did, especially if it was complex. For instance, if you were a project lead and needed to drive consensus across stakeholders, include that. This is a skill that is critical in project management and an important skill across the business. Illustrating how you have used that skill is important.
Many of the forms that companies use allow for additional reporting somewhere on the form. Use that area for those items that you want to include that may be unrelated to the goals agreed upon by you and your manager. If you have had the opportunity to work on items outside the scope of your job, you want to get credit for that. There are times you do things (i.e. mentoring a new employee) that your manager might not be aware of. The caution is not to give every detail about your day to day operations, but how you did against the goals set by you and your manager, as well as anything that you did above and beyond that.
In completing your self-appraisal, you want to ensure your manager knows what you have accomplished and how you have attained success even if only partially at the midyear. This is especially important if you have a remote manager, and today in a pandemic, many are working from home so everything being done is remote from your manager. If managers are not doing one on one’s regularly, how will they know what you have accomplished if you don’t tell them?
Generally speaking, I hear from more women than men that they don’t want to sound like they are bragging about their accomplishments. Speaking in “I” versus “we” can be difficult but necessary. Both are important in our vocabulary since we all work together and there are many handoffs in how work is completed. However, it is important to differentiate yourself from the “we.” For instance, “I led the team through a series of workshops and as a result we were able to complete the development on time.” This is different than, “We conducted 4 workshops and completed the development on time.” In the second I do not know what role you played. For women (and this goes for men too) talk about impact to the team and/or the business as it relates to your results. This may make using “I” easier, and if there is any implicit gender bias from the reader’s perspective it still reads “team player.”
Managers are typically the one’s looking at mid-year reviews, however, there are lots of good reasons for doing them. We talked about the issue of remote management which makes this review important. This is also a time for you to review and reflect on the work that you are doing. Am I doing good work? Is it fulfilling and purposeful? Do I need to course correct to get my progress back on track? What do I need from my manager to be successful? Do my goals need to be revised because of a change in the organization or department? Where do I want or need to grow and develop?
We don’t often spend enough time thinking about these questions. Having the chance to answer those questions makes the process worthwhile, and hopefully allows you to feel like you are doing meaningful work.
If your company conducts a yearly performance appraisal, completing the midyear review well will make it easier to complete at year end. Take the time to make it count!
