Self-evaluation puts the employee in charge of judging workplace performance rather than handing the decision to managers. It also gives employees the opportunity to highlight any achievements their manager may have missed.
For this reason, Hawkes believes that “self evaluations should be a regular conversation between an employee and their manager.” Here are a few tips to ensure your employee’s self-assessment is effective: 1. Embrace data.
1. It’s a chance to reflect
Self-evaluations can be intimidating, but they’re a chance to reflect on your performance. It’s an opportunity to show your manager what you have accomplished and how you’ve contributed to the company’s success. It’s also an opportunity to identify areas for improvement and create goals that will fuel your professional growth.
When writing your evaluation, remember to be honest. Don’t try to gloss over your strengths or downplay your weaknesses, but don’t play the blame game either. If you think there is a problem with your work environment, or if there’s an issue with one of your coworkers, that’s a different discussion that should be brought up separately from your self-evaluation, and ideally long before your review date.
A self-evaluation is an opportunity to remind your manager of your accomplishments over the past year. It’s important to be as specific and thorough as possible when describing your accomplishments, including metrics or numbers whenever you can. This will help your manager get a better picture of your successes and will help you feel more confident about your performance.
Your manager may not always understand your day-to-day responsibilities or the intricacies of your job, and a self-evaluation is a great opportunity to open up lines of communication. Your managers may even discover that they had misunderstood some of your responsibilities, or that they haven’t given you credit for certain tasks or projects.
You’ll also be able to use your evaluation to share your career aspirations with your manager. For example, you might use your self-evaluation to ask for a raise or bonus, or you might want to discuss opportunities for further training or a promotion.
Your manager can then help you set goals that will support your professional development and help you make progress toward your career aspirations. They can help you find ways to achieve those goals, such as through a mentorship or training program. They can also help you determine how to overcome an obstacle or challenge that you’re facing. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the process, reach out to HR or your manager for advice and tips on how to write an effective self-evaluation.
2. It’s a chance to set goals
While many employees dread writing self-evaluations, they can actually serve as an opportunity to set professional goals. By taking the time to identify your own strengths and weaknesses, you can work with your manager to come up with a plan of action for moving forward.
Self-assessments also give you a chance to highlight your successes. By being specific and highlighting quantifiable accomplishments, you can help your manager see the big picture of what an asset you have been to the organization.
In addition, this can be a great time to refresh your manager’s memory of the great things you have done since their last review. Having a clear, concrete, and accurate portrayal of your performance will ensure that your manager has a positive view of you as an employee and can advocate for you in the future.
Aside from pointing out your triumphs, it’s also important to critically assess the times you fell short. You should do this in a way that is not self-deprecating, but also not overly boastful. It’s also important to use developmental language when identifying areas where you could improve.
Lastly, take this opportunity to reassess your core values. Often, it’s easy to forget about the value you place on certain aspects of your job or life. Taking the time to reassess these can help you identify areas where you need to focus your efforts or make changes in order to be happier and more productive at work.
It may be helpful to carve out two or three hours to complete your self-evaluation. This will give you enough time to document all of your accomplishments, but it will also provide you with the space to think about what you want to achieve going forward. This is a great opportunity to create new goals and start to build a stronger personal brand by showcasing your strengths. You can do this by creating a list of your top 10 qualities and then using these to come up with a personal statement or tagline that you can use on LinkedIn, your resume, or anywhere else where you want to showcase your strengths.
3. It’s a chance to communicate
The self-evaluation portion of the performance review is a chance for employees to share their perspective on their work with their managers. They can help inform the points their manager raises during his or her section of the discussion, resulting in a more productive dialogue for everyone involved.
Employees also gain the ability to reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses, which puts them in charge of their own professional development. They will be able to identify areas they need to improve and set goals for themselves accordingly. Managers, on the other hand, will have a clearer picture of an employee’s skills and talents so that they can provide more valuable feedback throughout the year.
When completing the self-evaluation, it’s important to be honest and avoid being overly critical of yourself or other people. It’s also essential to use specific examples to support your evaluation. This helps ensure that your manager is able to understand your point of view and will make it easier for him or her to give constructive feedback during a follow-up meeting.
While some employees dread the performance review process, most workers benefit from having an opportunity to reflect on their achievements and skills in a way that will prepare them for future success. The key is to be prepared, honest, and take the process seriously.
Employee self-evaluations are a great way for companies to empower their employees and encourage them to grow in their roles. By implementing a performance management system that supports the process and encourages two-way communication, organizations can reap the benefits of employee self-evaluations.
For example, a platform like Fellow allows for the collection of both positive and negative feedback, which helps to promote a healthy workplace culture that fosters growth and productivity. In addition, a digital platform can streamline the review process and enable employees to submit their self-evaluations online. This not only makes the process more streamlined and efficient, but it can also make the experience more engaging for employees. For more information on how a performance management platform can empower your workforce, contact us today.
4. It’s a chance to prepare
The self-evaluation process is one of the few chances you have to remind your manager of what makes you an asset to the company. Creating a well-crafted self-evaluation will allow you to paint a clear picture of your achievements and use data to support them. Additionally, you can identify areas where you want to improve and utilize this framework as a platform to advocate for the resources you need to expand your skills.
In a typical performance review meeting, your manager will discuss your accomplishments and ask you what needs improvement. However, managers often have a hard time grasping the intricacies of an employee’s day-to-day job responsibilities, so the self-evaluation is a way for employees to give context to their managers. By ensuring that managers understand the role and duties of their employees, self-evaluations can help them provide constructive feedback, as needed.
Writing a self-evaluation may take up time that you’d rather apply to your daily job duties, but it’s a critical part of the performance review process. Carve out two to three hours to complete it so you can brush up on what went well since your last review and think about what you’d like to accomplish moving forward, advises Hired’s Lawrence.
You can also focus on the parts of your work that you’re most proud of to convey to your manager that you’re invested in your career progression. Incorporate details, such as the number of times you’ve surpassed your own expectations in a project, or how you’ve worked to overcome obstacles to achieve goals, suggests Applied Training Systems Inc. CEO Julie Rieken.
It’s equally important to be honest about the times you’ve fallen short in a project. However, when discussing weaknesses in your assessment, avoid using negative language that could come across as defensive. Instead, use developmental language that demonstrates your willingness to learn and grow, says Timothy Butler of Harvard Business School.
Don’t worry if you struggle to find the right words in your assessment. You can always seek out feedback from other team members and your manager before submitting it. They will be able to point out the things you’ve missed and provide helpful advice on how to fill in these gaps, so it’s no longer your blind spot.