Performance Review Dos and Don’ts

It may seem like just a pain, but it’s smart to work as hard on your review as you do on your job

By Liz Ryan’s

It's time for your annual performance review. Why, it seems like it was just yesterday that you wrote out those goals for 2006—you know, the ones you promptly forgot and can’t find right now. But much as you may dread this annual ritual, you shouldn’t. Here are some tips for getting the most out of it.

Do Take It Seriously

For many of you, this is the one chance you get every year to communicate with your manager about your importance to the team. Take advantage of that. And if you have the kind of manager who allows for give and take throughout the year, this is still a critical meeting. The way you handle the annual performance review process is itself evidence for or against your professionalism and maturity.

Do Be Prepared

A month before your performance review, ask your manager or a person in HR for the proper forms, and ask whether there is a written process that you can follow. If an employee self-evaluation is included, review it carefully. If a self-evaluation isn’t included, do it anyway, highlighting your accomplishments during the year, areas where you struggled, your goals for next year, and your thoughts about your professional development needs. In case you’re asked to provide feedback to your manager as well, have some points in mind before you enter the meeting.

Do Focus on the Big Picture

Since managers and their employees often have so little time to problem-solve, it’s easy for an annual performance review to get derailed and turn into a business update or a talk about processes or products. Don’t go there! Today, it’s about you—your past and your future. If other subjects come up, take notes for another discussion, but keep this one about you!

Do Seek Clarity

If your manager has feedback for you that doesn’t seem to make sense or outlines major goals that aren’t clear, speak up. It’s critical that you don’t leave confused, because your manager will expect you to begin thinking about (if not acting on) his suggestions right away. Most performance review meetings are scheduled for just an hour, and if there’s more critical conversation that has to take place, make sure to let your manager know.

Do Learn the Lesson

When you get through this year’s performance review, you should have some new knowledge about your company, your job description, your team’s goals, and your manager’s likes and dislikes. Take a half-hour after your meeting and put that learning in the vault via an e-mail to yourself—and talk it over with a friend, whether from work or not—to get deeper understanding of the issues. Your review should be more significant than an exchange of forms and a few more bucks in your paycheck. It’s a development exercise, and the beneficiary is you. Take the opportunity to get that benefit by processing the information before you dive into your next e-mail or phone call.

Don’t Ask for a Raise in the Review Meeting

If you’ve heard that the company’s standard annual increase is 4% and you’re looking for 7%, don’t wait until the review meeting to say so. Managers often budget next year's salaries months ahead of time and only deliver the news at the annual review meeting. If you want or expect a better-than-average increase, you and your manager should have talked about that at least once already. If you’ve missed the boat for next year, ask about the opportunity for a special performance and salary review at midyear, or the opportunity for a bonus if a major goal is met.

Don’t Be Unrealistic

Some employees think they’ll get the upper hand by saying that they’re perfect. This is ridiculous. Trust is key, and it’s frustrating for a manager to see an employee self-evaluation with only “Excellent” or “Very Good” after every bullet point. You demonstrate maturity and build your credibility by honestly airing your areas for improvement and asking for help where appropriate. Everyone, including you, can improve in one area or another.

Don’t Place Blame

It’s tempting to say “I didn’t get my work done because Accounting was slow,” or “We didn’t have the equipment,” or “The sun was in my eyes.” A good manager will hear an excuse like that and immediately respond with, “And what did you do when that obstacle arose?” As businesspeople, we are responsible for attacking barriers and surmounting them. If you didn’t do that, make a note of it as something to work on for next year.

Don’t Grovel

The opposite of proclaiming your perfection in a performance review is groveling and apologizing for everything. A manager doesn’t gain confidence in an employee whose principal message is, “Yes, I’m bad, it’s my fault.” You have strengths and weaknesses. Talk forthrightly with your manager about both.

Don’t Get Out the Brass Knuckles

You may have views about your work that are counter to your manager’s. That’s fine, but there’s no benefit to debating her about whether a problem was actually your fault. Listen to your manager’s feedback, and remember: This is the way your boss feels, and your No. 1 opportunity to change her impressions will be through your work in the weeks ahead, not today. Strengthening the link between the two of you is more important than debating your manager into the ground.