Performance reviews are a great deal in the corporate world. Whether done annually, semi-annually, quarterly or even monthly, many working moms are always anxious about the exercise.
The truth of the matter is, the result of a performance review has a role to play in your job and career development in general. For this reason, getting a positive performance review is very important for moms. But how easy is it to always get a positive performance review?
Some work habits that will guarantee you a positive evaluation result this year includes seeking feedback proactively, keep a running list of your performance highlights,evaluate the impact of your work, take on more work, and upgrade your skill- set.
How to Get a Positive Performance Review at Work
- Seek Feedback Proactively to Improve your Performance
- Keep a Running List of your Performance Highlights
- Evaluate the Impact of Your Work
- Take on More Work Responsibilities
- Upgrade your Skill-Set
- Don’t Ignore Previous Reviews Feedback
1. Seek Feedback Proactively to Improve your Performance
Feedback is very crucial in any kind of engagement. At the workplace, it helps you improve your performance and productivity. Feedback tells you what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. You can then plan on enhancing your strengths and improving your weaknesses.
However, the effectiveness of this feedback depends on its timeliness as it determines how early you can capitalize on it and get a nail your performance review. You are supposed to get regular feedback from your employer but go one step ahead and proactively seek the feedback beforehand. Don’t wait for year-end to get your final performance appraisal.
Asking for feedback feels like confrontation and a personal attack but you will more than benefit from it. Doing so will ensure that you have the information and the time to do what is necessary to enhance and improve your performance and get a positive review.
Read: Questions to Ask Manager during a Performance Review
2. Record your Performance Highlights
The results of any performance reviews are guided by the performance in question. You need to have ready evidence of what you have been doing all year long. Without it, you are not likely to get a good performance review.
You must show the work achievements you have had as an employee this past year. Make a habit of constantly adding to your list throughout the year for you to have substantial evidence to grant a positive performance review.
3. Evaluate the Impact of Your Work
Mere work hours with nothing to show out of them will not get you a good performance review. Working on its own without adding value is not impressive. It is all about the impact of this output on the organization, which has a huge influence on performance review.
You need to be aware of what your work impacts are and present this as evidence of your performance. Your managers are interested in how your work affects or influences the numbers, performance, efficiency, effectiveness, cost-cutting, profitability, and competitiveness among others.
Knowing exactly how your projects have impacted your firm or your client’s organization will help you quantify the impact of your work. You are likely to have a positive performance review if your presence is felt in the organization.
Read: When and How to Ask for a Pay Rise
4. Take on More Responsibilities
Doing the same thing over and over again for years to come is not impressive. No manager is likely to feel the impact of what you do if it has remained constant since you were employed. What you need to do is to keep on improving.
Don’t love the comfort zone as this how you miss growth opportunities and get a poor performance review. Adopt a habit of always improving and doing something better than the last time.
Most importantly take on more responsibilities. Be open with your manager and show interest in other areas too. It is an effective way of getting noticed by your superiors and getting yourself a positive performance review.
5. Upgrade your Skill-Set to be Competitive in Performance
Everything in the world is evolving. At the workplace, more approaches and methods of doing things are always changing. At this rate, it is paramount that you are at par with the latest methods and skills in work.
Build a portfolio of skills that could potentially fit multiple roles. Unique and marketable skills will help you get a good performance review. Having such exemplary skills will put you in front of others and even make you competitive. In addition, they make you more productive at work and your performance will be highly noticed.
6. Don’t Ignore Feedback from Previous Reviews
If you have had a performance review before, do not ignore the feedback you got. Instead of getting defensive and justifying their behavior, take the feedback and internalize it.Look for the core areas of improvement that that you need to do to get a positive performance review.
The input of your evaluators is for your career development and job progression benefits. Process it and from here is it easy to remain objective on what went wrong and how that can be avoided next time. It is crucial in ensuring you get a good performance review this time.
Read: Things to Avoid Doing after a Poor Performance Review
Tips for Consistent Positive Performance Review
The following are the top performance review tips for employees.
- Arrange for 15 minutes every month or twice a month to touch base with your supervisor/manager and ask for feedback on your work. You will use these achievements to impress your manager with your performance.
- Use 5-10 minutes per week and add to your list all projects and additional initiatives you are working on, your role, and the clients/ team you worked with. At the end of the year, you will have a big list that will influence the direction of your evaluation and land you a positive performance review.
- After every project, seek data from your manager/supervisor about how the organization and the clients have benefited from the project.
- During your one on one feedback sessions with your supervisor, seek information on you can contribute by taking on more responsibility.
- Create a list of new work opportunities and what skills you need to achieve this
- Have a positive attitude towards performance reviews. Many moms see it as a confrontation but it is not. Never take it personally.
- Have an objective and open mind in assessing the feedback you have received. If possible, request an informal evaluation from your peers and juniors.
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