Annual review season could make you feel like a kid again: unsure
what kind of grades you'll receive on your report card. While this is a
typical reaction, human resources expert Carl C. Jefferson, president
of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources and
a vice president at Wachovia, says the review process is a positive
experience that really creates a chance for employees to do well.
The evaluation is "an opportunity to perform better by going into
the future with it," Jefferson explains. Below, the five steps he
believes employees should take after a less-than-desirable review.
- Assess your feelings.Take inventory of how you're feeling after receiving a bad review. Are you angry? Confused? Sad? These are the questions Jefferson says you should ask yourself. During this step, assess whether you can still do the job, and determine if anything has changed since you took the position. Are there fewer resources available, did a work team decrease in size or did the velocity of your work increase and you were not ready, able or capable of doing the work? This is the period where you are determining what may have contributed to the negative review.
- Analyze differences you and your supervisor(s) have about your job performance. Write down any discrepancies between how you thought you=2 0were performing and what's expressed in the review. It is important to close the gap between what your employer thinks and what you believe about your work performance. Be completely honest with yourself. The two of you could not jibe over something such as punctuality or meeting deadlines.
- Consider your options. Now that you've completed a self-assessment of your feelings and outlined the performance gaps, it's time to determine what you're prepared to do in response to the review. Do whatever helps you prepare for a time of reflection--whether it's meditating, sitting alone or re-reading the review. "It's not about the job; it's about you. It may take a few hours (to figure this out); it may take a day," Jefferson says. During this stage weigh your options and "come up with a whole laundry list of things you need to consider." This is where you should ask yourself whether you find a mentor, coach or sponsor, or consider additional education to help you perform better at work, or if you need to look for a new job. You may even decide your current line of work isn't fulfilling your life's purpose and opt to switch to a new industry. Be honest with yourself and trust your spirit. Don't allow fear to keep you imprisoned in your current position if your spirit is pointing in another direction.
- Create an action plan to impro ve your performance or plan to make an exit. "What action are you willing to take?" Jefferson asks. If you had trouble meeting deadlines, get clarity from your manager on when projects are due. If punctuality is an issue, the action plan would say you're going to arrive 10 minutes earlier for work. If you are planning to resign from your position, take the proper steps to find new employment or income stream.
- Commit to improving. This is for two people: yourself and your supervisor. "It's a decision to surrender to the decision to make a commitment to improve," Jefferson says. "If you made a commitment to leave, you need to commit to your decision. If you're going to stay, put all of your actions into your improvement."
Aisha Iman is an Atlanta freelancer who writes frequently about business.
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