Being employed full-time means we’re subject to our performance at work being reviewed. This is commonly done on an annual basis–each year, we are given some kind of performance review to see how we’re doing from our employer’s perspective. Let’s have a look at some tips on how you can make your annual review go well.
Keep Track Of Achievements Throughout The Year
One of the main discussion points of your annual review will be what you have achieved over the last twelve months. This list should contain the good things you’ve done for the company.
However, a year in your job can be a long time. It can be hard to remember what you’ve done in the last year when you’re organizing your review. A great way to help remember is to keep notes on what you’ve done as you do them. Don’t wait until the end of the year to make this list.
As you do good things at work, make a note of them. This can be a simple note, such as a project delivery, or a good idea that was picked up, or some important task you had to do. At the end of the year, you can look at this list, and it will jog your memory as to what your actual achievements were.
Just make sure you keep it in a place you’ll remember!
Mention How You Made Or Saved Money
Companies are very focused on two things: making money through what they do, and saving money while doing it. If you can link your achievements to either of these items, it can be a big help.
Making money for the company could be part of your job. If you have sales targets or similar measures, you can mention these if you’ve met or exceeded them. If you did some work that involved bringing more business to the company, such as finding a new client or a new project, mention this in your review.
Alternatively, if you’ve saved your company money, you should mention this. Improving processes, finding better ways to do things, or negotiating new prices for services are all examples of things you may have done to reduce expenses for a company. If anything you’ve done has saved money for the company, mention it as well.
Talk About Your Focus On Development And Goals
Employers expect that their employees improve their skills and get better at their jobs. They often provide training and other initiatives to help this. A good thing to mention on your annual review is how you’ve achieved any goals that were set, either by yourself or by your manager. These could be performance goals or any other targets that have been set.
Related to this, development of staff is also an area they are likely concerned with. If you’ve done anything to improve your skills, such as training or certifications, write this down. Even if the company has paid for it, the fact you have completed it shows you’re focused on these goals and improving yourself.
Set Goals For The Next Period
For you to be able to meet the goals in your previous year, you need to set them. Set some goals for yourself for the upcoming twelve months, and make them known to your employer. Some goals you could set can involve:
- Training and development goals. List any training you’d like to do, or any certifications you wish to complete.
- Projects and timelines. Completing projects by certain dates is an important but risky goal. It will need some assessment before the review, but mentioning the project work you’re doing and the dates you’d like to deliver it by can be a good goal.
- Career and role development. This is more to do with your position and your career, but if you’ve set up a career plan, you should mention how you’re going to take the next step toward it. For example, if you’d like to be a team leader eventually, mention what steps you’re going to take to get that kind of position.
Include Areas to Improve
Nobody is perfect at their job. Some people are very good, yes, but there is still room for improvement in us all. A good way to help your annual review is to include some areas in which you can improve. They don’t need to be big areas, but including one or two areas can show your employer that you’re self-aware and looking to progress. They could be areas such as contributing to discussions in meetings, improving communication skills, or learning how to use a certain piece of software better.
Annual reviews are an important part of our role. Making sure we do a good job of informing our manager about what we have done and what we have planned will ensure we get the most benefit from them.
