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Performance reviews in the workplace are similar to grades received in school, providing feedback on job performance. They are usually conducted annually, but some companies may have more frequent check-ins. Employees should prepare for the review by listing examples of meeting or exceeding company standards, acknowledging mistakes, and taking criticism as a learning opportunity. If criticism is unwarranted, a reasoned defense citing specific examples should be made in a professional and non-confrontational tone.
In school, each quarter or semester, you received grades, indicating how well you achieved the teacher’s goals and the standards set by the teacher for learning the material. These may have been happy times, with grades that truly reflected your performance, or they may have been tension-laden with whether or not you’d pass a class. Either way, these early appraisal experiences aren’t all that different from the performance review, a regular workplace event, in which a manager or supervisor formally or informally judges job performance over a specific period of time. In some cases, favorable performance reviews can be met with raises or promotions while unfavorable ones can help employees correct problems or mistakes with their work.
It is generally standard that a performance review is conducted on an annual basis. Some companies may have less formalities more frequently. These monthly or quarterly check-ins can be helpful for employees experiencing work environment issues because they provide them with constant feedback on areas where they need to improve.
For the employee who is not performing at peak capacity, the annual performance review may be too long to wait to comment on areas the employee needs to change. Sometimes employers will conduct performance reviews on an “as needed” basis. Therefore, an employee who is doing something that requires correction will first receive feedback so they can adjust their skills to improve performance.
A performance review can evaluate different aspects of your work, such as:
Job performance: Did you meet goals, meet employer-set standards, were you as productive as required by the company, etc.?
Employment Relationships: Have you maintained good professional relationships with colleagues, subordinates and managers?
Basic skills: Did you attend work regularly, on time and in accordance with the dress code, etc.?
As employers prepare for a performance review, employees need to prepare as well. If the review is annual, it’s a good idea to think through and make a list of concrete examples that show where your performance has met or exceeded the company’s standards over the past year. It’s also probably helpful to acknowledge any mistakes you’ve made, so be prepared for these if they’re mentioned in a review. You might think of ways, if you’ve made mistakes that you’ve improved since then, as they might help you defend yourself against an extremely negative performance review.
It can be difficult to receive a negative performance review, and while it’s tempting to react immediately, you should allow yourself some time before reacting or offering any defense for your actions. It’s too easy to be angry and seem unreasonable if you immediately start defending yourself. Instead, take a couple of days to read the review and do some self-research to decide if any criticisms are warranted.
If in a day or two, the criticism still doesn’t seem to reflect your job performance, write a reasoned defense citing specific examples of your performance. Keep your tone professional and non-confrontational, and make your argument mostly through concrete examples of how certain criticisms weren’t true. In a large company, sometimes a person gets an undeserved negative review. How professionally you state your objections to unfair criticism is very important if you hope to change an employer’s opinion of you. When criticism is warranted, take it as it is offered: as a learning opportunity to help you improve job performance.
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