Navigating a Bad Review

It’s that time of year again for your annual performance review but the timing couldn’t be worse. You just lost one of the biggest clients the firm had to the tune of $1 million in sales annually. Although you had your performance review meeting scheduled with the boss a week ago, you just know yesterday’s loss has to be on that review. Your peers look at you as you walk what feels like your last Green Mile. With each passing step closer to your bosses office, you feel your heart beat inside your chest and can taste the day’s luncheon special again. “This can’t be good,” you say. You just cost your boss a huge chunk of his year-end bonus. “Definitely not good.” So how do you recover from all this?

Be Prepared
People come unprepared for their performance evaluation. Do you honestly think your boss knows everything you have done throughout the year let alone remembers it? It is up to you to share all of your achievements throughout the year and how those achievements positively increased the organization’s bottom line, improved productivity, or established quality initiatives.

To make sure you are prepared, each month, write a monthly memo to yourself. Some people send their monthly achievements to their boss to keep them updated. The report doesn’t have to be long, but it should show the activities and results. By the end of the year, you just have to gather up those 12 monthly reports and, presto, you have your annual self-evaluation. Additionally, keep all of those emails or letters you’ve received from customers or colleagues. This helps you and your boss keep a perspective on the year-long efforts and accomplishments.

You will also want to bring samples of your work. Have you implemented a new program? Created something new that helped increase sales? These documents should be included in your year-end performance portfolio. On one occasion, a boss had just come aboard six months earlier. He wasn’t around long enough to see a full year of performance. This is certainly a difficult situation for him to be in, too. However, through the self-assessment portfolio, he was able view a full year of results that were accomplished by this employee. The portfolio helped the employee get a more thorough review despite the new leadership.

One major flaw in the performance appraisal process is where the reviewer fails to take into account the entire evaluation period and focuses on a recent performance episode. This is called a Recency Error. While you may have recently lost a client of $1 million in sales, when prepared you can detail the other clients you secured, the long-term contracts you negotiated or other accomplishments you achieved throughout the year.

Remain Composed
One of the instant reactions to a performance review is often an overreaction or defensiveness. This can never help your situation. Often times it is because you have not come prepared or that there is not a constant communication and feedback from boss to employee. Additionally, many times evaluations are attached to compensation making it difficult to separate actual performance and the performance rating. Remember to:

• Take a moment to review the information constructively.
• Allow some time to pass to process the emotion of the evaluation and look objectively at the information.
• Request a follow up meeting when you have had a chance to process your emotions and schedule a meeting where you can be composed.

You may also want to find out the reasons your boss gave the ratings. It may be a simple misunderstanding but you have to make sure you are actively listening to the feedback. On one occasion, the employee saved the company over $1 million in renegotiating contracts and successfully brought results under budget yet her boss still gave her a Does Not Meets in the Financial Category. The boss said, “everyone got a does not meets” because we didn’t meet budget as a company. While the the boss didn’t change the scoring, the employee was able to document her achievements in the performance evaluation for her official record.

Find Out How and What Is Most Important
Is the boss asking for more information and you’re not giving it to her? If you work for a boss that follows up closely, they might need information and become agitated when you don’t provide it. It is important to find out how and how much information your boss needs about your activities.

Additionally, you need to find out what is most important to the boss throughout the year. Results may have changed and if you’re working on integrating an old plan, you’re going to spend a lot of energy in the wrong direction and be viewed as out of the loop. Having quarterly meetings with the boss is helpful in finding out if you’re on track before your year-end evaluation. Constant communication is key to a successful evaluation.

If you’re trying to recover from a poor evaluation, this step is even more critical to your continued success. Completing Results-Oriented Action Plans that outline your bosses objectives, your objectives, and the action items you will complete can turn around a bad review. It shows you care about not only your area of responsibility but the success of the boss and the company. Your monthly report can also be helpful in reconnecting with the boss.

Communicate to Peers
If you’re getting the cold shoulder from your peers or they avoid inviting you out to lunch or after work, you know your days may be numbered. They will steer clear because they don’t want it to be associated with a poor performer. So, communicate to them on your plans for success. Make sure the message is clear on accomplishments, action steps, and due dates of these steps being accomplished. Ask for their help in solving problems. Often times, a brainstorming session is helpful to get the team to work together and aids you in being successful. If they are part of developing a solution, they can become your supporters for your success.

Continuously Update Your Resume
Use the yearly evaluation period to update your resume. If you’ve done all you can do to preserve your relationships and turn around the situation, and it still isn’t helping at least your resume will contain the most up to date information. There also may be an opportunity to find other employment within the organization. Your resume should always have the achievements not necessarily your job tasks. Most people make the mistake of including job tasks rather than their achievements. If you call on clients daily to increase sales, that’s a job task. An achievement is: Increased sales by 30% for three consecutive months by negotiating long-term contracts.

Remember, if you have a bad review, it also may be an indicator you have areas of continued growth or may be in the wrong position and may need to “excel outside the organization.” Keep your options open, be prepared, and remember to manage your career.