It’s that time of the year, the annual appraisal process is beginning. Here’s guide to all those worried about a bad year at work. You can still impress the boss
So, this hasn’t been your year at work. May be, you started well, but lost your way. To add to your troubles, the economy went into a slowdown and made your targets a bigger challenge. Or may be, you just took it easy. Or, your boss changed midway. Or your KRAs. Whatever, the thing is that now’s appraisal time, the first HR mails are landing in the inbox, you think you are in for a rotten evaluation from the boss. After all, what can be done in three months — January to March, let’s say — to make up for nine months of cutting a sorry figure at work?
Don’t give up. Read on. Listen to what one of the world’s foremost appraisal experts have to say. “Yes, it is definitely possible — even likely,” says Dick Grote, author of How to Be Good at Performance Appraisals. Here’s why.
Bosses Have Poor Memory
The most common appraisal error bosses make is the ‘recency effect’, according to Grote. If you have had a great nine months, but were average to poorly performing in the three months leading up to appraisal, most bosses will unthinkingly base the whole year’s rating on the most recent performance. “That is the period the manager most clearly remembers, and few managers have the discipline to maintain regular performance records all year long,” says Grote.
So, turn this around. Take advantage of this trait. You have had a bad nine months, but if you can excel in these three months, the recency effect will work in your favour. “Recency effect will work in the employee’s favour if she can make herself look as good as possible during the month or two before the manager picks up his pen and starts writing his assessment on the appraisal form,” advises Grote.
This may not get you to the top of the class, but it will almost certainly pull you out from the bottom. As Genpact’s V-P, HR, Piyush Mehta says, self-realisation — that you messed up for nine months — is a good strategy. A late but determined effort on your part can even make a boss not particularly prone to the recency effect acknowledge your willingness to change.
Plant a Seed in Boss’ Brain
Plant a thought. It never hurts. You can approach the boss and say — respectfully — “Boss (or Sir/Ma’am) I’ve been working hard the past few months. But I know that you’re really the best judge of that. Did you notice any progress?”
Now, here’s the trick. Hardly any boss will be willing to admit they haven’t been paying attention to subordinates’ efforts (although many bosses, in fact, don’t pay attention). And few bosses will want to be brutally frank and say, “Nope, you are exactly where you were, I don’t see any change”.
Therefore, when it comes to writing your appraisal, that seed you planted in the boss’ brain about your selfimprovement efforts may well produce a crop of positive assessment. Worst case, as we said, it won’t hurt.
Don’t Waffle
It’s not just immediate pre-appraisal strategies that may work. You can get a better appraisal, even after a lousy nine months, if you are smart during your appraisal conversation.
First, prepare. Don’t walk in without an agenda. What are the questions you’d like to get answers to? What areas of your performance does your boss feel are most important? Think about all these things. Then, you won’t waffle. “The biggest mistake employees make in performance appraisal discussions is to think that it’s a one-way conversation and that their job is simply to listen to whatever the boss has to say,” says Grote.
Take an active role. But never, ever argue. “Don’t treat the conversation as a debating contest,” says Elango R, chief HR officer at MphasiS. Marc Effron, president, Talent Strategy Group, a global HR and talent management consulting firm, lists some rules of thumb for your appraisal this year. “Start by being humble. No one likes a braggart,” he says.
Don’t Negotiate
A big mistake, a really big mistake you can make if you have had a bad nine months at work is to try and negotiate with your boss during the appraisal conversation. If your boss thinks you had a so-so year, and especially since you know that’s true, don’t get into the but-don’t-you-think mode. You’re not going to sway the boss’ opinion. You are going to make him think you are clueless, which is far worse than being thought of as having had an average year at work.
And Next Year…
All the above will help you, if you are smart about applying these strategies. But here’s the best strategy — for the next appraisal cycle just make sure you don’t have to read articles like this! Around this time in 2013, be in a position where you know you have already cracked your appraisal. And here’s wishing you best of luck for this year’s appraisal.
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