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Self appraisal is the process of reviewing your own performance. Many organizations use self appraisal as a precursor to a formal appraisal meeting as it provides a useful means of self reflection and personal evaluation of past performance. To carry out an effective self appraisal, you should consider your accomplishments, particular problems and challenges you have faced, your strengths and weaknesses and how your role could be developed in the future. If you are about to conduct a self appraisal, or want to review the effectiveness of your current approach, this article offers advice to ensure that the process is well-planned and carried out objectively and honestly.
1. Check your understanding: To ensure that the self appraisal process is meaningful you should have an understanding of both your role and the process to be followed in the self appraisal. Make sure that you have a clear appreciation of your responsibilities, your performance objectives and priorities as well as your manager's expectations. It is also important that you are familiar with your organization’s self appraisal process, and how it is used. For example:
- How often should you carry out self appraisal, e.g. quarterly or annually?
- Is self appraisal part of the preparation for a more formal 1:1 appraisal meeting with your manager or is it a stand alone process?
- What documentation and format should be used for your self appraisal?
Ask your manager for clarification if you are unsure of any aspects.
2. Plan ahead: As with any appraisal process, it is important to plan ahead and conduct adequate preparations so that the process is both valid and robust. Ideally, you should reflect back on your performance over a period of time, and draw upon a range of examples from throughout the appraisal period. You may find it helpful to keep a journal or performance log, where you can regularly note your thoughts and reflections on particular tasks, issues and challenges while information is fresh in your mind. Get into the habit of updating your records on a weekly basis rather than waiting until the end of the evaluation period.
3. Collect evidence of your performance: Don’t expect your manager to remember everything you’ve accomplished over the course of the appraisal period. Use your journal or performance log to collect records of feedback (both positive and negative) received from colleagues, customers and managers. File thank-you emails and letters, notes about any training you have completed and certificates awarded. Keep records of any special assignments, projects or tasks you were involved in that gave you an opportunity to develop new skills, or that gave you exposure to new processes and procedures. Your journal can also be used to document any significant changes to your responsibilities, performance objectives and work priorities.
4. Honesty is the best policy: Although it might be tempting, don’t be swayed into overstating or understating your achievements. It is also important to be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. Although it might be difficult at first, being able to describe your failures or where things went wrong can be a valuable learning experience. If you were not able to meet some of your performance goals, or have faced particular problems, consider what the root causes were and assess your performance objectively and truthfully.
5. Be specific: To increase the validity of your self appraisal, provide examples of tasks and situations, and outline the specific actions you took. Think about the core areas of responsibility that make up your role and how you have performed in each. To help increase objectivity, provide quantitative facts rather than subjective statements. For example “I follow up and resolve all customer complaints within one hour”, rather than “My customer service skills are good” ; "I completed the report in five weeks, one week ahead of schedule" rather than “My work is of high quality". Explain the specific impact of your actions on individual, team and organizational objectives as well as the impact(s) on areas such as customer service or sales. For example “I increased sales revenue by £10,000 in 3 months by creating a focused, targeted sales campaign”, rather than “I improved sales”.
6. Consider areas for improvement: An important element of the self appraisal process is your personal assessment of the areas where your performance could be improved. If you failed to meet any objectives or standards, what were the reasons for doing so? Consider what additional knowledge and experience would help you to progress your skills and abilities. You should also assess what additional support, training and resources your organization could provide which would help you to make these improvements.
7. Think about the future: Your views on how you see your role progressing is a critical element of the self appraisal process. Your self appraisal should take into account both short and long-term goals, as well as considering potential areas of development. Think about your career goals and aspirations, and the areas of your role that you are keen to develop.
8. Proof read: Demonstrate your professionalism and attention to detail by checking your self appraisal documentation carefully. Ensure that there are no punctuation, spelling or grammatical errors. Use a spell-check facility and double-check the spelling of colleagues’ and customers’ names, as well as any organization-specific products or terminology. You should also check the accuracy of any dates and figures used.
