Ready for Some Feedback? 8 Tips to Prepare for Performance Reviews
Performance reviews are one of the best ways to give and receive feedback in a professional setting.
Whether monthly or annually, your performance review is a 1:1 with your immediate manager to go over your progress since your last review, discuss your goals, and potentially provide areas of improvement. In this Article, we discuss eight tasks and tactics to prepare for your performance review.
Prepare Ahead of Time
A great performance review begins with great preparation. There are certain things you can prepare in advance of your meeting to provide discussion points or highlight your skillsets. Your company may also ask you to prepare specific materials, such as goals, key milestones, or financials.
If applicable, be sure to review, and compare progress against, your last performance review. This will show that you are considering historical feedback in your work and have implemented it moving forward. You could also do a self-reflection to determine your strengths and weaknesses, as well as identify new areas to expand your skillset.
Understand the process
Prior to your meeting, you should have a clear understanding of the expectations for your time. What is the purpose of the performance review? Is this an opportunity for you to simply receive feedback or will your manager expect a presentation? Is this a two-way opportunity for you to share your feedback, as well? How often will you have performance reviews? Human Resources or your manager will have these answers and it is important to understand if there are any changes to the process throughout your time with the company.
Set Goals
During your performance review, you will be asked to set, and reflect on your progress toward, your short and long term goals. Short term goals are usually daily, weekly, or monthly goals, shorter in nature and usually action items to develop your skills. Long term goals could be a number of months (3 or 6-month goals are common) or a fiscal/calendar year and are usually higher-level aspirations, including access to certain types of work or future collaborations with key teams.
Having some clarity on what you want (and how it’s been achieved by others) can help you come up with a list of skills you want to learn, responsibilities you want to explore, and other goals you might want to set for the future as you head into your performance review. (3).
There are many great goal setting resources available online, including worksheets and milestone trackers. Your Human Resources Department may also have some available for employees or your manager may have pre-identified goals for you as you expand your role.
Also keep in mind that career goals change all the time, so this doesn’t need to be an exhaustive list; you can expect to amend your long-term goals as you go. (3).
Prepare Questions
Preparing questions shows you are invested in your growth and are seeking clarification on how you can best measure or improve your performance. Your questions can focus on several main areas: understanding your current performance and expectations, identifying areas of growth, and setting goals for the future. Other examples could include:
What should I do less of? More of?
How is my communication perceived by my teammates?
When was a time when a project went well? Did not go well?
What are the team and company goals for this quarter? Year? Next year?
Gather External feedback and Compile Accomplishments
As you prepare for your review, you will want to gather feedback from your internal partners and make a list of your accomplishment and key projects since your last review. Demonstrating your current value and how your work impacts the company will help you in the event you are asking for a raise or new responsibilities. Seek feedback from partner teams with which you work closely, a downstream pipeline department who relies on your work, a individual higher up or C-Suite leader with whom you have worked with in the past, or even your own immediate teammates.
Numbers are always good — money made, deliverables delivered, projects completed, etc — but don’t forget the non-number stuff, too. Spend a few minutes listing out the skills you learned this year, the relationships you built, and the personal accomplishments you hit. (Super-pro tip: Start a spreadsheet to track those accomplishments as you go — links to big projects, praise from leadership, hard data, and so on — and this step will be a breeze next time.). (3).
Used similarly to a goal tracker, there are also numerous resources online to help you track accomplishments, or you can start a simple Excel file. Make a note on your work calendar to update this tracker weekly, including key collaborative departments or coworkers with whom you worked closely who can provide feedback on your contribution.
Mentally Prepare for Feedback
Receiving feedback is not always easy. While we are naturally more excited to hear positive things about our work, be prepared for negative or constructive feedback. No employee is perfect and the identification of areas for improvement is essential for your professional growth. Instead of becoming defensive, try to be curious and inquire into the nature of the feedback: how can you improve in the future?
Ask questions to clarify any points you don’t understand and discuss specific actions you can take to address any areas of concern. Remember, constructive criticism isn’t intended to discourage you or criticize you personally, but rather to help you reach your full potential in your role. (1).
It is also important to note that accepting positive feedback with grace and humility is also a skill. A mature and calm response to either positive or negative feedback shows that you value such feedback and appreciate the time investment in your growth.
Own Your Mistakes
Perhaps such negative feedback is regarding a specific scenario in which you made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes but the key is how we react when faced with the negative feedback (or any unintended workplace consequences of our missteps). While you should feel empowered to discuss the scenario and any other factors leading to the negative outcome, definitely try to own your mistakes and do not be afraid to apologize when appropriate. This, again, show professional maturity and that you can maintain composure in stressful situations.
If you have pre-identified the scenario in which the mistake was made and are confident your manager will bring it up, it may be helpful to take the initiative the timeline the situation and prepare ways to improve in the future.
Check Ins and Follow Ups
After your performance review has concluded and you have received your feedback (and hopefully a raise because of your excellent preparation), consider setting regular 1:1s with your manager specific for the purpose of reviewing your goal progress or work improvement. These development conversations can stem from HR or you can take the initiative to set them up yourself. Ask your coworkers what would be customary.
Outside of your meetings with your manager, regularly consult your trackers and milestones. Stay accountable to yourself to stick to your plan and achieve your action items. Review your goals every few months to determine what still sparks your interest or if there are areas you can reevaluate.
Citations
Ellevest Team. “5 Steps to Prepare for Your Annual Performance Review | Ellevest.” Ellevest Career, 26 Oct. 2022, www.ellevest.com/magazine/career/performance-review.
Peppercorn, Susan. “Expecting a Bad Performance Review? Here’s How to Prepare.” Harvard Business Review, 7 July 2022, hbr.org/2022/07/expecting-a-bad-performance-review-heres-how-to-prepare.
Upwork Team. How To Prepare for a Performance Review, Upwork, 16 Apr. 2023, www.upwork.com/resources/performance-review-preparation.
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