Performance reviews are supposed to be used as a way for employees to understand how their work performance has met or not met the goals of the organization. They should walk away from the performance review with more knowledge of how their work and attitude effects the organization and what they need to work on or improve upon to keep being a contributor to the organization. More often than not, your boss may be hesitant to give you an honest performance review. Telling someone the honest truth, especially if it’s something they don’t want to hear like if they’ve done poorly, is hard to say. When you walk into your next performance review look for these mistakes your boss may make.
It’s a performance review red flag if your boss is only discussing your current work. Of course, your most current work accomplished is the one that’s freshest in their memory, but in order to conduct a proper performance review they must address your current and past work. Discussing work done in the past will give a more well-rounded picture of how you have either progressed in your work or stayed stagnant.
Belmont University states that showing bias is another sign of a poor performance review. A bias they may show is if they compare your work to another employee, give high marks all around or all low marks. Your work shouldn’t be compared against another employee’s for various reasons, the most important being that performance reviews are based solely on your own work performance and shouldn’t include the comparison of another. If your boss gives you the same score across the board, whether it be low or high, they’re not really putting much thought into your performance review.
If this is the first time you’re hearing feedback on your work performance, this a sign of a poor performance review and an overall bad boss. Your boss should be giving you feedback on a weekly or bi-weekly basis depending on when you have your department or office meetings.
Furthermore, critical feedback is no use without it being constructive. When your boss begins to give you critical feedback without advice on how to improve you’re left feeling like you aren’t doing your best and are at a loss of how to improve. If they don’t give you the constructive criticism you deserve, step up to the challenge and ask them for advice on how to improve. Don’t just be satisfied with a poor performance review and no input or feedback from your boss.
Finally, if your boss is the only one talking, then you’re not having a real discussion about your performance. Your boss needs to ask you how you think you did, how you think you can improve, what you think needs to be done to reach organization goals and so on. Your input in the conversation is crucial to having a good performance review.
Have you ever received a poor performance review from your boss? What did you do to try and make it better? Share with us in the comments section below!
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by DaveCrosby
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