Appraisals – How to prepare?
For me the New Year is always exciting - not only because for a short while I get to believe that I will actually keep my new years resolutions… Making new plans has the excitement of starting a new life, but more than that. In this case all the experience we collected in the previous years now become clear markers alongside the path we should walk in the new one.
Most of us are facing appraisals in January and on contrary to the common belief it is not primarily an opportunity for asking for a raise. I thing it is rather a good chance to think about subjects that we could brush up on and find new ones that we could learn over the coming year. But first and foremost learn about ourselves and think how we could become better people and more knowledgeable professionals. After all, what we worth not only depends on what we know but also how we think about ourselves and whether our colleagues, managers concur or oppose our views in the matter.
What do you need?
Well, it is good to remember your accomplishments throughout the year so digging out gantt-charts, project plans can be a good start. Business cases often precede larger projects, so if you have access to them, updating them with some additional research can be a great measure of success. Being able to show some actual figures counts as an ace in your hands when it comes to negotiations. If your role doesn’t require sophisticated project planning – or the management was too lazy to create them in the first place, then just crawl through your mailbox highlighting a few milestones over the year to create a summary of accomplishments for the meeting. As I said, it is time to be a little less understanding with ourselves than usual, so pointing out a few less successful projects and personal weaknesses will not only show that you are a self conscious and confident individual but it will also balance out well in the end when you have to praise yourself to prove that you worth the extra money you are asking for.
Another crucial thing that successful interviewees should be aware of is the current market and their actual market values. Being able to pinpoint yourself at the right position on the scale means the difference between being a woos and being too greedy. There are tons of websites that provide information about current wages and they do that in a very sophisticated and quite accurate way. I use payscale.co.uk because it lets me create a profile that I can always come back to when it needs amending or when I need a new evaluation. This brilliant online tool shows your current salary on a chart compared to the lowest, highest and average on the market. – I suggest aiming a little above the average if self respect is important to you. If your employer is not willing to pay at least the industry average in the area then it is time to find another job or at the very least you should start negotiating better hours to get better value for your work.
The last but not at all the least, your plan for the future. Try to think with the mind of your employer for a minute – would you not like to know how your employees will contribute to your company’s success? Would you care whether your goals are similar? – Sadly sometimes it happens that your employer does not, in that case you are back to sqaure one – try to find another job and forget you ever met them because soon you will be sorry for the time you wasted. However if they do care – and I hope most of them do, then try to find something that you can work on together. I do not mean actually work together, but something that gives you both satisfaction and improvement. If it happens to generate more revenue or save some of the expenses on the way your boss should not have a problem with rewarding you for your efforts.
 | The Appraisals Pocketbook Presents a goals orientated/personal development approach to performance appraisal and performance management…. |