Appraisal - Dealing with it...

I have read many blogs about Appraisals, should we do away with them, which are the best ways to conduct them, and so on. But I haven’t come across much information on how to deal with it when at the receiving end. So, I thought to myself, let me share how I perceive the year-end reviews.

Except freelancers (I am one now!! yay!) and founding directors (pardon me if I missed another section of people who make the list), everyone goes through performance feedback/assessment/review at all levels.

There is suspense, excitement, anticipation, confusion, hope, chaos, fear; all sorts of emotions come into play, depending mostly on your self-evaluation…

There are quite a few scenarios that we can dwell on. Am looking at the not so great ones! Say, you have had a tremendous year (at least you think so till you hear your rating!); you over-achieved all the targets that were set for you at the beginning of the year and excelled in areas that weren’t even covered in your objectives. You anticipate the highest rating and are eagerly awaiting the details to be shared with you. You do manage to get a great rating, just one less than the highest. But this would leave most of you devastated, Am I right? If I were in this scenario, I might feel disappointed too, but I see it a little differently and hence the blog! I perceive that rating and review are 2 different things. Rating is circumstantial and relative; Review is independent and literal. I have learnt to rely on the latter. In most of the organizations these days, there is a self-evaluation that is initiated and you need to provide the details of your achievements and what rating you deserve. I can almost challenge that no one with sane mind will ever rate themselves below a certain level (example; Partially Meets Expectations, Does not Meet Expectations!). There is this intuition that everyone has, and they almost always know what rating they will be given. It is just that they are not ready to come to terms with it and move on. 

I am no Line Manager myself (Though I was responsible for a small internal team and their performance rating too) and haven’t been part of the normalization process and so on. Nevertheless, I strongly believe that a Manager has nothing to gain or lose when a certain rating is allocated to a colleague. Due diligence is intrinsic to the review mechanism.There are many reasons behind the rating and not everyone has the visibility to validate its accuracy. I am sure that it is not set without analysis and reasoning. It is just that not everyone knows the calibration parameters.  Can the organisations make it completely transparent? More evident? Why someone lost out and who won the game and why? Frankly, I do not know if that is even possible:) Up for debate may be? 

It may come as a surprise that this blog comes from an individual who’s not a people manager. I am NO saint; not expecting anything in return, only give and do not bother about the rest; not yet, at least professionally:). I am fiercely competitive and extremely passionate about my work. Always up for a challenge, wanting to be in the lime-light, being recognized, appreciated, rewarded, all that any working professional aspires for! I have received different ratings and went through different emotions each time but it was less personal for me. I have equipped myself to be cool-headed and have learnt to take any feedback in my stride. It is not that I was recessive to it or did not take it seriously. I tend to plan the next course of action, corrective, if I deem it necessary and plan for the upcoming year to try harder and look at the possibilities that can help me achieve the desired outcome. Sounds philosophical and unrealistic, but that is exactly what I do!

Did I not feel cheated at times, that I deserve better, Yes, I am human after all! I am not saying that unfair results never come up! They do and it is unfortunate that one had to go through it. But losing sleep over it is what I would advise against. There is always next time! Being positive during and post a performance review keeps up your confidence levels and helps you remain motivated for the next year irrespective of the result. It is the expectations that you set for yourself that matter the most. You feeling depressed with the result is a choice that you make and is counter-productive. Instead, if you feel rejuvenated and work with double the enthusiasm, you may actually attain the rating that always eluded you, the following year. It is indeed easier said than done but I have done it and it has been nothing but fruitful.