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What Are the Best Tips for a Personal Performance Evaluation?

K.C. Bruning
K.C. Bruning

In order to prepare an effective personal performance evaluation, it can be beneficial for the employee to be as objective as possible. This can be achieved by getting opinions on performance from co-workers, looking at performance from a qualitative perspective, and analyzing the response of others to personal professional efforts. The goal is to be honest, while providing a balanced perspective of the strong and weak points of the individual’s job performance. Strong personal performance evaluations will also typically include details of employees’ work which can help to fill the gaps in a manager’s knowledge.

One way for employees to prepare for writing a personal performance evaluation is to ensure that they understand and fill the requirements of the task. A thorough review of their job descriptions can help employees to determine which areas are being managed well and what elements could be improved. It can also provide a framework for the review.

An employee's coworkers may be able to provide an objective assessment of an individual's performance.
An employee's coworkers may be able to provide an objective assessment of an individual's performance.

Once employees have their own perspective on their job performance, it can be useful to get the opinion of others. Asking relevant coworkers for a quick overall assessment of performance, in addition to feedback on a few key points, can give employees a different view of their impact on the organization. Whether or not the feedback is accurate or fair, it will tend to give employees an idea of how they are perceived.

It can be helpful to keep regular notes on job performance in anticipation of completing an evaluation.
It can be helpful to keep regular notes on job performance in anticipation of completing an evaluation.

It is also advisable to strike a balance between positive and negative when completing a personal performance evaluation. This includes admitting faults without being too self-deprecating. It also involves promoting good work without inflating its impact or appearing too boastful. Most employees will need some sort of improvement, and anticipating this on the evaluation can help a manager to address problems more efficiently. On the other hand, employees can often accomplish things that miss the manager’s attention, though they should be a significant part of the review.

Employees should be as objective as possible when evaluating themselves.
Employees should be as objective as possible when evaluating themselves.

Setting and assessing goals for the year is another common part of personal performance evaluation. It is advisable for employees to set themselves up for success by picking achievable goals. While setting lofty targets may be impressive at the beginning of the year, they will not help employees if they are not attained by the next review period.

It can also be helpful to keep regular notes on job performance in anticipation of completing an evaluation. Details like these are often an effective way of convincing managers of the caliber of their employees’ performance. It can also help employees to create an accurate self-assessment of their work.

Discussion Comments

bluedolphin

@ddljohn-- If the employee aims to be factual, biases can be prevented.

I just filled out my first personal performance evaluation at work this week. It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. I just stuck to the facts and gave many examples of my work and efforts. I also mentioned a mistake I made earlier in the year which my manager already knows about. I elaborated and wrote about how I will avoid such mistakes in the future. We had a brief discussion about my evaluation later with my manager. It was a pleasant and informative discussion. It turns out my manager rated me as well and his rating was higher than my rating for myself! Next time, I'm going to be less modest.

SarahGen

@ddljohn-- Self-assessment performance evaluations are not as biased as you might think, especially when it's done correctly. This type of assessment has many advantages. First of all, an employee knows his accomplishments better than anyone else. Especially in large organizations and offices, it's difficult for a manager or supervisor to remember every single accomplishment of each employee. So when an employee does a self-assessment, nothing is left out.

In addition to accomplishments, the employee also needs to mention his shortcomings. This is good too because it shows the supervisor that the employee is aware of mistakes and that the employee will work harder to improve on these points in the future. Objectivity can be difficult, but that's why we seek the opinion of coworkers. I don't think anyone should turn in a self-assessment without speaking to coworkers about his performance.

ddljohn

I don't understand how an employee can objectively evaluate himself. I don't think anyone would want to admit their faults in an evaluation, especially when the evaluation is seen by supervisors and may lead to consequences. I'm sure everyone always writes good things about themselves, which does not help performance management at all. This type of evaluation is just too biased.

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    • An employee's coworkers may be able to provide an objective assessment of an individual's performance.
      By: adam121
      An employee's coworkers may be able to provide an objective assessment of an individual's performance.
    • It can be helpful to keep regular notes on job performance in anticipation of completing an evaluation.
      By: iofoto
      It can be helpful to keep regular notes on job performance in anticipation of completing an evaluation.
    • Employees should be as objective as possible when evaluating themselves.
      By: Alexey Stiop
      Employees should be as objective as possible when evaluating themselves.
    • Positive feedback during a performance review can encourage employees to be more productive.
      By: Sandor Kacso
      Positive feedback during a performance review can encourage employees to be more productive.