Have you ever been surprised by your End of Year Review result with your manager? That may be fine if it’s better than you expected but it certainly can be deflating if it doesn’t meet your expectations.

Should we blame our manager for a disappointing review result? Maybe partially but we have an equal responsibility in the process – although many people don’t realise this.  If we are ‘passengers’ in the process then I can pretty much assure you that a ‘surprise’ is guaranteed.

Further, if we aren’t engaged with our End of Year Review then this means we aren’t taking it seriously. Depending on whom you work for then the outcome of the End of Year may mean different things, for example:

a)    Pay Increase
b)    Promotions
c)    New Roles
d)    Career Development Support

So if your End of Year Review is so important then what are the steps we can take as an individual to ensure that we are not a passenger and are fully engaged to maximise to best outcome for you:

i) Be involved in the design and development of your objectives as they are being set for the year. Challenge inappropriate items or ask how they will be measured. Ensure you recommend the measures that you want to see – make sure they are ‘measurable’.

ii) Ensure you have a mid year review with your manager. This gives you the ability to ‘check in’ on how you are being perceived by your manager and provides you an opportunity to define areas for improvement. Review all of your objectives and make notes.

iii) In October (or Two to Three Months Out) arrange another meeting with your manager and check how you are performing against the areas for improvement.

iv) Two Weeks before your End of Year Review – Take the time to review all of your objectives and write down your answers for each including examples, achievements, KPI measures and other feedback such as emails.

v) The Review – Send your consolidated feedback to your manager in advance so that when you sit down for the meeting they have all the information and there are no gaps. During the meeting take the opportunity to make notes on feedback and if there are areas for improvement ask your manager for their support to address these (like maybe going on a course or short term project).

This approach will dramatically change the outcome of your End of Year Review and will ensure you have the best possible chance of the best rating and therefore benefit from the flow on results such as pay, promotion etc.

Are you a passenger in your End of Year Review process? What are you doing to change? Write to me and let me know and please rate this article. Thanks.