Secret to a successful performance appraisal

By Susan Mwaura

If you like legal novels like I do, you will have noticed that almost a third of the story is dedicated to evidence preparation in readiness for the legal battle in court.

The lead lawyer, assisted by other lawyers and some paralegals, is often shown toiling for days, sometimes sleeping in the office, in order to put together the evidence that will result in a ruling made in his/her favour.

During this tedious process, there is a lot of investigation to find answers to pertinent questions: Who is the judge presiding over the case? What is his/her temperament and how does this inform his/her preferences? How does this judge prefer to have the evidence presented?

What will the judge be looking for in the evidence? What are the facts of the case? What do these facts mean in terms of the plea? Will the legal counsel be seeking acquittal or will they be seeking leniency?

What evidence will the prosecutor be presenting? What approach will he take? What evidence are the witnesses likely to give? Will this evidence collaborate with the lawyer’s angle or contradict it?

I am sure, by now, you are wondering what defence lawyers have to do with building a successful career and getting to the top tier.

Success at work is about, among other things, having a high performance track record.

One of the most important processes in the calendar is the performance appraisal. It is during appraisals that our contribution to the organisation is reviewed, assessed and even rated. A series of ratings then constitute our performance track record. Yet we often approach the appraisals passively, with a mindset of, ‘the die has already been cast; my fate is sealed and there is nothing I can do to change the outcome’.

Active participants

When invited for the performance review discussion, we attend as observers rather than active participants of a process that has such far reaching effects, ranging from salary increases to promotions, eligibility for certain trainings and even succession plans.

Ultimately, the outcome is often disappointing and frustrating.

Afterwards, we have conversations in our heads of what we should have said and how we should have said it, but by then it is too late. The next year we go through the same frustrating experience all over again.

To get the outcomes we desire, we should instead approach the process like a good lawyer, preparing well in advance for the hearing (review), determined to influence the outcome to favour us.

To do this we need to start by having clarity on what is important: What will the judge be looking for? In our case, what will the boss be looking for?

What were the important deliverables for this year? What is the evidence in my favour? What did I do to contribute favourably to the important goals?

Like the lawyer assembling compelling evidence for weeks, we should focus on pertinent questions such as: How does my appraiser like the evidence presented? Do they want figures showing my contribution to growth and profit? Do they want an expert witness review, for example, customer service reports showing how well the new service standard I introduced is working?

What will the witnesses (my team, customers, other departments) say about my contribution? Will they support my case or contradict my claim? What am I pleading? Do I have sufficient infallible evidence to back me up?

A high performance track record is the foundation of a successful career. The secret to successful performance appraisal is preparation of quality performance evidence showing beyond reasonable doubt the high impact contribution you have made to advance the organisation’s goals in your job.

The author, a human resource practitioner, is passionate about the career development and advancement of women. Send questions and comments to contact@toptierascent.com. Join her and other professionals for online career discussions at www.toptierascent.com