Annual Review time

[laurence]

So I have to write my annual review (it's actually six weeks late) self evaluation/whatever. Anybody have any last minute advice on what to say? Part of me says I'm just checking a box to recieve a raise that's already been determined, but I am still naive enough to think there is a small chance I can influence the outcome....I hate these things.

 

[jazz4cash]

Chances are you ARE checking a box, but more likely for your boss to get HIS raise.

I don't think its a matter of being naive at all.....its still a potential oppourtunity to document your past accomplishments and forecast more greatness to come. If a train wreck should come along it could be valuable for cya. Its also just a good habit to document in a continuous fashion. At least for me, if I dont write down what I did last year, I may forget by the next year or if I need to update a resume, interview for another job, promotion, etc.

 

[DRiP Guy]

My time of year, too.

From back in my service days, I learned a low maintenance way to do this, that works well. Always keep an "I love me" file all year long, to keep evidence of project completion, letters of commendation, thank yous from other departments, basically, any sort of externally generated PR. So when review time comes, you just scan the individual events, pick the most significant ones, see if they form a theme consistent with the goals your boss gave you at the beginning of the year, and arrange them into logical order.

If you find nothing you did that got recognition which matches those goals, or that your "I love me file is pretty much empty".... hmmmm.

 

[bssc]

I got my review and bonus. A little more towards FIRE

 

[Linney]

I actually prefer to write my own annual review. It's an opportunity for me to remind my management team exactly why I am so valuable to them. (It doesn't hurt that it also helps me keep my resume up to date.)

Must be working. I get raises and stock options almost every year, even during the down years.

 

[DangerMouse]

If you are at a job for the long haul I think it is worth the effort to try and put down something meaningful.

I did mine this week, took me all of 30 seconds. I know that I am not getting promoted or a raise as I got both in late 2005 and figure I will be gone by mid 2008 so not really that bothered by the whole process. I figure I am going to put all my efforts into trying to increase my 2007 bonus.

 

[sgeeeee]

So I have to write my annual review (it's actually six weeks late) self evaluation/whatever. Anybody have any last minute advice on what to say? Part of me says I'm just checking a box to recieve a raise that's already been determined, but I am still naive enough to think there is a small chance I can influence the outcome....I hate these things.

Back when I had to go through the ordeal I felt like what my review said would never be used to help me. On the other hand, I saw cases where the review was used to rationalize getting rid of people or giving them a substandard raise. I wanted to make sure that nothing negative or even neutral appeared in my review.

 

[laurence]

I did an o.k. review, my manager actually gave me some spark of hope because he had me add a couple of "objectives" regarding some last minute projects I did that worked out well, said they would be "useful" to include. We will see. People like me at work, I can't gripe to much on that front.

 

[SteveR]

Most managers I have had or have know over the past three decades seem to already have your review in the back of their heads. You might be able to add some details they are willing to add as long as it does not conflict with their own opinion. It usually takes a ton of above average results to offset one negative one with most managers. Most tend to form an early opinion of you relative to their other subordinates and it takes a lot to move up that pecking order. Unfortunately the ranking seldom is related to true skill or job performance; but is more likely related to how will they kiss a** and play the game.

I don't care about my performance this year because I won't be there to collect. My goal is to get a replacement trained for my boss (they wanted me to take it but my career path is ER not a promotion) so I can then get a consultancy to train my replacement after I ER. Worth a try anyway if not then it is their loss and not mine.

Good luck with the reviews. If done correctly they can actually be a good tool for personal developement for the next rung in your ladder; most of the time they are just too vanilla to meet the boss's predetermined grading.

 

[laurence]

It's weird at my work, they just take a good engineer and make him a "functional lead" and make him do reviews. My "functional lead" is a truly nice guy, as in, if me and DW died and he were to raise our kids, I would be o.k. with that. Idealistic liberal type, great sense of humor. The thing is, he didn't want to be a manager, but his genius got him promoted past what he wanted. If I'm lucky, he'll be able to get me a great decent raise, I'm hoping for 5%.

 

[mickeyd]

I passed my annual review with flying colors. DW says that I can stay here another year if I continue to get over 12% return on our stash.

 

[HobbyDave]

I'm in the review time as well, although I'm giving them out :

From what I've seen at our company, the self-evaluations are used for 2 things.

1. If there is a serious problem with a manager, supposedly the self-evaluations can be compared to the real evaluation, and then someone else can see which seems more accurate. Never heard of this happening.

2. It helps remind a manager of what happened 9 months ago.. really just putting the burden on the employee to remind the manager of what cool things they did earlier in the year.

So in our case, it really is nothing but a chance for someone to remind me of what they did. I have actually changed a part of the review in the past when I was reminded of something big that happened the first few months of the previous year. The last few months hadn't been very impressive, but they'd kicked some serious buttocks earlier in the year, so I bumped them up a bit.

Now what's funny is that everyone up the tree above me demands that I do these on time, yet I haven't had a review in years.

Oh, and I view them as a bit of a waste of time with both "really good" employees, and "really bad" employees. For the good ones, I have a tough time saying anything other than "Please please don't quit, you're the reason our team doesn't perish in flames". For the bad ones, I have a tough time being positive, because saying something like "You'll never be a good programmer no matter how hard you try, though if you work really hard we might keep you around." just doesn't inspire people.

 

[laurence]

A buddy got into senior management, and had the same problem. Bad employees he would just sit down with and say, "well, I'd like you to have an opportunity to give me feedback, any questions?" - they usually had such an axe to grind they would spout for 20 minutes non stop and never noticed they never got "reviewed" themselves.

 

[Nords]

... and never noticed they never got "reviewed" themselves.

If they did notice, they'd argue about why the reviewer is wrong!

 

[HobbyDave]

If they did notice, they'd argue about why the reviewer is wrong!

And that's the tough thing about reviewing some people. Certain people are good, they just need to be motivated. That's the perfect case for a review. I did one of these a year ago, 6 months later he was promoted into management. I loved it.

However, some people just want to make excuses for the mistakes they've been making. Nothing much you can do there, you're just the bad guy.

 

[maddythebeagle]

Better yet....just put down "self improvement =masterbation" signed Tyler Durden....

 

[Goonie]

After last years review, the boss decided not to have me come in for review this year. He "says" that it is because I only have 2 months left. I don't buy that one!

Last year he asked me to offer my perspective on my performance, then he offered his. It was a match! Then he made the mistake of asking me to critique his performance, with him KNOWING full well that I always speak my mind, for good or bad.

Well, there were some good things to say, but over-all he got an "F". Our department has NEVER been so disorganized in the 31 years I've been there. NOTHING gets done completely, unless it's done wrong....or it's never completed. We've been running shorthanded for YEARS, and he won't ask for more manpower. The entire place is an absolute pig-sty, with the exception of my (now former) office/lab area (which I always kept immaculate).

I asked if he wanted my honest opinion, or if he wanted me to lie sugar coat it. He said honest opinion. I told him he was the worst supervisor I had ever worked under, and that I would retire at the first opportunity to leave that disaster area behind.

I'll FIRE in just over 9 weeks!

 

[Spanky]

I wonder why there are not too many bosses ask for feedback. They really do not want to hear the truth.

 

[Alex]

laurence, my advice is to just tell the truth. You are a caring, considerate, thoughtful person and a terrific employee. They are lucky to have you!!

 

[bssc]

As part of the review process, it looks like our SVP is being transferred to another group. I would like to think that it was because of good performance but you never know.

 

[Brat]

It is my observation that known failing managers are either fired or left in place, rarely are they promoted (although some are transferred to where management knows they DON'T WANT to go to inspire resignation).

 

[sgeeeee]

It is my observation that known failing managers are either fired or left in place, rarely are they promoted (although some are transferred to where management knows they DON'T WANT to go to inspire resignation).

Several years ago at a large electronics company where I worked, management started a program called "fast tracking". The program was based on the theory that with dozens of layers of management between the first tier supervisor and the CEO, good people would not be promoted to the top based on merit in a timeframe fewer than 30 or 40 years. This meant that only old pharts could be executives. In order to get young talent to the top before they went on life support, the fast track program would identify them early on and then promote them on a schedule (typically every 9 months) regardless of how they performed. Corporate VPs were given the authority to identify and oversee fast trackers. Often these suckups bright young employees would do an absolutely miserable job during their 9 month assignment, then be promoted up to the next level. The execs who advocated the program pointed out that the skills required at one level of management may not have much to do with the skills needed at the top, so failure at one level was no reason to hold the fast tracker back.

It was not a very popular program with most engineers and it was pretty disasterous.

 

[maddythebeagle]

Often these suckups bright young employees would do an absolutely miserable job during their 9 month assignment, then be promoted up to the next level. The execs who advocated the program pointed out that the skills required at one level of management may not have much to do with the skills needed at the top, so failure at one level was no reason to hold the fast tracker back.

sounds about right....the reward for doing a good job is to keep you in that job and give you more work

 

[sgeeeee]

sounds about right....the reward for doing a good job is to keep you in that job and give you more work

 

[SteveR]

sounds about right....the reward for doing a good job is to keep you in that job and give you more work

That is certainly one risk of being the only one that can deliver on a job. The ones that seem to get ahead are the ones that have learned to work the system in their favor and do very little actual work while taking credit for accomplishments done by others while pointing fingers to those that cause other things to fail. Getting the boss's ear and making it LOOK like you are doing a great job is one way to get promoted.

Eventually the Peter Principle will come into effect and your management will find out you don't really do anything. That is when they assign you to "special projects". Some ride out the rest of their career in such jobs while others see the writing on the wall and get out of the compay to start fresh somewhere else...carrying on the tradition of kissing up and getting ahead.

Every once in a while management will promote people that actually know what they are doing and who do a great job. It is refreshing to see but is all to rare it seems. Downsizing also means that there are fewer management positions and this creates a much narrower ladder to climb. Competition can be very tough and actual job performance seems less and less important the higher one goes...politics become the determining factor.

This will be my last year for doing and getting performance reviews, doing bonus justifications, hiring, firing, doing budgets and hosting regulatory inspectors. I am looking forward to a rest after working 12 hour days most of my career and spending many restless nights thinking about the job. The light is at the end of the tunnel and it is becoming brighter with each day. Soon.....very soon...it will be a distant memory.