Job Review
To most employees, the job review is when the manager sits down with the employee once a year. Ninety percent of the time, managers tell us what you already know. For eons, employees have been raised under the notion that the manager calls the shots, drives the process, and controls our careers. Generally, the feeling with both managers and individual contributors is that it wastes time. I don’t know when I heard an employee or a manager exclaim, “Oh goodie, it’s annual review time!”
Most annual reviews cover what you did well and what you can improve. The most significant accomplishments are covered and the biggest mistakes are brought back up (even though they have been discussed, fixed, and we have moved on). This is usually the result of a lack of professional courage on the manager’s part. Sometimes, managers don’t want to offend the employee, so they are “nice” and give an “easy” job review. If you have a manager who challenges you to improve, be appreciative. These managers are usually there to get you a raise. If you have a manager who doesn’t put any effort into the review, they aren’t going to put any effort into your self-development or your salary. The two are usually directly related.
The mockery of HR
To me, this is the same as a teacher passing an illiterate child onto the next grade. No one is doing anyone any favors here. In this case, the manager doesn’t even get to pass the employee on to someone else. They are usually stuck with the employee. The employee continues on their merry way, thinking they are doing everything correctly. Result: popular programs like Dilbert and The Office Space which mock HR and Managers.
If your manager holds the attitude that “we do job reviews once a year,” then set up a meeting with them and call it a “check-in” or an “update.” Most managers think of the annual review as a lot of paperwork. Call it something else, and let’s make it a process where they won’t have to do any paperwork.
Two thoughts on reviews
- This is your career, not your manager’s career. If you don’t care about your career, why should your manager? Documenting your accomplishments and letting folks know that you are working on improving yourself will help you make more money. You will have an easier corporate life and be awarded larger projects or more responsibilities. The review is this mechanism.
- Think of the job review as not for you but for your NEXT manager. Think of your review as your resume. The fatter the resume, the more options you have. You don’t have to use all the bullet points, but they are a nice option. If your manager gets transferred and a new manager comes in, then the first place they look is your employee file to see what you have done in the past. If that file is bare and empty, all your prior work is worthless. If your file is loaded with documentation of what you have accomplished, added to the department, and what you have done to improve yourself, it is hard not to like the owner of this file.
This is your career, not your managers
If you have a great manager, then you don’t have to worry much, but most of us are not that lucky. Let’s assume you are stuck with an apathetic manager. This is your career, your salary. Before we move on, let’s look at “our” impression of an apathetic manager. The manager is human, just like we are. Let’s figure out what got them to apathy and see if we can change this around, not for the entire department, but just “for us.”
Your manager is REALLY, REALLY BUSY: Understandable. We are all being asked to do more with less, and managers are hit the hardest. They usually make only a few percentage points more than the rest of the team and are asked to do much more, including managing a team. Our goal is to make it REALLY, REALLY easy for our manager to keep up to date on our progress. We will take the initiative because if we wait, we will wait a long time.
What happened to your manager?
Your manager gave up. Your manager may have been great once and just got burned out. They may be working with a strong team, but it just takes one bad apple to spoil it for the rest.
Your manager was and is a great technician but not a people person. This happens all the time, especially in tech. We will make it so your manager doesn’t have to be a people person. There will be no chit-chat, no “how are you today?” Just sit down with them and deliver the facts and the progress.
The HOW
Sit down regularly and give your manager updates on what you accomplished, what you will accomplish, and what you want to improve. This may happen every three months, every six months, or even every month. Outline the entire review yourself. What you will accomplish should support your goals and your manager’s goals. I know many people are reading this and saying one of two things: I don’t know my department goals; why should I be helping my manager accomplish their goals?
Again, this is YOUR career. This is not your department’s or manager’s career. You are being paid a salary to make someone’s life easier, and that someone is your department head or your manager. You are not being paid to show up to work and do whatever you want. Make no mistake. You are supporting your manager, your department head, and your department.
Who isn’t laid off
If the company needs to lay off 20% of the workforce, the person who supports the manager and the department the most stays. Simple. You must provide more value or solve harder problems if you are highly paid.
If you have a manager who doesn’t care, we need to make it as easy as possible for them to manage you. We want to arm them with as much information as possible so that it is easy to prove you are worth more when they ask for a raise on your behalf or have more responsibility to hand out.
What should this review/check-in/update look like?
Let your manager know that you want to “check in” with them to ensure that you are working on the right projects. Bring two dated copies of the following agenda to the meetings—one for them and one for you.
- Projects you accomplished during the last rotation
- I completed x project
- I completed y project
- Z project was delayed because of budget cuts
- Projects you are working on
- I plan on having the “c” project done within 3 weeks
- I plan on having the “d” project done in 6 weeks
- I am working with the Sales department to deliver project “e.”
- What you want to improve on
- I want to run two meetings in the next 2 months to improve my facilitation skills. I just read a book on the topic and want to try some of these ideas.
- To improve my skills, I will attend an Excel class in the evening at the local community college on my own dime.
- Personal goal
- This can be personal or can be work-related. I like it when someone says they will run a marathon, go on three – 5-mile hikes, or take a cooking class. At the end of the year, this self-improvement paints a well-rounded picture of an individual that is hard not to like from a corporate standpoint. The new manager will get a REALLY good idea of who and what you are with this type of background.
After the meeting
When you are done with the meeting, send an email to your manager and the above outline in a separate document. Your manager can drop the email or the document into your folder. Thank them for their time, and then confirm everything you mentioned. You can add notes to the agenda just confirming what was discussed. Don’t expect anything; even an apathetic manager will have something to say. Make it easy for them to record your progress like you are.
See you at the after party,
HRNasty
nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.
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