SDA Fellow Sarah Wallace, Controller for Choate and Hertlein Architects in Atlanta, GA, presented an amazing webinar last Fall all about Performance Evaluations. The session was chock full of best practices and pro-tips for documenting your performance, setting goals, acing the review meeting, and receiving feedback. As we head into the performance review season, we wanted to share a recap of her presentation.

Sarah’s presentation was widely organized into three sections: preparing for your review, at your review, and following your review.

Preparing:

• One thing you can do pre-review is get an understanding of the review process and the forms that will be used. Clarify expectations. Don’t be afraid to ask, “What would it take to get all 10s” (or fives, or Exceeds Expectations.)

• Another way to prepare for your review is by documenting your achievements regularly throughout the year. Note when you’ve earned continuing education hours, attended an event, improved a process, and taken on additional responsibilities. Having these notes available when you complete your self-evaluation improves the chances that you won’t forget your accomplishments if they happened early in the review period.

• Take the time to complete your self-evaluation. If your firm doesn’t ask for a self-evaluation, prepare one anyway.  What have you achieved? What are you proud of? What are you working to improve?

At the Review:

• Lose your pre-review jitters by doing some deep breathing, taking a walk, reviewing your list of accomplishments, or whatever you need to do to get in the right head space to talk about your accomplishments and receive feedback.

• Bring your documentation. That sheaf of papers (or digital file) will give you a little grounding as you enter the meeting and make you feel more prepared.

• Know what you want to discuss and be ready to bring it up if the reviewers don’t. Have your SMART Goals and action plans detailed.

• You might get some feedback you aren’t prepared for.  That’s okay.  Feedback is information and it is perfectly fine to ask for time to think about what they’ve told you and request a follow-up meeting.  Above all, don’t get defensive or argue. 

Post-Review:

• Take some time after the review to decide how you’re going to act on the feedback you received. Don’t just take the information and file it away. Lean on trusted colleagues and your SDA network to process what you heard, develop an improvement program, and provide accountability and support.

• Set target dates and interim steps for your SMART Goals. For instance, If getting your CDFA is a goal, set the dates for applying, downloading the study guide, and attending study sessions so that you stay on track.

• If you get a “Just keep doing what you’re doing; everything is great” non-review, challenge yourself to keep growing and learning through leadership positions in SDA and other organizations. Keep tracking your achievements and be willing to request a meeting with your supervisor to discuss them.

Top Ten Performance Review Best Practices

1. Ask to see the review form and learn about the performance evaluation process during your onboarding if you’ve changed jobs or firms. Clarify expectations.

2. Take time to complete your self-evaluation and submit it prior to the meeting. Bring a copy with you to the review. 

3. Don’t feel limited by the form. Add any information about your skills and accomplishments that you want to highlight.

4. Document your achievements regularly throughout the year so you don’t forget any of them.

5. Divide your SMART Goals into two separate buckets – short-term Performance Goals and long-term Career Goals.

6. Manage your review meeting anxiety by taking a quick break, walking it out (or shaking it out) in the hallway or outdoors, doing some deep breathing, reviewing your list of accomplishments, or listening to your favorite song.

7. Remember that feedback is a good thing. Feedback is information and it means that someone is listening and paying attention to what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.

8. Have a strategy to bring up topics that you want to discuss if they aren’t mentioned.

9. Don’t hesitate to bring up weaknesses that you are aware of and ask for feedback and suggestions to improve. This demonstrates both openness and self-awareness.

10. Don’t be defensive and don’t argue if you get feedback you disagree with.  It is okay to say, “That caught me off guard. Can we meet again in a few days after I’ve had a chance to digest it?”

Performance Evaluation Pro-Tips

• Track your achievements all through the year. It can be as simple as a one-page Excel or Word document that you keep on your desktop so it is easy to find and use.  Make note of what you accomplished, attended, or were awarded and the date it happened.

• Don’t be limited by the form! Most evaluation forms are designed for technical roles. Add a second page that highlights your accomplishments and skills.

• When you set your SMART Goals, build in accountability:  add interim steps with dates; be transparent about your goal, ask for help.

• If your firm doesn’t have a structured review process it is a great opportunity to leverage your SDA resources.  The HR Forum has several forms to download and your colleagues on MyFeed are always glad to share their expertise.

Fellows in Focus Session 'Sound Bites'

• "Speaking up about what you contribute, and detailing why you're qualified does not make you self-centered or self-serving - it sends a signal that you're ready to rise.”

• “Anytime anybody's telling you something that you need to work on, it means they believe in you, and they want you to grow. So, start changing your narrative about [feedback]. Go into your review thinking that any feedback you get is going to be a good thing.”

• “Don’t just use your review to reflect, come prepared to talk about next steps. You can’t go forward if you spend the whole time looking in the rearview mirror.”

• “If you’re not uncomfortable then you’re not learning something new and you’re missing the potential to grow.”

• “If we’re expecting our Principals to take the time to evaluate our performance over the previous year, the least we can do as staff members is take the same time and come to that review prepared.”

• “Even if you know there are some things you need to work on, don’t let that take away from your sense of accomplishment for all the things you have been learning.”

• “Feedback is good. Growth is amazing. Set your SMART goals. And keep thinking about where you want to go from here. Because it should be up!”

Sarah left us with this closing thought: “Feedback is good. Growth is amazing. Set your SMART goals. And keep thinking about where you want to go from here. Because it should be up!”

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