I got a note from a reader in Saudi Arabia about using self-appraisals in the performance appraisal process. While there continues to be a faction of the HR community who thinks the performance appraisal ought to be abolished, I believe greater involvement is the key to solving the existing challenges. And getting employees involved in the process is one way of doing it.
Having employees complete a self-appraisal prior to the meeting does several things. First, it gets the employee thinking about their upcoming 
performance meeting. This meeting shouldn’t be a surprise. I’ve actually seen department managers call an employee in with no warning to give them their appraisal. Not good.
Speaking of the meeting, when you give the employee their self-appraisal information, you can also remind employees of the process. If you’re a company that separates the merit increase process from the performance meeting, it’s the perfect time to outline what’s going to happen and when. That way, at the end of the meeting, the employee doesn’t ask about money and a manager won’t have to explain the process. It kinda ruins all the planning that was done in the first place.
I used to give an employee a copy of the last appraisal along with a blank one. They could think about the last meeting as well as what they have accomplished since then. It gives the employee time to think of specific examples to support their self-appraisal.
It also reminds employees of the definitions in each area of the performance appraisal. For example, if your organization measures “quality of work”, what does that mean? Most performance appraisal forms have the definition on the form. The employee is able to digest those definitions prior to the meeting.
During the meeting, the self-appraisal can serve as a discussion point. It can provide valuable insight to ask an employee about their perceptions of their own performance. And let me add, you might want to ask before sharing your own thoughts. Let’s say your organization evaluates attendance. There are two ways the conversation can go:
You plan to give an employee the highest score possible because you feel they do a great job coming to work as scheduled. The employee says they’ve missed a couple days and feels they meet the standard. It’s relatively easy to explain to the employee that they’re being too hard on themselves.
Reverse the situation. The employee explains they deserve the highest rating because their attendance is great. You notice that the employee is 5 minutes late every day. So you don’t want to give them the highest rating but you can live with the 5 minutes late. If you ask the employee first…you get some idea of where they have evaluated themselves. And you can respond accordingly. If you speak first, you run the risk of the employee questioning your rationale.
Important note: One of the best things about a self-evaluation is if the employee mentions something you forgot about, you can change the performance appraisal to incorporate the extra information.
Lastly, having an employee complete a self-evaluation allows the employee to think about their goals and come to the meeting prepared to discuss. The meeting becomes more about the future versus the past. Isn’t this what performance appraisals should really be about anyway?
Employee self-evaluations can create engagement and participation. Does your organization use employee self-evaluation in their performance appraisal process? What’s your experience?
Carmen says
Thank you for this. Although we don’t tie the performance appraisal to the increase, I have always thought this was the best way and most of the time people are so much harder on themselves. Doing self evaluation does help the employee know what areas are being looked at and it also makes them “conscience”. So often employees are “going through the motions” and are surprised when evaluation time comes around. Keeping the employees “aware” at all times is the key to a productive employee, I believe.
Joseph Fung says
Another benefit, that I think is often overlooked, is that the self-appraisal process also offers a great mirror to the manager. Based on the actions and activities that the employee sees as strong points and weak points, a manager can get an idea on how their management style is impacting employee. The best managers I’ve seen use the review process as a way to also re-evaluate their own performance as a manager.
Dawn says
As part of the self evaluation we sit down with the employee and develop a goal that they are to work on over the next year. If they reach that goal it’s worth additonal income in the next years eval. It’s very helpful to start the eval process by looking at there own personal goal from the last year and how they did, and what the focus needs to be in the upcomming year.
Wally Bock says
I think that the money quote here is very simple but very powerful: “This meeting [I would add “and the contents”] shouldn’t be a surprise.” If you begin with that premise, you can get to that increased involvement you speak of and it goes far beyond simply letting a person do a version of their own annual appraisal. You select and train supervisors so they have frequent conversations with the people who work for them. You catch problems early when they’re easier to fix. And you document the things you need to. If you do those things, when the formal appraisal time rolls around, the evaluation part is not a surprise and you can concentrate your discussion on the future.
Sharlyn Lauby says
@Carmen – Totally agree that most people are harder on themselves. Thanks for the comment!
@Joseph – Thanks for sharing. Excellent point about employee reviews being a management appraisal at the same time.
@Dawn – I like the idea of starting with goals. We’d like to think employees already know their past performance. Thanks for sharing your experience.
@Wally – Absolutely. Performance appraisals should never be a surprise. And I’m an advocate of separating the performance conversation from the money conversation. Thanks for adding to the conversation.
Ellen Bremen says
Thank you for this insightful piece. While it relates to performance at work, the idea gives me backing: My students do a ton of self-critiquing in my communication classes (on speeches, group projects, etc.). They can see how that process will be useful for professional self-analysis later. Ellen Bremen, M.A. @chattyprof http://chattyprof.blogspot.com
Justin says
Organizations I have been with in the past have been pretty laz about performance appraisals. However, I was just hired by a new organization a couple months ago. Appraisals are done regularly and employees tend to hold themselves to high standards. In some ways I think if there is a kind of “let’s remind ourselves and eachother to do the right thing” mentality then productivity and results are high. In my organization, performance appraisals are no mystery. We know they’re coming. But everyone in my department helps eachother all the time. We all want eachother to do well. Performance appraisals should not make you want to start backstbbing people. to further yourself. They should only serve as an opportunity to address opportunities. If everyone is helping the organization do better, then a perfomance appraiser should have that first in their moind when writing an appraisal at all.
Susan Dragojlovich says
Self appraisals keep the employee engaged in the process. I have found it to be the same with the goal setting process. If the employee has some involvement then they are more bought in. If the employee and the manager are aligned then that is a good sign that on-going management is taking place. My HR team also does some up front training with employees to be sure they understand the difference between achieves requirements and exceeds requirements. I also like the comment someone made about the focus being on the future.
Sharlyn Lauby says
@Ellen – Thanks for sharing a great example. The sooner we learn how to positively and appropriately self-critique; the better off we will be.
@Justin – Thanks for the comment. It’s unfortunate there are companies still mismanaging the performance appraisal process. Good for you that you’ve found one doing a great job.
@Susan – Totally agree. Employee involvement in other areas yields more engagement. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Scott Asai says
I’d say a 360 assessment is good and yes, give each person a chance to appraise themselves. Some will be accurate and others will be off. It’s a good way to judge self-awareness.
Shannon says
First, I think self evaluations as part of the process is a good idea. It not only holds the employee accountable for part of the process and their success but allows the managers to see where the employee is coming from and believes they are succeeding or need assistance. You added some ideas in here that I really like. I like the thoughts of giving the person their evaluation from the year previous so that they can see what has changed over the year. I agree with Wally, the results of an evaluation shouldn’t be a surprise but the ones who are doing poorly and have not self assessed before a review probably are the ones that would not be able to remember what was discussed the year before. I also appreciate the definitions of things being assessed. Each company and individual reads into an assessment differently and having clear expectations of what and how you are being evaluated is helpful. It also levels some of the playing field between managers who may rate employees differently on a scale from their equals.
The only thing not covered here but is a possible off shoot topic is what to do when an employee is clearly exceeding goals and expectations but salary, bonuses or other perks are unavailable. How do you prepare as both and employee knowing that could be the outcome and as a manager to keep the employee motivated, performing and retain them on your team.
Sharlyn Lauby says
@Scott – Thanks for sharing. I’m a fan of 360 assessments – more for development than performance evaluations. And they are so much easier to implement when employees have had some experience in self-evaluations.
@Shannon – You bring up a good point about how to recognize top performers on a tight budget. In my experience, many top performers are open to gaining work experience in lieu of money. Learning a new skill or having a new outcome for their resume can be very valuable to an employee.
Vanessa says
As a manager with only a few years of experience, the one point I have struggle with in the performance evaluation process is the agreement on ratings, when based on a point system. The employee and I can discuss both the self evaluation and the performance appraisal and agree with words on the employee’s performance. However, the company then required a number score in order to determine salary increases. In some cases, both parties could not leave agreeing to the number rating, which could lead to a number of future issues (i.e. especially when the employee thinks very highly of himself and aren’t very self aware).
Last year, with the blessings of the HR department, I decided not to give the employees a number. We ended the conversation with a summary of our discussions (and later assigned a score for the system). From my viewpoint, it was the most productive performance evaluations I have conducted. However, one of my colleagues feels that a number sends a very clear signal of how an employee is performing and one that can’t be rationalize away.
Thoughts on whether giving a number rating is beneficial or not?
Sharlyn Lauby says
Thanks for sharing your experience Vanessa. Numerical rating scales can be both a plus and a minus for the reasons you’ve mentioned. I’ve found that, for them to be successful, everyone involved must clearly understand what the numbers represent. But that being said, it’s still a reflection of past performance – and I believe the real value in a performance appraisal is talking about the future.
Jason Pereira says
You could have them bring their duly filled self-appraisal (draft) along their JD, task/project list (with dates, current status etc.). The idea here is get them to accept that your appraisal of them is fair. This can be achieved by having them provide you with the justification for their performance so he/she does not feel that you are being unfair with them. Btw you also get the chance to discuss their development plan here. Appraisals have always been a very sensitive subject as some of us hold too high an opinion of ourselves at work.
Jamie Resker says
I agree that self appraisals can be helpful but not the type that make the person writing them feel as if they have to justify their job/reason for being in the organization. A colleague said she dreads the self review for this reason and finds it to be an exercise in creative writing; at least where she works now. She also added that she’s ok with it because she’s a technical writer and therefore has strong written communication skills, BUT when asked she said it’s not a helpful developmental value-add process. One form that I recommend that does feel helpful is the Employee Conversation and Planning Map; a one-pager (this is the link to a Word document version) http://www.employeeperformancesolutions.com/resources/employee-reviews/ See the Self Appraisal Sample link