Nail your year-end review

Plan now for an annual review that propels your career forward

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
We're coming into the fourth quarter of the year, and
today's tip is about how to make sure your end
of view review is a fabulous one. Now. I know

(00:23):
that a number of organizations are reforming the annual review process,
and for good reason, Everyone and younger workers in particular,
once frequent feedback. No one should have to wait until
November or December to figure out how they're doing and
to have a meaningful conversation about career progress. I also

(00:44):
have doubts about how meaningful an annual conversation can be,
since people have short memories. A big wins scored in
February has much less effect on an annual review than
a big win or a big mistake made in October
or November. In practice, an annual review is often a

(01:04):
thirty day review masquerading as something more comprehensive. However, I
know many organizations are sticking with the annual review process,
and if this includes yours, then you have a great
opportunity over the next few weeks to shape the narrative.
Here's how you can do this. First, Remember that everyone
likes numbers, even when misused. Numbers seem to make an

(01:28):
objective case. So look back over the past year and
see what numbers you can generate to show your impact.
Maybe you launched a new section on your company's website
and traffic is indeed up. The scientists among us might
not that correlation is not causation, but for your purposes,
this is a rise worth noting. Maybe in April you

(01:50):
killed a recurring meeting that wasn't accomplishing anything. Figure out
how much money this has saved your company over the year.
Five highly paid people's salaries for an hour a week
over seven months adds up. Maybe you've managed to keep
everyone on your team working with you all a year.
This annual retention rate has prevented all kinds of turnover costs,

(02:14):
costs you might be able to quantify by looking at
other teams, So highlight this too. Even people who aren't
directly in charge of P and L can show numerical
impact if they try second, collect testimonials and feedback. Ideally,
your manager is doing this simultaneously, and she's talking with
everyone you work with to see what they think you're

(02:36):
excelling at and what you can improve upon. But no
one will do us through a job as you will,
and most managers aren't going to have these conversations until
right before the deadline. So go ahead and talk to
people now ahead of schedule and first. Candid conversations are
good in general at any point made wouldn't it be
great to learn that the team member who seems to

(02:58):
never respond to your emails would much prefer to communicate
via text. Well, now you know, even if this has
little to do with your actual performance. But the real
upside is that if you're talking with everyone before they
officially provide three hundred sixty degree feedback, you can shape
the narrative. The sad truth is that most of us
are stuck in our own little worlds. We aren't thinking

(03:21):
that much about other people until we're forced to cough
something up. If you nudge that process along, you can
remind people of what's awesome about you, or at least
what you'd like the powers that be to know, third
solve any glaring problems. I'd like to think we're all
aware of our weaknesses, but sometimes we aren't, and sometimes

(03:43):
we don't think these weaknesses matter as much as other
people think they do, and maybe your conversations with team
members will surface issues that are hindering productivity. If you
think about these issues now, you can address them in
the window before your annual review. Perhaps a team member
mentions that your habit of starting and ending meetings late

(04:03):
is interfering with her ability to schedule things afterwards. Not
ten minutes isn't a huge deal in the grand scheme
of things. But here's the thing. And generally positive performance reviews,
people tend to seize on small problems just to show
their being thorough. Rather than be upset about this, you
can do something about any small complaints you learn about

(04:26):
in the next few weeks. If you can show progress
that you are addressing these issues, that's a much better
story than just sticking your head in the sand. Finally,
figure out what you'd like to ask for. While managers
are supposed to be thinking about your career progress and
your compensation, they can't know exactly what you'd like if

(04:46):
you don't tell them so. If you'd like to be
promoted in the next year, say so. If you'd like
to get a larger raise, well, ask what you'd need
to do for your manager to be comfortable with that
propose some ideas. Everyone loves solutions, so make sure you
have several options brainstormed ahead of time. If you do
these steps, there's a good chance you'll have your best

(05:09):
review ever. So if you're coming up on an annual review,
spend some time today generating numbers, having conversations, and brainstorming
future possibilities. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

(05:34):
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at iHeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is

(05:56):
spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I
look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I
heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H