Do you want to take your career to new heights? Are you looking for ways to improve and grow both professionally and personally? Well, an employee self evaluation might just be the perfect tool for you.
What is an Employee Self Evaluation?
An employee self evaluation, also known as an employee self assessment, is a written document that allows you to reflect on your work, abilities, challenges, and goals. It serves as a valuable tool that goes hand in hand with a company performance review.
Why is Self Evaluation Important?
Both employees and managers can benefit greatly from self evaluation and assessments:
- Managers gain crucial insights into what motivates their employees, any differences of opinion or disagreement, how employees fit into the team and the business, and their ambitions.
- Employees have the opportunity to self-reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, triumphs, and disasters. They can identify areas for growth and improvement, both professionally and personally.
What Should Employees Include in a Self Evaluation?
Every self evaluation is unique to the employee and the organization. However, there are certain areas that should be covered in most jobs:
- What have you achieved?
- What have you struggled with?
- What is your work ethic like?
- How well do you communicate?
- How well do you solve problems?
- How innovative are you?
- How good are you at delegating?
- How productive are you?
- Is your time management good?
- How can you develop and improve?
How to Write a Performance Self Evaluation
To ensure that your self evaluation stays focused and effective, follow these six parameters:
1. Ascertain the Scope
Before diving into your self evaluation, determine its purpose. Will it be used for a performance review, salary/bonuses review, or even a promotion? Clarify the timeframe you need to cover, whether it’s just the last year, your entire tenure with the company, or your entire career.
2. List Your Positive Qualities
Highlight your positive qualities, prioritizing what’s most relevant and important. Emphasize your job responsibilities, performance, work ethic, communication abilities, problem-solving skills, and any other relevant strengths. Provide specific examples to support your claims.
3. Share Your Accomplishments
Be proud of your achievements and back them up with hard facts and figures. Tell the story behind each accomplishment, including the background, challenges faced, team members involved, responsibilities, outcomes, impact on the team, and ultimately, the business.
4. Acknowledge Your Mistakes and Weaknesses
As Albert Einstein said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” Take ownership of your mistakes and weaknesses. Explain what happened, what you learned from them, and how you plan to improve and grow. Set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely) goals to address your weaknesses.
5. Provide Feedback for Management
Don’t be afraid to share your perspective with management. If there are issues or suggestions that could improve the company or your work environment, include them in your self evaluation. Your insights and feedback are valuable and can contribute to positive changes.
6. Voice Your Ambitions
End your self evaluation on a positive and aspirational note. Express your enthusiasm for career progression and mention the professional development opportunities you would like to pursue. Whether it’s further training, additional qualifications, a promotion, or taking on bigger projects, show your commitment to growth.
Our Tips for Writing the Best Self Evaluation
To make your self evaluation truly stand out, consider following these additional tips:
Keep Notes Throughout the Year
Save time by keeping real-time notes on your achievements, challenges, successes, and disappointments throughout the year. Create a designated folder for your self assessment and update it regularly. This way, writing your self evaluation will be a breeze.
Revisit Your Job Description
Use your job description as a guide to assess your performance. Identify areas where you exceeded expectations, encountered challenges, and have room for further development.
Use the STAR Method
Sum up your approach, contribution, and outcomes using the STAR method:
- Situation/Task: Describe the situation and the goal you aimed to achieve.
- Action: Explain the actions you took to accomplish the goal.
- Results: Share the results you achieved.
Use Numbers and Statistics
Back up your statements with metrics and key performance indicators. If you increased customer footfall by 30%, include that number to validate your accomplishments.
Reiterate Results
Don’t assume that the leadership team will remember everyone’s contributions to the business results. Mention your specific role in delivering results throughout the year.
Align Achievements with Company Goals
Highlight how your achievements align with the company’s aims and objectives. Emphasize your personal contributions and back them up with relevant numbers.
Include Others’ Feedback
If you’ve received positive feedback or testimonials from colleagues or clients, incorporate them into your self assessment. Share how your work has positively impacted others.
Seek a Trusted Friend’s Input
Ask a trusted colleague or friend to review your self evaluation. They can provide valuable insights and suggestions, helping ensure your assessment truly reflects your achievements and experiences.
Check for Typos, Grammar, and Spelling
Proofread your self evaluation to make a good impression on management. Correct any errors to demonstrate your attention to detail and professionalism.
An Example of a Stellar Self Assessment
Let’s take Sofia as an example. Sofia leads a website marketing team and has been asked to prepare a self assessment for a performance review that could lead to a promotion. Sofia has kept notes on her achievements and challenges throughout the year, making the writing process straightforward. She double-checked her self assessment with a spell checker and sought feedback from her trusted colleague Femi.
Sofia wrote:
“My positive qualities:
- I maintain a naturally positive attitude, always striving for the best outcomes for my team.
- I excel in communication, keeping everyone informed about project updates on a daily basis.
- I enjoy problem-solving and found a way to streamline our software usage, resulting in a 50% increase in efficiency.”
“My accomplishments:
- I led the highest-performing team, reducing customer attrition by 30%, a strategic aim of the company.
- I played a pivotal role in designing a social media campaign that boosted website traffic by 40%. The CMO recognized our team’s achievement.
- I organized a charity fun run that raised $1000 for our local community hospice.”
“My mistakes and challenges:
- Our search rankings dropped to 9th place due to my lack of frequent analytics checks. I’ve set up weekly alerts to address this.
- Our customer conversion rates are lower than forecasted.
- I haven’t allocated enough time to train our interns on the software capabilities.”
“Feedback for management:
- The customer conversion rate forecast might have been overly ambitious.
- Could the IT department take more responsibility for software training?
- Should we consider investing in new software for checking SEO content?”
“My professional development goals and priorities:
- Expand our successful social media campaign to other platforms.
- Enroll the entire team in an advanced SEO writing course.
- Attend an upcoming marketing conference to enhance brand equity.”
How We Can Help
Investing in employees’ professional development and growth is crucial for future-readiness. With our 360 Development solution, we offer scalable, personalized programs that address the development needs of every employee. By investing in your growth, we not only support your future career goals but also contribute to the overall success of the business.
Read The Power of Feedback: Why 360 Matters to learn more.
