How to Prepare For an Appraisal

So it’s suddenly that time of year again and your annual performance appraisal has come round. Do you look forward to showing off all of your achievements? Or do you cringe at having to talk about yourself? Either way, it’s important to prepare for your appraisal so that it’s a success.

Each charity will have its own processes for conducting performance reviews. In most cases they will be annual, often with a six monthly touch-point. Sometimes you might even find they’re as frequent as quarterly. So what do you need to do in advance to make sure you get maximum value from it? Here’s how to prepare for an appraisal.

Compile a list of your achievements

The preparation for this part starts right after your last appraisal. List and collect evidence of your successes and accomplishments throughout the year. It’s much easier to do this as you go along than to try to remember them all at the end, so perhaps make yourself a note to review these every week or month. Include numbers/metrics where you can, to make your achievements as tangible as possible. You might also like to include any positive feedback you’ve received from colleagues or beneficiaries.

If you’re not so sure what your achievements and successes have been, then you could try asking a colleague you work closely with and trust for their feedback.

Remember to be proud of your achievements! Not everyone finds it easy to give themselves the credit they deserve, but your appraisal isn’t the time to downplay your accomplishments.

Reflect on your areas for improvement

Another thing to focus on in how to prepare for an appraisal, is your areas for improvement. Think about times at work when things could have gone better and projects that could have had better outcomes. Most importantly, pinpoint how you’d do things differently next time and what you could implement to help with this. Does a process need changing? Or do you need to strengthen working relationships with a particular person or team?

Be honest about any mistakes you’ve made or shortcomings you know you have, but focus on how you’ve turned them into learning opportunities. You could also research any training or work-shadowing opportunities that might help you to improve on things next time round.

There will undoubtedly have been challenges in your role in the past year, particularly as the world still recovers from the effects of the pandemic, but try to make your manager aware of any ongoing issues before your performance review. In the appraisal meeting itself, be positive about challenges and avoid moaning. Instead, try to think about ways you can overcome any barriers to progress in your role.

Review your goals and suggest training and development opportunities

You will most likely have had some development goals and targets to focus on throughout the year, and now is the time to reflect on your progress. Refer to your goals and write some notes on what you’ve done to achieve them. If you’ve fallen short on any, then explain why and what support or resources you need to make it over the line.

It can also be helpful to start thinking of some new goals for the year ahead to discuss with your manager. These could be developmental, such as to upskill yourself in a certain area, or more role-specific, such as to introduce a new type of fundraising event. Don’t forget to make your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound (SMART).

Think about any training that could help you develop in your role. Are there any new skills you’d like to gain? Or something you’d like to get better at? Your appraisal is the ideal time to bring this up.

Think about your career progression

In preparing for an appraisal, you’ll also want to think about your career progression. What do you enjoy most about your role? How would you like it to progress over the next year? What are your long-term career plans?

If there’s a burning question you’ve been wanting to ask, such as about a promotion, pay rise or training, then now is the time to bring it up. Try to link this with your key strengths, achievements and/or the extra value you could bring in the future, to show the benefit for the charity rather than just for you.

This is also a good time to review your job description to make sure it accurately reflects the full scope of your responsibilities and agree any tweaks if needed.

Be open to feedback

In an ideal world, your appraisal would contain no surprises, as your line manager should raise any issues and give you any feedback throughout the year, not save it all up for your performance review. However, after preparing for your appraisal, you need to approach it with an open mind, ready for feedback of any kind. You aren’t perfect and there will always be room for improvement.

But, if you unexpectedly receive negative feedback that you feel is unfair, then don’t allow your emotions to take over. Ask for some concrete examples of where your performance has fallen short. Then you can always request to pause the meeting and continue another time. This will give you the chance to compose your thoughts and prepare your response.

Criticism can be hard to hear, especially if you feel you’ve worked very hard. But let the initial sting wear off and then think about it more objectively. Try to see it as an opportunity to grow rather than a personal attack.

So you now know how to prepare for an appraisal. Although they can be stressful, they can also be very rewarding when you reflect back on all your progress over the past year. And the more you can prepare for it, the more value both you and your charity will get from it.

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