Job Evaluations

It's that time of year again. A time when someone is going to take a look at my performance and determine if I have been a successful employee or not.  All year long I evaluate my employees based on whether or not they are meeting set standards, moving us towards our mission statement, and living out the company values.  It is one thing when I evaluate others, but when it comes to me #%^%@!.  So as I head towards this time, I find myself trying to justify what I have done this year by looking at how much money I have generated for the company, by looking at my facilities compliance record, going over our turn over reports, etc...  But isn't a persons worth to a company more than numbers.  Isn't there more to success than customer satisfaction surveys.  Is the impact you make on others ever a factor?

So, what is an evaluation about anyway.  For the employee we are hoping to hear good things about ourselves, followed by a raise or promotion of some type.  We want our year of service to be valued by our employer in a tangible way.  Sure we want nice things to go into our file, but what we really want is money, green backs, franklin's. We want more than a cost of living increase, we want something substantial.  As an employer we want to align the employee to the coming years direction.  We want more work in the same amount of time.  We hope we don't have to pay any more for it. We want unquestioning loyalty, and exceptional work ethic, and a stellar attendance record.  No wonder there is more disappointment after an evaluation than any other time. 

So how can i approach my evaluation this week in a different way. I want to be in the drivers seat and lead the meeting, rather than have it happen to me. I would like to make a proposal for a change in position, or a way to financially incentivize me to higher performance.  I really want to be invited to the inner circle of ownership, but would settle for something that felt like a promotion, or moving ahead.  At the least I hope to walk away from the time with a better understanding of what I do well, and what I need to work on, a sense that I am valuable to my employer, and that they are thinking of my future as well as their own. I hope they realize that my evaluation matters to me, and as I am honest with myself, it does matter, it is important.  My your evaluation be all that you want it to be.