How to Write a Performance Review for Your Manager

Many companies have adopted the self-review for performance reviews. In these situations, employees rate their own performances and write reviews for their managers. The managers have the authority to alter the ratings and write their own reviews, but this process is seen as helping employees to better understand their strengths and weaknesses. Writing a performance review for your manager can be stressful, but learning how to do one well can improve your job security and improve your chances for a larger raise.

Instructions

1. Write down the main projects you worked on during the year. Depending on your job, you could write down the accounts you were responsible for, the deadlines you were supposed to meet and the goals you were expected to achieve. Your main projects are the responsibilities that you're held accountable for. Look through copies of correspondence you made during the year to help identify projects.

2. List your accomplishments in relation to your projects and goals. Be realistic. While you want to accentuate the positive aspects of your performance, you should be able to back up your statements with specific examples of what happened during the year. Use last year's objectives as goals. Be specific, using numbers whenever possible such as sales expectations, miles driven or some aspect of your work effort that can be measured.

3. Continue by listing other specific examples of things you did during the year that aren't necessarily associated with your main projects. The best performance reviews cite specific examples of performance that reflect well on the company's profitability. This can not only result from increased sales, but also from things like reduced warranty costs and an increased perception of quality.

4. Summarize your review with a paragraph of how you feel your work effort helped the company reach its goals.

Tips & Warnings

• Maintain a list that you update during the year that features your work highlights so you can refer to it at review time. Create a rough draft of your performance review, wait a few days, and then read it over to correct grammar mistakes. You can often remember more highlights after waiting a few days.

• Negative comments on your review about coworkers or your manager will reflect badly on you because it will appear you were unable to deal with the situation on your own.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Workplace Harassment Information