Q. “I wasn’t happy with my last performance review. Should I dispute the review? Write a letter for my file? Talk to a lawyer? Or just let it go?”
A. Most professionals feel you should offer some kind of response. But whether to respond, and the way to respond, will depend on your company’s culture, the unwritten message and your own career goals.
1. Assess your report in light of the company’s culture.
In some cultures, anything but glowing praise will be viewed as negative. In others, tough reviews are the norm.
Often your boss will be expected to come up with at least one point of constructive criticism. After all, nobody walks on water. But if you’re being attacked or unfairly criticized, you must explore further.
Sometimes you’ll win more points by taking the review in stride than by fighting. But in some cultures, a single negative review means you need to start job-hunting right away.
2. Calculate your boss’s strategy.
Sometimes your performance report has nothing to do with you or your performance. Your boss might honestly want to see you leave the company or make sure the next promotion goes to someone else.
Your boss may be a new hire who is still learning your company’s culture. She may combine good intentions with weak implementation.
Or maybe your boss wants to get your attention: he’s dropped hints and you’ve ignored them. Or he wants to help you progress but doesn’t know how to communicate tactfully.
3. Listen for unwritten messages.
Does your company have a category where a low score means you’re headed for disaster? Does your boss try to tell you, “It’s a great review!” when you know otherwise?
Suppose you’ve been getting terrific reviews – and now you get slammed with a truckload of criticism. Maybe you really did have a bad year. Or maybe there’s an agenda you need to understand.
4. Get the facts without getting defensive.
Ask your boss to explain each criticism.
For example, if your boss said your project was delivered late, get dates and times. If you’re criticized for interpersonal skills, ask for specific instances.
But give your boss a chance to save face.
Anyone can make mistakes. An overworked, harried boss can skimp on her own data collection. You can say, without confrontation, “My records show I managed six projects, not four. Can we go over this point?”
5. Delay your response.
Ask for a second meeting, explaining calmly that you need time to think. Use the time to collect your backup file. Consider a consultation with an outsider: career coach, consultant, human resources professor – even a lawyer if the situation warrants.
Do not discuss your report or your decision to seek help with your peers. Ever.
6. Back up a rebuttal with facts, not emotion.
Assemble your own evidence of performance. Collect letters of appreciation, dates and times of project completion, statistics showing how you helped the company.
Often simply placing a rebuttal letter in your own file will defuse the impact of a negative evaluation. When you’ve had a strong track record, your company will ignore an occasional negative, unless someone has introducedå a new agenda.
Your boss may be ordered to grade on the curve, i.e., assign some employees the “low” category even if everyone’s doing great. And, being human, he may assign those ratings to those who are least likely to speak up. A strong, carefully written rebuttal will clarify your strength of purpose.
7. Avoid jumping to conclusions – or to a new job.
When clients ask, “Should I look for a new job?” my answer will be, “When you work for any organization, keep yourself marketable. Maintain your network. Identify reputable recruiters and build ties with them.”
It’s rarely a good idea to share your career change plans with your colleagues or boss until you have a written offer in hand. And it’s rarely a good idea to accept a counter-offer from your present company. (Over half of all workers who accept a counter-offer are gone within six months, one way or another.)
But if your company wants to send a “Go Away!” message, they may be happy to give you a good reference that reflects your real contribution.
Tags: Agenda, Boss, Career Goals, Company Culture, Constructive Criticism, Cultures, Disaster, Dream Career, Good Intentions, Implementation, Job Hunting, Last Performance, Lawyer, Norm, Performance Report, Performance Review, Recruitment Agency, Recruitment Jobs, Score, Terrific Reviews, Truckload, Write A Letter
Leaving a job is often a difficult step. Sure, there is the exciting opportunity to do something different, but if have been with an employer for over a year this can become an emotional step. People leave jobs for various reasons. The old job might just plain and simple suck. The pay is lousy and the boss is behaving like a dictator of a 3rd world country. Or the job might be target of outsourcing and the employee is pro-active by looking for his/her own way out. Or the job is a dead end. No opportunity and the daily routine is boring. It could also be that the immediate co-workers and managers are just not as nice and that there is no great work relationship that makes the employee to love to go to work. A not so exciting job can still be a great place to work if you have great co-workers and managers around. Work is about money, but the socializing part is important, too.
We’re not trying to get into the reasons for leaving a job here for the matter of this article. However - we want to concentrate on the actual part of resigning from a job. And again - there are several different ways of leaving a job. If you absolutely do not care about your old job you could just leave but this step can have severe impact on your career down the road. Keep in mind that employers like to check the places you worked at before they want to hire you. These sins of the past might come back and hurt your reputation. “Oh, he left that job without any notice. What if he does the same thing to me?” - This could be just one thought a new employer might have. Depending on the job a one week or two week notice should be given. In some cases 3-4 weeks can be appropriate. As higher you get up in the ranks this might be the way to go. An executive leaving a company without taking care of a proper transition might hurt himself if the company gets into problems afterwards and this becomes public knowledge. Treat the employer fair and do not burn any bridges. In the long run this will be the best decision an employee can make.
When resigning you should be prepared to avoid unnecessary stress. In most cases resigning is a stressful event. A well prepared employee can take some stress out of this big step with proper planning. Write a 2 or 3 line letter of resignation. Nothing fancy. Try not to explain why you leave. Just state that you are resigning from your position and let the company know what your last day at work will be. Sign the letter and hand it to the manager you are resigning to. Do not just turn over the letter and walk away. Say that you are resigning and then hand over the letter of resignation. Be prepared to answer questions why you are leaving. Do not make up things. Prepare a quick list of pain points if needed. You might even help your co-workers by giving constructive feedback about certain situations and problems. I personally recommend never to mention the word money as the main reason of leaving. If things come down to money if often gets dirty.
Eventually be prepared for an immediate counter-offer during your resignation. Some companies try to fix the problem of an employee leaving by throwing more money at him/her. Or they want to buy time and pretend giving you more money. They give you more money but work on your replacement at the same time. Things might also work out Ok for a while but when the going gets tough and it comes to layoffs the guy who took the counter-offer might be one of the first ones to be let go because of the cost factor. I see only one situation when it can be good or Ok to accept a counter-offer. Say you are leaving because of the work environment and you are able to point out problems and issues. Some employers are blind about these things and just don’t realize how employees feel about certain things. Suddenly a good employees leaves and the issue comes to the surface. Some employers are willing to fix the issue and these are rare situations a counter-offer can be accepted. Still - the employee has to carefully evaluate the situation. It is important to know who you are dealing with from a personal side. Can you trust the employer?
Sometimes a counter-offer can come up during the last few days at a company or shortly after the last day. We have seen cases when counter-offers were made within 60-70 days after the employee left. These situations are not good. I highly recommend not to accept such a counter-offer no matter how tempting the offer is. The employee has to keep in mind that he/she already left. This mark will always stick. One day the employer might be in a different situation and has to decide who to let go first. Will it be the loyal employee who is with the company for 8 years or is it the “Gung-Ho” who left just to be lured back by money and who eventually leaves again if the next employer is willing to hand out even more cash? Make a bet ….
These are just a few things to keep in mind when thinking about resigning from a position. Be prepared. Be strong. Change can be very good for your career
Tags: Boss, Bridges, Co Workers, Daily Routine, Deci, Dictator, Emotional Step, Exciting Job, How To Quit A Job, Jobs, Leaving A Job, Love, Old Job, Public Knowledge, Reasons For Leaving A Job, Recruitment Agency, Recruitment Jobs, Reputation, Resigning From A Job, Several Different Ways, Target, Transition, Work Relationship
Do you have a job that you think you could do just as easily at home? Perhaps Telecommuting is the way to go! Certain office jobs don’t require people to be there physically and if you think your job meets those requirements, then you should seriously consider talking to the boss about Telecommuting. But what is the best way to approach him/her? In this article I’ll give you some good advice about what to say and what NOT to say to your boss in order to convince them.
Remember that your boss is worried about the business and not about your personal life. So if you say things to him like, “I want to stay home and take care of my kids”, that is not going to reflect well upon him. He’s worried about meeting deadlines, productivity, and actual work being completed. If he suddenly sees you as a “Mommy” who needs to make lunches for the kids, or resolve fighting amongst siblings, or kiss boo-boos to make them better, he sees those motherly things getting in the way of the business productivity. So make sure when you approach your boss, don’t approach him as a personal issue, make it all about the business.
Also when you talk to your boss about telecommuting, tell them what is in it for THEM. They want to know how it benefits them by not having you in the office and therefore not being able to be monitored by them. Here are just a few points you can bring up:
* Decreases turnover - Telecommuters are less likely to quit their jobs since they know they have it so good at their current situation.
* Improves Productivity - Telecommuters are not distracted by the chatter of other employees around the “water cooler” and also need not worry about sitting in traffic and leaving immediately at 5PM. Telecommuters are statistically proven to work longer hours.
* Cuts down on workman’s compensation claims - Since you are working from your own home, safety on the job is no longer a factor that they’re liable for.
* Promotes good health - There is less stress in telecommuting so therefore employers will be paying out less health insurance benefits.
* Cuts down on office supplies and facility costs - If you agree to use your own small supplies (not big, expensive machinery) then it will help them cut costs. Also using your own computer may be an added benefit to the company.
* Less sick days taken - Telecommuters are statistically proven to work from home even if sick.
These are only a few points to bring up to your boss when discussing the possibility of Telecommuting. Of course you want to be there for your kids, but don’t tell them that!
Having this open door conversation with your boss just may be your ticket to staying home and being a work at home mother! Your family, your health, and your boss may even thank you for it!
Tags: Boos, Boss, Business Productivity, Current Situation, Good Advice, Good Health, Home Safety, Job, Kiss, Mommy, Office Jobs, People, Personal Issue, Personal Life, Recruitment Agency, Recruitment Jobs, Siblings, Stress, Telecommuters, Traffic, Turnover, Water Cooler, Workman
