Every year—or half-year for some people—managers and supervisors write performance appraisals to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the staff who work for them. (Performance appraisals are written about them, too, by someone further up in the organization.) In this article we will describe a unique personal evaluation technique that can become a catalyst at performance review time.

Write a Progress Report

Many of us, as part of our work, have to write regular progress or status reports describing how a project or task is progressing. We suggest using this progress report technique to describe what you, personally, have accomplished during a specific period. This is an excellent time management tool too, because it helps you understand what you are spending your time on and what may be slipping off the agenda.

Set Aside 30 Minutes

On the last working day of every month, open up a new file and list particular accomplishments you had during the month, plus other factors that either enhanced or constrained your work. Include projects you worked on, courses you attended, committees you are involved in and any issues you helped resolve. Also include ideas you have about future projects and training or conferences that will improve your performance or help you become a more effective staff member. The plan is to capture this information while it’s fresh in your mind.

Create a Template

The ideal way to do this is to create a format for entering information each month. The template should have brief headings followed by a space for entering information. We suggest headings like these:

Your goal should be to record details about the key events that transpired during the month. Rather than describe what was expected of you, identify what you accomplished.

As the template shows, divide your information into three compartments:

1. What you accomplished, separating your information into the work you planned to do and work that was unexpected.
2. Problems that arose and how you coped with them. Divide this information into three subcompartments:
   • What impact the problem had on your work.
   • What steps you took to overcome or avert the problem.
   • What effect these steps had.
3. What you plan to achieve during the next month and, if practicable, the balance of the year.

Summarize the Key Points

When performance evaluation time approaches, read through your 12 personal reports for the past year to help remind you of your activities. This is so much more effective than trying to remember it all, and you’ll be amazed at how much you accomplished. Extract key factors to show your manager or supervisor during the performance review meeting. Write them as a summary report, using the same topic headings you used for the monthly reports. You will be surprised at the positive impact this has, when your manager sees that you have prepared for the interview and have been doing some self-evaluation.

It’s January so why not start fresh writing monthly personal progress reports.

Online instruction on how to write short reports is available at www.rgilearning.com

Lisa Moretto is a Sr. Consultant with RGI Learning. For 16 years she has helped engineers improve their oral and written communication skills. Visit www.rgilearning.com or call (585) 461-3617 to learn about RGI’s courses.

© 2008 RGI Learning

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