Prepping for Performance Conversations as an Individual Contributor

Regardless if they're taking place once a year or quarterly, it's important to come prepared to your performance conversations with your manager if they're going to be effective.  Preparing for these conversations shouldn't be needlessly time consuming.  With Reflektive, a few focused searches in the right places will position you for a productive performance with your manager.  

Spend Time with Your Employee Profile

Your employee profile is a centralized location to view all of your performance data, and time spent here in preparation for an upcoming review is time well spent!  Lay the groundwork for your review responses by considering:

• Your goals and their completion:  In addition to showcasing your accomplishments in a given time frame, this is a helpful exercise to identify blockers that led to incomplete goals.
• Feedback you've received and notes you've saved for yourself:  This information will also display in your review form, but it's a quick refresher before you start writing is a good idea.
• Previously conducted performance conversations:  Come prepared to show progress over time by looking at review feedback your manager has provided you in the past.
• More feedback from your peers:  From your profile, you're able to send a final request for feedback before you write your review.  These insights can equip you with valuable talking points to reference in your review responses.

Reflect on the Roadblocks

Just as it is important to highlight your successes in a review period, reflecting on challenges is an equally productive exercise.  Ask yourself:

• What roadblocks did you face?
• What did you do to overcome them or mitigate their impact to your work?
• How can these be avoided moving forward?

Look Ahead

Many reviews or check-ins will focus on your performance over an extended period of time, but they're also a great opportunity to look to the future.  Optimize these conversations with your manager by coming prepared to discuss:

• Where do you want your career to take in the near and distant future?
• What support do you need from your manager and peers to get you there?
• In what ways can your career interests contribute to larger team, department, or company initiatives?