Self-Evaluation Definition
What Is Self-Evaluation
We all know about employee evaluations that are conducted by managers and employers to gain insight into an employee’s work and performance. A lot of organizations and companies also employ self-evaluations which become a part of the annual appraisal process. As the name implies, self-evaluation is an assessment tool in which an employee fills out a self-evaluation form that consists of a series of questions based on his or her overall performance.
Understanding Self-Evaluation
A lot of employees often find self-evaluations to be quite nerve-racking because they are unsure of what to say, what to write down and what kind of tone to use when filling out the form. They don’t wish to sound critical nor too arrogant, so the ultimate confusion is what to write and how well it is likely to be received by the reviewer.
However, despite their hesitation, self-evaluation has long been proven to be quite an effective tool for measuring employee success and assessing their performance.
Self-evaluation provides an opportunity for engagement for employees where they can evaluate their performance, identify their problem areas and find out where they are lacking and can do better.
Not just that, but an employee self-evaluation gives employees a chance to prepare for their final annual appraisal meeting with the manager or supervisor. Think of it’s a self-reflection tool that employees can use to their advantage by focusing on their shortcomings and weaknesses, highlighting their strengths and enhancing their overall capabilities.
A self-evaluation form typically consists of a series of questions that an employee is supposed to respond to as honestly as possible. The questions help them go through a thought process where they get to assess the multiples nuances and aspects of their performance. Some other key benefits of self-evaluation include:
- It significantly boosts employee engagement in the performance appraisal process.
- It highlights differences in perceptions and opinion before the annual evaluation meeting between the manager and the employee.
- It gives managers and employers a fuller and broader picture with better insight into an employee’s work. In other words, it’s like getting to know the other side of the story.
- It paves the way towards open and effective discussions about challenges at work, performance, goal-accomplishments and work priorities.
When writing your self-evaluation, there are many useful tips that will help you write a solid evaluation, such as:
- Always reflect on feedback and realize how your actions can impact those around you.
- Identify your areas of improvement and also list down your top achievements and accomplishments.
- Take time out to compare your recent performance at work with your job description in order to find out areas where you are excelling and those where you are falling short and can potentially improve.
- Mention particular statistics and analytics in the performance evaluation or in other words, quantifiable data in order to showcase the real and actual value that you provide in your job.
The ultimate purpose of self-evaluation is to promote effective communication between managers and employees about the latter’s job performance. Not just that, but self-assessment of this kind also presents the ideal opportunity to discuss the quality of an employee’s work, future goals for improvement and enhancement, business goals for the next quarter, and the next few steps for both personal and business development, which is crucial for an employee’s career.
