Need feedback about performance reviews...

Barbara

September 1,2022 at 1:59AM UTC

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Need feedback about performance reviews...

I’ve been in my current position for nearly four years now. The woman I work for is, for the most part pleasant, but a little on the controlling and seemingly passive aggressive side. I had been warned by others that she was that way but did not experience it firsthand. Since the pandemic, we have been mostly working remotely. My boss lady likes to have two touch base meetings via Slack per week. During these meetings, I never received any negative feedback or implications that I should be doing better. We receive our annual reviews in January. Imagine my surprise when my boss lady goes over my review and for the over all rating, I am only partially meeting her expectations! I was totally shocked! She never said anything to me during our 2x weekly Slack meetings and her critiques were vague. I asked her for examples, right then and there and she couldn’t think of any. She said she will send me a list after the review but never did. The overall gist I got was that she wants me to go into the office two days a week to “learn” from other employees (she herself is not ever going back into the office, she plans to retire at year end). Yet, she gave me no direction as to what specifically she wants me to learn and from which employee(s) she wants me to learn from. So, I’ve been going in two days a week and on some days it’s just me and one other employee in our department! Everyone else is still working remotely for the most part. We had a few weeks after the review period to write a response, but my husband talked me out of it. His rationale is, since boss lady is retiring at the end of the year, don’t worry she’ll be gone next year anyways. He doesn’t want me to make any waves since I carry the family’s health insurance through my job. I still worry because what if whoever they hire to replace boss lady decides to read last year’s review to get an idea as to what type of employee I am? Is this common, or would a new boss start fresh and make their own opinions? I’m worried I am going to get another negative review this year after being tainted last year. This whole review has really shaken my confidence. I toyed with the idea of looking for a new job but I don’t really feel like looking for a new job but will if I have to come January if review is negative again. My question(s) are – (1) what would cause a boss to surprise an employee with an unanticipated negative annual review and (2) how likely is it that the new boss will read last year’s review ?

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Barb HansenSeptember 1,2022 at 2:27AM UTC
(1) what would cause a boss to surprise an employee with an unanticipated negative annual review.
Your boss is not a good manager. Good managers work to help employees get better at their jobs, to correct issues as they appear, to have difficult conversations at the moment those conversations need to be had. Good managers don't wait until annual reviews to give their direct reports feedback on their work.
(2) how likely is it that the new boss will read last year’s review ?
A good manager will read a past manager's annual reviews. A good manager also knows that they can't take one persons view of their employees, they know that team dynamics change as managers change, they also know that it's their job as a manager to figure out what's really going on.
You have an opportunity to craft the narrative with your new manager, so grab that opportunity.
I would be prepared with a long list of all of the good work that I had done for the company, so when the new manager starts, I could schedule some time to talk about:
-I would talk about the work that I liked doing, what I excelled at and what challenges that I had. I would also speak the challenge that I has with the last manager (without bashing my last boss). I would hand my manager that long list of successful projects that I had worked on (or sales made, or issues resolved, or whatever type of work you do)
-I would talk about how I like to work and how I like to be managed. I would open a discussion on how the new manager and I can work most effectively together (because I work best getting feedback along the way without needing a lot of hands-on attention)
-and I would chat about where I want to go with me career at this company, including the types of projects that I'd like to be assigned to, some classes that I'd like to take.
Good luck, I hope your next manager is a great people manager - you deserve a good one!
Julie AcostaOctober 4,2022 at 4:23AM UTC
Good leaders support their team in the development and identify opportunities to guide them based on ongoing communication. If she’s waited until your performance review to notify you of your performance without being specific, she has done a disservice to you.
That said, your development and improvement is your responsibility just as much as it is your manager’s/director’s/etc.
For now, meet with your peers proactively and maybe managers from other teams you worm cross-functionally with. Collect their feedback on what you could be doing better or learning. The idea here is to take initiative.
When your new boss lady/man starts, be proactive to put time on their calendar and get ahead of the narrative. By then, you would’ve hopefully identified areas for opportunity and you can begin establishing trust with your new manager.