5 Wise Ways: Performance Reviews
You can negotiate your performance review? Hell yes you can!
Here’s a thought experiment. Imagine for a moment how performance reviews would work if we lived in an emotionally intelligent world?
For one thing, they’d be continuous instead of yearly. Feedback would arrive from your manager and peers on the regular, and it would come in a kind, constructive, and empathetic form. You’d set out with a clear understanding of what’s expected of you, from your first day on the job. If expectations changed over time, they’d be clearly communicated in writing. Managers would mentor you thoughtfully and patiently. They would celebrate when you’ve done something great, and they’d give candid and kind guidance on the areas where you can improve.
Now let’s observe how real-world performance reviews work. As you do, consider my controversial theory: Their ambiguous, slow-motion cruelty is probably the inspiration for TV talent shows like American Idol and The Voice.
They probably happen in a meeting that is meant to happen annually, but is frequently postponed weeks or months by the boss. Towards the end of the year, managers begin to roll their eyes in unison, lamenting “review season” and its attendant deadlines, paperwork, and ugly-crying.
The wind-up to this process inflicts gradually escalating anxiety on everybody in the building. The only thing that’s certain is that the experience won’t go as you hoped. After a year of frequently-canceled 1:1 meetings, managers are now ready to back up the feedback truck and dump a steaming pile of recriminations, observations, and thinly-veiled accusations on your carefully-tended lawn.
The constructive feedback is usually simplistic, obvious, and about as satisfying as the Game of Thrones finale. It is the first time your boss has said anything nice, so you’ll take it! The “constructive criticism” seems… random. Long-forgotten incidents are exhumed like a dusty relic in an Indiana Jones movie. Decisions singled out for criticism relate to projects cancelled so long ago, the Metaverse was still a thing.
On the bright side, the performance review is the one time each year where managers may be observed putting their hitherto mysterious expectations down in writing. Sadly, many will also take the opportunity to fault their workers for failing to guess earlier what those expectations were.
A request for a clearly documented job description might earn the suggestion that you should “roll with the punches” because, you know, “things move pretty fast around here” (clearly not as fast as inflation, looking at the 2.8% raise.)
Performance Review Rules
There are a few ways to improve your experience of the performance review process. Do these before, during, and after the event, and you’ll help both youself and your manager get more from the experience:
Make positive feedback and areas for improvement part of regular 1:1 meetings with your manager. Put “Feedback + & -” in the agenda of the meeting invite, so they can be reminded to prepare. If they don’t volunteer, steer the conversation to the topic. Say “Hey, could you tell me how you think I’m doing?” or ask for feedback on specific aspects of your work: “I felt like I choked in the meeting with the VPs — what do you think I should have done differently?”
Send your manager an email summarizing the feedback. “Hey boss! Thanks for another great 1:1. I appreciate that you noticed the extra effort I put in for the v7 launch. I’m going to give more attention to reporting outcomes rather than output in the weekly review.” You can also share with them feedback you get from other peers or leaders. You’re doing your manager’s job for them in creating a record of the feedback you’re given, making it much more difficult for them to cook up a surprise in your review.
Have an explicit, separate “career goals” conversation with your manager — not in a regular 1:1. Use this to set mutual expectations for how the review process fits in with your goals for advancement. Whatever the cadence of reviews is, have this meeting no more than halfway through the cycle.
Any time you’re working towards a specific goal — a title bump, a raise beyond whatever is standard, and/or the formalization of additional responsibilities — establish exactly what’s expected of you in order to attain that goal. Also confirm this in writing by sending an email after summarizing the conversation.
Negotiate a review if it contains feedback that you don’t think is fair, a raise that you think is disappointing, or if the promotion you were hoping for was withheld.
Negotiating a Review
I know what you’re thinking — yes you can negotiate a review! This is a pro move, but it’s by no means outrageous. It’s professional, reasonable, and even expected by any manager who wasn’t born yesterday.
Step 1
The first step is developing a little empathy for your manager. That can be hard when they’ve just ruined your day by saying a bunch of stuff you didn’t want to hear. Being a manager is not as easy as looks, and conducting performance reviews is a part of the job that many managers dislike, and therefore do not do very well.
Consider this: Your manager probably knows that the job they did on your performance review is not perfect. When it came time to prepare it, they probably found they hadn’t kept their records as organized as they’d like, and they probably didn’t leave themselves enough time to do the job as well as they would like. Who among us isn’t guilty of the same?
The words they chose in your review meeting might not have been as eloquent, concise, or as measured as they could have been. It’s nearly certain that the formula they were given for determining your annual raise was not as generous as they’d like.
Step 2
The next step is to consider exactly what you want to get out of pushing back on your review. For most people, this will include three things:
More accurate recognition of achievements and contributions
More accurate assessment of opportunities for growth
Rewards in compensation or advancement that recognize the above
A balanced review contains all three of these, and thoughtful managers will ensure that they’re addressed in equal measure. It’s wise for you do ensure your effort to negotiate your review is similarly balanced. Acknowledge and appreciate the feedback they shared — recognition and growth — and confirm you’re eager to put it to work in your continued development.
Step 3
Compose a short email to your manager asking if you could meet to discuss the review, and say that you’d like them to consider making some changes. You could say something like: “I’m eager to continue giving my best effort in this role. I’m excited about continuing to develop in my career at [company]. It would help me to do that more effectively if we could discuss revising your assessment of me, my compensation, and title.”
In the email, concisely describe the recognition, the assessment for growth opportunities, and the adjustments that you’d like to see made. Keep it brief — maybe one sentence for each of those, and leave the discussion of the details to a meeting dedicated to the purpose.
If you present a proposal for a revised review with a reasonable tone, without being defensive, and you stay humble and optimistic throughout the conversation, you’re likely to get a good result.
Putting it All Together
If you want to raise the stakes a bit, you can say something like “Feeling that my contributions are being recognized are important for me to feel properly situated in this role. I want to feel great about continuing to grow in my career here at [company] and revisiting these aspects of my review will help me do that.”
Several of my clients have put this approach to productive use, getting adjustments made to their review, negotiating a pay raise or a title bump as well. If you hang out in the Bizlet Slack, you’ve already heard those stories. If you don’t you should consider joining. It’s free.
Let’s hear your stories of success (or failure!) in pushing back against a deficient performance reviews. Hit reply to email me privately, leave a comment below, or join us in Slack.
Good luck, and see you soon!