Employee Self Appraisal Example

Employee self appraisals can serve as a very powerful tool for managers.  If done correctly, this tool can reveal employee perceptions of the workplace, how it is managed and things that could be done to improve the worker experience.  As managers, it is important to solicit this kind of feedback and be open to learn from what employees think and use it as a learning experience for professional growth.

I am always amazed at how honest employees are if given the opportunity to share their perspective of the work environment and how often I misread employee responses and intentions.

 

This process can be intimidating to employees without proper preparation and honest discussions making it important to prepare employees for this exercise, especially new or young people in the work place.

Preparation should be done by explaining why the feedback is important, what the organization hopes to learn and how the information will be used to set goals and improve the employee experience.

Some organizations have the employees fill out their own performance appraisal using the same tool that the manager uses for their self appraisal.  But I’ve found that using a separate tool that asks more questions that relate to how the employee is managed and their perceptions of their knowledge and skill-set can reveal valuable information for the manager.  This is a sample employee self appraisal tool that drills down into more personal employee perspectives.

Employee Self Appraisal

Name: _______________________ Date: _______________

Department: ___________________________

1. What do I consider the important abilities which my job requires?
2. What are some aspects of my job responsibilities that I like the best? That I like the least?
3. In what ways can my supervisor help me do my job better?
4. In what aspects of my job do I feel I need more experience and training?
5. What are my major contributions/accomplishments from the past year?
6. What have I done for my personal and/or professional development?
7. The following changes made in my job would improve my effectiveness.
8. Are all of my capabilities being utilized in my present position? If not, how can they be better utilized?
9. What are specific things I need to do in the next year for my own development?
10. In what ways does my present position better prepare me for assuming more responsibility?
11. What are my long range plans? What type of work do I see myself doing five years from now? How am I preparing myself for this work?

Signature: _________________   Date: ______________

This example can be formatted into a document that should include the employee’s name, department, date and signature that will become part of the employee file.

This tool should be incorporated into the performance appraisal process and the information learned should be discussed for clarity and establishment of goals.  For example, employees may reveal things that the manager could do to help make their job easier.  This kind of information opens the door for communication that might not have otherwise occurred.

Regardless of the tool used, it is important to set time aside each year to have a performance discussion with employees and use that discussion to learn ways to improve the employee work experience and create goals to help them in their professional development and growth.