Employee Self Evaluation:How to Write A Self Evaluation Report.

How to write a self evaluation report by an employee to his maximum benefit is a crucial lesson to learn in today's job market where we all need to be more proactive in getting ahead. Through this vital self evaluation report an employee can showcase his undistorted abilities to his employer to derive utmost benefit during consideration for a job promotion. Here in this article I am going to share few important tips on writing employee self evaluation which would communicate the employee's achievements and his value to the company to get special attention from his employer.

It is generally seen that most of the employees sit on their annual self evaluation forms delivered to their addresses till its last date of submission to their employers. Then they suddenly scurry to fill it someway, even by copying from other colleagues, just to get over it as an annual formality. This is not the right way to see it or to take it as a mere year-end formality. It is a great way to advance your career goals. Annual employee self evaluation gives one an opportunity to have shared perception with his manager of the skills necessary to complete tasks according to his job description. It is this employee self evaluation report where one can underline his relevant skills and how they were used effectively. If he wants to be successful in his career progression, he must, therefore, know how to write a self evaluation report to his utmost benefits or otherwise he will be passed over for a job promotion.

Annual self evaluation report of an employee is vital for the performance appraisal system of the company where an employee gives his views on the points relating to his own performance. This is usually done by rating oneself on various parameters and writing about his major strengths and weaknesses, with the help of an appraisal form supplied by his employers. It is this employee self evaluation report where one can underline his relevant skills and how they were used effectively. It is, therefore, vital that one knows the art of writing a self evaluation report to his career advantage. During my professional career as an HR head of an organization, I have seen several of such employee performance review comments which were written most casually and lacked professionalism. Here are my few vital tips on how to write a self evaluation report intelligently so that an employee can derive maximum benefit out of it to make the most of his abilities as well as his opportunities.

Most companies have their policies regarding the time lines for giving promotions to their employees. They usually decide on the number and even the persons they want to promote a couple of months before the actual date of performance review. If you, therefore, wish to use your self evaluation to influence your next job promotion, you should initiate your campaign well before the performance review process begins. In order to be considered for promotion during the specified time window you should start talking about it to your manager a couple of months beforehand without waiting for the performance appraisal to be completed, as otherwise you may miss the opportunity and may have to wait till the next time slot. It is, therefore, essential that your case is presented appropriately to your boss through the employee self evaluation report before he starts performance assessments of his team members. It is, therefore, imperative that you know the techniques of how to write a self evaluation report to your best advantage so that your boss is kept informed about your achievements and aspirations to move up.

Keep records of your achievements and successes in your work areas over the year and highlight and mention them in the employee self evaluation form. Such successes may include customer appreciations for attending to their problems, boss’s appreciation for achieving targets, praise for suggesting any innovative ideas in some area etc. List out your output along with the feed back you have received from customers and seniors. You should keep records of these achievements which would help to put up well thought-out arguments while writing your self appraisal comments.

Make it concise and factual.

Knowing how to write a self evaluation report properly is vital because it goes to strengthen the opinions your boss and others have already about you. All your performance appraisal comments should be backed up with facts. Avoid writing long sentences and exaggeration like ‘I am a loyal worker and can make any sacrifice for the company’ etc. You need to remember that you are being assessed by your boss every day and your appraisal form is only a tool to remind him of any of your mentionable points which he may miss out during the appraisal process. It is a good idea to describe the areas of your strength, growth and those that need improvement and or development.

Asking for a salary rise.

Another important tip on writing employee self evaluation report is that you should keep in mind not to write any figure for salary expectation while asking for a salary rise. If your expectation is too high you may be seen as over-ambitious by your boss, which may even deprive you from a possible promotion. On the other hand, a too low expectation may lead your boss to think about you that you are not qualified enough for the job. Before going for any negotiation for pay rise with your boss the first thing you should do is to check your true value in the industry. There are several websites which would give you an idea about the realistic salary range you can expect as per the market, based on your position and experience.

The three main things that the company expects from its employees that need to be kept in view while writing your self assessment report are,

Proper attitude: This may be like offering your service to the company to carry out extra bit of work whenever necessary which others may avoid or to volunteer to stay long hours for the work if required;

Output: Your work out put with reference to the ‘measured target’ worked out with your boss;

Loyalty: The longer you stay with your company and remain truly engaged, higher is the chance of your promotion;

Basically, the employee self evaluation is a tool to help your boss to write his final assessment about you and to create the opportunity for an open discussion about success in your role. However, one important point needs to be made clear that although knowing the art of how to write a self evaluation report is crucial for succeeding in career progression, the tips given here only can not take you to your career goal. It is an established fact that there is no substitute for hard and intelligent work on a consistent basis for achieving real success in your career advancement.