”I have yet to work for a boss who is articulate in performance appraisals, formal or otherwise,” a reader writes.
”I`m often left with very general comments about my job performance. I have tried to elicit more specific feedback, but I haven`t been successful.” The administrative assistant says she wants to develop her own tools for self-assessment, but she doesn`t know how. She`s looking for specific ways to evaluate her job performance.
”I am starting a daily journal with notes about the day`s work, its timeliness, quality and weaknesses,” she writes. ”I`m hoping that at the end of six months or a year, I will have a record of my performance that I can use for my own performance appraisal.”
She stresses she needs practical advice. ”I`m not looking for cliches such as learning from my mistakes,” she writes.
The reader, who asked that her name not be used, is a professional who wants to move ahead. She already has taken a giant step in that direction: She has figured out that her progress is up to her and she alone must take
OLIVIA S. CHASE
Age 41, administrative/staff assistant, Du Page County Board, Wheaton
”I`m a detail-oriented person, a technical type,” says Chase, who organizes the schedule of board chairman Jack T. Knuepfer, prepares agendas for committee meetings and monitors Knuepfer`s appointments to more than 60 districts, commissions and boards.
”In order to see the forest, you have to see the variety of trees out there, so I look at the various components of my job.”
Within the framework of her own standards of ”speed, efficiency and excellence,” Chase assesses her job performance. Chase, who has a bachelor`s degree from Concordia College and a master`s degree from George Williams College, is a partner-owner in The Synergia Group, 28 E. Jackson Blvd., a marketing, management and resource development firm for business owners. She works for her own company nights and weekends.
First, Chase evaluates how long it takes her to get a task done. ”The longer I`ve been doing something, the easier it should be to do and completed a lot sooner.”
A member of the Illinois Minority Women`s Caucus, Chase analyzes how she functions ”as part of a team and which tasks I do better independently.” She tracks her sense of judgment, too. ”I try to figure out if I made the proper call.”
Chase asks colleagues for opinions, too. ”It`s always good if you can get feedback from someone you work closely with, someone you trust and respect,” she says.
In addition to formal evaluations, Chase also asks her supervisor, Ken Lahner, the comptroller, for informal assessments. ”When I complete a task, I might ask, `Is this what you`re looking for? Is it on the mark?` ”
Her self-evaluation helped Chase see that she has the skills to run her own business. ”Assessment is two-pronged: Get feedback from the outside and listen to what`s inside you,” she advises.
RUTH A. FARB
Age 50, vice president and chief financial officer, Lakeside Bank, 141 W. Jackson Blvd.
Self-assessment is essential, says Farb, who is responsible for the bank`s financial analyses and profitability, ”but you can`t do it in a vacuum.”
Farb, whose bank has three branches, says that first you must have ”an agreement with management on exactly what are the responsibilities of your job and your goals. Be sure to get it in writing and (determine) that everyone agrees.”
Formerly a vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where she worked from 1960 to 1986, Farb stresses the importance of a framework for analyzing how you`re doing.
”Having goals is an important part of self-assessment,” says Farb, who supervises 12 people. ”When I first came to the Fed, my goal was to be a vice president. That was a time when there were no women officers. It took me 19 years to achieve my goal, and then my goal became to be the best vice president.”
A graduate of Douglass College of Rutgers University, Farb completed the program of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking and the executive program in organizational change at Stanford University.
”The next thing to do is to keep some kind of documentation and analysis of what you are achieving,” says Farb, a member of the board of directors of Junior Achievement.
”For instance, if you used to respond to 50 customers a week and now respond to only 25, you have to look at whether you`re accomplishing your goals or if responses are more complicated and taking longer.”
She warns: ”To move ahead, you have to take charge of your career, and that means self-assessment. But it can`t be unilateral. Keeping track of what you do from your own perspective may not be what management is looking for. It has to be in their terms.”
JEAN M. BLACK
Age 55, employment consultant and owner, J.O.B. Consultants, Arlington Heights
”When you start a new job, research how to do your job and continually evaluate how you are doing it,” says Black, an independent contractor for Elite Personnel Service Inc., of Arlington Heights.
Black, who has a bachelor`s degree from Rosary College, places private clients in jobs, runs employment workshops and gives motivational talks to women and support groups.
A former elementary school teacher, where performance reviews were frequent, Black has owned her own employment firm since 1980. She says that if you can`t get a written job description, write your own from the day you start work, putting the information on something visible, such as a desk calendar.
”Most jobs are not routine and you will find you continually are doing something new.”
Black says that self-analysis should include ”how you utilize your time, what functional skills you are required to have and your human resource skills-how you react to people, your customer service skills. Also track any extra duties you assume and the results of them. And keep a record of complaints or when your work is returned.”
Black says that those in sales should keep ”a record of your product knowledge and what percent of profit comes from each of your sales.”
She suggests reading professional journals and joining professional organizations and networks to learn the ”established criteria for your position or if there is a generic evaluation system for your field.”
The consultant always asks for evaluations of her work from clients and after workshops. This, she says, ”helps me learn to do a better job. I feel strongly from my own life that every woman has the ability to find fulfillment in a job. One of the first steps toward that is to evaluate yourself.”
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Send comments and ideas for future questions to Carol Kleiman, The Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.
