Keeping Your Cool During An Unfair Review

Contributed by Jay Schroyer

Typically, performance reviews are a chance for both employee and employer to discuss their achievements and their shortcomings. Employers walk a fine line between insult and a genuine want to help a wayward employee. But what can you do if your employer seems to be taking extra steps to make your life harder through bad and unfair performance reviews? The following is a small schedule of events that you can follow to make the best of a bad situation.

Consideration
Take some time to really read and understand your evaluation. Think back to your work habits. Is the evaluation correct when you really think about it? Sometimes we think we’re doing a better job than we really are. If your superior sites the need for better accuracy in your projects, is he or she way off the mark or should you spend a little more time proofreading your work? Sometimes we get too comfortable in a job position and start taking little indulgences like showing up ten minutes late or leaving five minutes early or using the company postage machine to mail our own letters. If this is part of your review, you may want to make a more conscious effort to arrive and depart right on schedule. And next time you’re at the grocery store, purchase a book of stamps so you won’t even be tempted to send mail from work.

You also need to see what exactly is being criticized in your review. Are all of the problems work-related or do some of them seem very personal or petty. This may be a sign that you have a superior that might not have a single problem with your work, but multiple problems with your persona.

Paper Trail
Always get a copy of the review to keep for your own records. Keep track of the date and time you discuss your review and make sure you document any conversation that you have. You never know when you might need the words that you used during the review for a later purpose. It’s also a good idea to keep a copy around so that when your next performance review comes up, you can see if you’ve made any progress to rectify the areas where you scored poorly.

Discussion
The best avenue of action is to talk with your evaluator. At the time of the review, speak up and say what’s on your mind. If you disagree with a point in the review, state it and ask your evaluator why they have responded in a negative manner. Don’t become defensive. Keep a level head and simply explain why you don’t agree with what is written. If you need some time to cool off or consider what your evaluator has written, ask if it’s possible to meet later to discuss your review. You can use some of your consideration time to list evidence to support your counterclaim.

Generally, a calm, adult conversation can take place in which the evaluator can explain how he or she sees things. If for some reason the situation turns bad, you may want to ask if you can have a witness of some sort present in the room or you can simply end the discussion at that time.

Human Resources
If you were unable to get any satisfaction speaking directly with your evaluator, you may be able to go the next step up the ladder. If it’s a large company, check out the human resources department and explain what’s going on. If it’s a smaller company, perhaps there is an immediate supervisor above the evaluator. If the evaluator is the president or owner, then you don’t have much recourse within the company. This may be a time to consider an outsider (career specialist or lawyer) to aid you in your plight. Be prepared to back up your rebuttal with solid evidence. If you really haven’t been doing your job, you won’t have a leg to stand on if the situation turns into a legal proceeding.

Explore
If none of these steps get you anywhere and you feel that you will never get a fair shake at your present job, then it might be time to look around. It would make sense to write a letter disagreeing with your review to be placed in your personnel file. This would create a record of your disagreement with the review and provide a paper trail for anyone researching your case to follow. Take into consideration what was said in the review. Perhaps the work environment had a lot to do with the review. Some fields demand more perfection than others. Don’t take the same mistakes with you to another job or your performance reviews will never improve.

If you receive a bad performance review and you know that you personally have been going above and beyond your job expectations, then it might be time to consider your evaluator’s judgment suspect. Always try to discuss your concerns with the evaluator before trying other avenues. No matter how hurt or upset you may feel about the review, you always need to stay cool, calm, and collected.

About the Author:
Jay Schroyer has worked in the client and customer service end of business for over five years in retail, advertising, and printing. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English writing and communication.

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