What Is An Employee Appraisal?

It is understandable to be nervous when your supervisor schedules a meeting with you to discuss your job performance. Generally your supervisor will provide you with a written copy of your employee appraisal to discuss his thoughts with you. Use your employee performance appraisal to learn how to improve your performance within the company, review your future goals and prepare yourself for further advancement.

Function

An employee appraisal serves the employee and employer. When your supervisor completes an employee performance appraisal on your job performance, she evaluates the quality and quantity of your work. She also chronicles your strengths, weaknesses and areas of your job that need improvement. When you receive your appraisal, you have the opportunity to discover how your supervisor views your work. In many cases, you will meet with your supervisor in person to discuss the appraisal.

Significance

Companies often use appraisals to monitor performance, determine pay increases and promotions and in some cases, as a disciplinary tool. Your appraisals become part of your permanent human resources file. When considering whether to increase your pay, your employer will examine your employee appraisal ratings, according to David Javitch, writing for "Entrepreneur." These ratings may have an effect on your yearly salary. If your performance does not meet the standards of the organization, your supervisor may conduct an extra performance appraisal to discuss the problem.

Types

The traditional employee appraisal occurs once a year. Your supervisor leads the discussion and rates your performance using a form supplied by the company. A second type of employee appraisal is the Self Appraisal. According to the website Reference for Business, you are asked to perform an assessment of your own performance and discuss your thoughts with your supervisor. A less common type of appraisal is an Employee-Initiated Review. You ask your supervisor to evaluate your performance. The 360 Degree Feedback appraisal is a review from your supervisor, peers, internal co-workers and external contacts. This type of appraisal gives employer a complete picture of your job performance.

Benefits

Receiving feedback about your job performance gives you the opportunity to adjust your performance level to suit the expectations of the organization. The appraisal serves as a record of your accomplishments. Supervisors recognize employees within the organization who do a superior job and single out employees with performance issues. A properly done appraisal gives you an opportunity to plan for future career advancement and assists the organization in identifying employees who need performance counseling.

Considerations

Your employee performance appraisal is a tool your employer uses in determining whether you are an asset to the organization. Unfortunately, because performance appraisals are not completely objective, problems can arise. You may disagree with your overall appraisal rating. If you disagree with the appraisal, ask if you can include a rebuttal letter in your human resources file. Ask to speak to your supervisor's manager to discuss discrepancies between your performance and your appraisal rating.