Performance appraisals

[geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]

 Theresa Bui asked for advice on an upcoming performance
 appraisal in a company with an "informal approach to
 appraisals". Books have been written on this subject, but
 there's one particular survival skill that every tech.
 writer should develop somehow: get _regular_ feedback.

 There's a standard malevolent approach to performance
 appraisals that says nothing until the end of the year,
 then hits you with all the bad news in a single sitting,
 with no advance warning. This follows the logic "well, I'll
 remember all the important points", and ignores a
 fundamental aspect of human nature: supervisors usually
 remember the annoyances more than the good things you did.

 If can't diplomatically insist on formal, regular,
 _written_ feedback, make it a priority to informally meet
 your appraiser(s) once per month (once per quarter may work
 too) and ask what you did wrong and what you did right. Ask
 what you did wrong so that you won't be surprized by
 subsequent criticism, and so you can come back next month
 and ask "have we solved the problem you raised last month?"
 Also ask what you did right, to remind the manager that you
 _do_ do something right, and to remind you of what you
 should keep on doing.

 If you've got any doubts about your work skills or your
 relations with your colleagues (particularly your
 supervisor), extend this approach to several of your main
 clients. The same logic applies, but you can also save
 yourself considerable grief if a manager gives you a bad
 appraisal and you can rebut it firmly but politely with
 references from your clients. (This saved my bacon quite
 nicely once during a (ahem) dispute I was having with a
 supervisor.)

 --Geoff Hart     @8^{)}     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
 Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.