University Human Resources

Self-appraisals

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Self-appraisals

Staff may actively participate in performance development by completing a self-appraisal. Self-appraisals allow staff members to reflect on their accomplishments and challenges during the past year and determine where additional professional development would be valuable. The self-appraisal form is available in Workday.

Performance Management is a partnership between managers and staff that provides an opportunity for the delivery of clear and thoughtful feedback and honest discussions around goals and accomplishments.

A self-appraisal is an integral part of the performance management process as it provides insight into accomplishments, skills, challenges, development needs, and career aspirations.

Tips and Best Practices for Self-appraisals

  • At the beginning of each appraisal period, create documentation for tracking progress towards your 3-5 high-level goals. Throughout the year, note significant milestones, successes, kudos, and challenges encountered in reaching those goals.
    • Be sure to include duties performed both within and outside the normal scope of your job. If you don't have a document listing these already, review your calendar, emails, to-do lists, and job description to gather this information. Consider the following:
      • How successful have you been in achieving your goals?
      • With whom did you partner?
      • What were your biggest challenges? How did you overcome them?
      • What would you say is your most significant contribution?
      • What are you most proud of?
  • Include how you adjusted your work, along with what you learned.
    • Think about time management, customer service, completion of tasks, communication, working on or managing a remote, on site, or hybrid team. Call out examples of new skills gained, adaptability, flexibility, creativity, innovation, teamwork and so on.
  • Reflect on what facilitated successful change in your work and your ability to adapt, and what will be needed going forward to help you to continue to successfully navigate change.
  • Gather and include specific, relevant data, facts and metrics to showcase your accomplishments. Consider comparing the data year over year to reflect growth. For example, if you do a significant amount of work in Workday, run the view more processes report to review the number and types of transactions you’ve completed.
  • Include informal and formal learning opportunities you participated in. Be sure to include information on e-learning, on-the-job learning, instructor-led courses, articles, talks, videos and other professional development activities you participated in along with a brief summary of your learning and its impact on your performance.
  • Remember that the self-appraisal contributes to setting the stage for defining performance and professional development goals for next year. Consider what you have learned, work priorities, your capabilities and newly-acquired skills and how these can inform your goals and aspirations moving forward and within the context of department, division and University goals.