Make Sure It is Best Possible If you get an unfair work review, Gone is the time that an employee who receives a negative Performance Review can when an employee files a rebuttal to a Performance Review. But remember the goal of a performance review: to improve performance. Learn the trade secrets and ‘uncommon common sense’ of Attorney Alan L. Sklover, the leading authority on “Negotiating for Yourself at Work.”, • How to use our Model Letters Some employers have a certain procedure and a certain form that employees must use to respond to their Performance Reviews. Always use email at work to transmit important communications, including this one. Performance is not a feeling. To do so, just [click here. Contesting a performance review is not just about the bad points. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Rob Hildegard has more than 25 years of ghostwriting experience. Unfair performance review - what to do about it? 14. While nothing can be guaranteed as to the result of your efforts, what is guaranteed is that learning how to stand up for yourself – and thus for your career and your family – is what you need to do in the modern world of working. Even if you believe “This is personal,” you must not permit your Rebuttal to make it appear that you are getting down to that level. After you’ve reviewed the appraisal objectively, write a letter of appeal and build your case. You may make a request for a “review of the review,” a correction preferably by a completely new Performance Review, or a different Overall Rating. • Recommend to your Friends Avoid the use of personal invective and criticisms. Speak Up Carefully, Performance Management and Appraisal Help Center: 7 Tips to Deal With a Bad Performance Review, Florida Education Association: Example of a Formal Rebuttal Procedure and Advice. Such Performance Review Rebuttals should be addressed to a Senior Manager – not HR – and should address and correct (a) false information, (b) things taken out of context, (c) minor items blown out of proportion, and (d) improper motivations, such as retaliation, discrimination or fraudulent cost-cutting. Many times we see important circumstances not taken into account when performance is evaluated. That’s quite personal to you. 3 z Responding to a Disappointing Performance Review limiting defensiveness. “What to Say / How to Say It.™” Just [click here. A rebuttal should be limited to a single page, include examples of how you helped your company reach its goals, and include complimentary comments from co-workers, says Joanne Cini, author of "Kingmaker: Be the One Your Company Wants to Keep ... on Your Terms." Note any (a) factual errors, (b) inconsistent statements, and (c) failures in reasoning. Of course, it is possible that your biggest issue is not listed above. Never discuss the issue with your co-workers. During the past year, Margaret’s division did not prosper, due to the economy, but it did not suffer, either. With these 16 Steps, you’re prepared to effectively Rebut. Note, too, that “getting even” is not one of your goals. Its goals need to be: (1) to make a correct and true record of your performance; (2) to ensure that negative consequences do not follow, whether a Performance Improvement Plan, a reduced bonus or even job loss; and (3) to show the Reviewer and others that the employee is capable and prepared to defend his or her performance record, and hence his or her career and your family. She was told performance reviews are “not negotiable.” She was told that perhaps she should consider whether her job was really the right fit for her. Chances are that you did not read your Performance Review carefully at your meeting, and don’t have a clear recollection of what you did read. • Make notes of any questions you’d like to ask your manager at the next meeting. For example, if your sales total for one quarter was 2% under goal, and on this basis your Performance Review states that you failed to maintain client relations properly, the two just don’t make sense. They are based in common sense, and are just as much a defense as is “I did not do the act.”, In the Performance Review context, certain “affirmative defenses” exist, too. As examples, “I feel faint; I must go home for my medicine,” or “I’m sorry, I must have eaten something spoiled at breakfast. She was told there was nothing she could do. Address possibly improper motivations, such as (a) personal animosity, (b) discrimination, or, worst of all, (c) retaliation for refusal to engage in impropriety or other acts of integrity. 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And shared her feelings of upset, anger and betrayal improve your performance review together a...