Writing an appraisal - only been there 3 months

[Remmy123]

Morning all

i have to hand my appraisal in on Monday so I need to do it today but am struggling.

I am a PA and office manager in a very small company I joined middle of November, we then closed for Christmas for two weeks so really feels premature to write an appraisal. I have barely written anything in fact my kind is blank.

questions are

personal goals: this is always tricky as with my job there is zero room for progression and in all honestly I just want to go to work and get home (got three kids and it's hectic)

Office improvement goals : I've just written that phone systems need sorting out of dated - I cannot think of anything else

im still finding my feet and feel that it's too early to write that much? I don't want to make a fool of myself with having hardly any content!

no guidance from management just a very basic form 😬

Can you ask for an extension given the 2 week closure?

Telephone system - flesh it out to say what improvements this would bring?

Personal goals - developing within role, becoming proficient in X
Understand the client base thoroughly?

Office improvement goals
go through all your suppliers to check you are getting best deals ie couriers stationery cleaners etc
licencing for software. Check you’ve not got too many for what the company uses.
look for others savings

personal
is there a software you’ve not used before? Learn how to use it. Or maybe to improve on one you know already.

you could write you’re keen to understand the workings of the business more?

For personal goals, can you include some short term targets regarding getting to know how certain systems/procedures work in your current place of work? Complete your training on certain aspects? Understand how the GDPR procedures relate to your workplace.

I'd google it and adapt what I find on there.

Throw in a few poncey buzz words for good measure.

How about putting down that you'd like to complete advanced first aid training or fire training?

If things are hectic, you could include something like 'I'd like to identify areas of the business where processes could be streamlined and optimised to make sure we're working as efficiently as possible'.

Thanks everyone these are SO helpful

That's what I need is buzz words - google didn't help me as couldn't find much to relating to my role.

I'll add bits above hopefully they will realise 3 months isn't enough to write too much content - I have always struggled with appraisals!

@TeeBee thank you I that sounds really good - I struggle to find the words or have ideas!

I'm sure when I joined the workforce we didn't have anything like all these HR-driven thieves of time to divert us from our actual jobs but over the years it's all become more and more cumbersome, especially for those of us whose actual life is elsewhere and who just want a job, not a career.

Ideally your job description or the company annual report, accounts and other documents should help you put some of these together but if course that isn't always the case...

There are loads of great suggestions from others already. It's tricky to be very specific without knowing your industry but something like:

Personal goals:

• familiarise yourself with operational functions of the company (this could take the form of shadowing colleagues, say 2 or 3 in the first year)
• research, identify, and attend relevant local or online events in the industry to gain understanding of how the company operates within the local/national/ international landscape ( you identify them so they're not too time consuming, lots are online now, have a look at Eventbrite or YouTube)
• great suggestions on the first aid and fire awareness, there might also be mental health first aid courses you could do, deaf awareness and other courses to help you support colleagues (these are all very transferrable as well if you decide to change jobs)
• software options are a good call too, maybe increasing your familiarity with one or more of the office 365 apps? Or something else that might be useful

Office goals:

• lots of great suggestions already, love the GDPR one, that could be an annual goal to make sure you're up to date with legislation
• review, devise and maintain filing system including establishing effective archives (this could be online)
• establish and maintain folders/online repository of company policies and procedures
• not sure if this would come under your remit, but review customer-facing website and literature for usability including compliance with the disability discrimination act ( there are really good guidelines you can get on the web for this so don't let the jargon deter you)

Have a look at futurelearn, futura, Alison, the open university and Google to see what courses or sessions might interest you, lots come in bite size chunks of 15 minutes or less.

You might be asked to make sure your goals are SMART as well if that's still in use most places I've worked it typically stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-specific.

Good luck, grit your teeth, and reward yourself with chocolate (or other treat) afterwards.

@Belladonna208 thanks so much for taking the time to help me! Really good suggestions here that I will definitely be using!