Are you getting ready for your annual performance review? Unsure about the right conversation to have with your manager regarding your achievements this year and your career goals for the upcoming year?
Your annual performance review is a great opportunity to reflect on the broader view of your career. It’s often the perfect time to receive feedback from your manager on your skills and seek support for your professional development in the year ahead.
Below is my approach to preparing for a performance review meeting, designed to help you gather valuable feedback from your manager and foster an open discussion about your career growth.
Step 1: Conduct a Self-Review
Take some time to reflect on your past year. What were your key achievements and challenges? What accomplishments are you most proud of? Reviewing your experiences as a business analyst can help you see your progress throughout the year. It may also help you connect seemingly unrelated experiences into a cohesive story, showing you how to move forward.
If you had performance goals from last year, conducting a self-review will prepare you for a productive conversation with your manager about your performance. Many managers will ask you to submit this in writing. Here is a reminder of the 7 secrets of great Business Analysts
A common mistake among business analysts is focusing solely on standout achievements, neglecting the updates they made to their business analysis skills and their growing contributions to organizational initiatives. Often, our most significant accomplishments are rooted in our core responsibilities. Keeping a project journal can help simplify this task year after year. Also ensure you have list of the project deliverables/ documentation you created in the previous years.
Quick Tip: Completing a self-assessment of your business analysis skills can reveal hidden strengths that you may not have recognized, which you can highlight during your performance review.
Step 2: Prepare Questions for Your Performance Review
Exceptional business analysts always ask questions. Like a job interview, a performance review should be a two-way conversation. Your manager will likely have questions about your career goals in addition to providing feedback on your performance. Be sure to prepare questions that help you understand what’s happening in your organization, as changes and improvements often bring new professional development opportunities.
Here are some questions you might ask:
What are the organization’s key priorities for the upcoming year?
What changes will our team or department face?
How can I best contribute to these priorities or changes?
What resources will be available to support my professional growth?
What opportunities do you see for me to improve this year?
Ask questions that will help you understand your team’s direction and how you can enhance your contributions and add more value as a business analyst.
Step 3: Set Performance Goals for the Upcoming Year
As you look ahead, what will you aim to achieve? How will you focus your time and energy to support your employer and advance your career? The most rewarding opportunities often lie at the intersection of your goals as a business analyst and your employer’s strategic priorities.
When setting goals, consider what support you may need from your manager:
Do you need additional business analyst training? If so, what’s the budget and timeline? Managers often have training funds available, and you may be able to influence how they’re spent.
Will you need to work on new types of projects to enhance a specific skill? If so, now is the time to express that interest and lay the groundwork for the right assignments.
Do you need guidance from a coach or mentor? If so, ask if your manager is willing to mentor you, or if someone else in the organization could provide mentorship.
With a little preparation, you can turn what might feel like a tense discussion into a productive, collaborative conversation. Remember, your performance review is an opportunity for both your growth and the company’s success. Your improved performance benefits everyone.
This is very insightful. Thanks for sharing😊
Thank you for the guide.