Annoyed with feedback from annual appraisal

[SkinnyPete]

I recently had my first annual appraisal. It was delivered by my line manager 1 to 1, but it turns out it’s actually based on feedback from an anonymous selection of peers and suppliers.

I was shocked when I learnt this, but even more shocked when I heard some of the hearsay criticism.

It started off by being told that I’m excellent at my job, well respected and that people enjoy working with me, 10/10 all around, the usual stuff you’d hope to hear.

My manager then told me some anecdotal story about how I did something innocuous 9 months ago, that someone somewhere didn’t like, but she won’t elaborate any further or tell me where the feedback has come from. Yet it’s gone down as a negative on my written review.

She then said I bully suppliers when they don’t do their job properly. I don’t have to explain how ridiculous this comment is. What’s ironic is that I left my last job because I was being bullied, and I definitely am not one.

Again, she wouldn’t tell me who the supplier was or what incidence they were referring to. I was then told I need to learn how to take constructive criticism.

I thought that was the end of it until she later emailed over everything in writing, which included a few more anonymous complaints. She didn’t even have the balls to go through them with me on our video call.

It seems an utterly flawed process to me, but what should I do about it? I work in an organisation with thousands of employees, and up until now I was very happy, but this has left a bad taste in my mouth.

It's not often I let emotion get the better of me in the office, but this has made me quite angry.

[SkinnyPete]

Thanks for the comments so far. I appreciate this is only my perspective, but it’s in my interest to be as transparent if I’m to get the advice I’m seeking.

I am still surprised that suppliers had been approached to contribute to our appraisals, this is ridiculous to me. Customers were approached too, which again I think is bonkers, but fortunately, their feedback was all extremely positive.

So, what are my options? I could leave, but I really don’t want to. I love the job, and although some bits are bat st crazy, you’ll get that everywhere. And I’ll be damned if I leave because of one individual out of an organisation of thousands.

I could escalate to a senior director, but they probably won’t want to hear it and I’ll just be seen as someone who can't handle their business. That just leaves me to do nothing, and potentially have the same ludicrous conversation in 12 months time.

Pit Pony said:

Sounds fine to me. You'll get a reputation eventually as firm but fair with suppliers. I'd take it as a compliment. Nest time you want to ballock a supplier go back to.your boss and ask them.how they'd deal.with it.

You’re right it could be seen as a compliment, as I take pride in not letting people escape their responsibilities, but it the reality is its probably counted against me.

Greshamst said:

So you’re angry about your constructive criticism, after being told you need to get better at taking constructive criticism...

They might be on to something?

What part of their criticism did you think was constructive?

If the police accused you of crashing a car, but wouldn’t tell you what car you were driving, or when or where you crashed it, how would you react?

Johnnytheboy said:

I'd be very inclined to answer each point with "without a bit more context I can't really comment."

This is essentially what I had to do. I did ask her to elaborate, but without any further details I can’t comment.

CharlesElliott said:

Is there an overall outcome from the review?

If it is good / very good, then the manager might just be 'clumsy'. Wants to provide some useful feedback but goes about it in a very poor way.

It not, then I agree you should ask for more info.

No, no conclusion, no targets…nothing…but my salary review is in another month so that’s the acid test.

Edited by SkinnyPete on Friday 18th June 18:56

[SkinnyPete]

Thanks for the comments all, some good feedback.

I've still been a bit restless over this, so I brought it up with my line manager. As I explained to her, a person's perception is their reality, and I'm not happy with the perception she has of me based on someone elses ‘feelings’.

It turns out the person who gave the feedback got confused; they have never worked with me and were talking about someone else. It's not like I have a similar name to anyone else in the organisation.

That's one example done anyway. Whether or not she makes an effort to withdraw the feedback and re-submit it to HR records remains to be seen.

P.S. Having read up on the 360 reviews, it's awful approach, totally flawed, as my experience highlights. I think this has given me a kick to think about going contracting; I'd much rather work for myself and change team every 9, 12, 18 months than but up with this st.

MadCaptainJack said:

SkinnyPete said:

I was then told I need to learn how to take constructive criticism.

Taking constructive criticism is tough. It requires that you swallow your pride, suppress the urge to react defensively, avoid letting your face adopt an annoyed expression, and humbly say "Thanks for that. I'll take that on board and give it some serious thought."

But if you can do that, it's like a super power. The way you perceive yourself, your actions and behaviour, and the way you speak, is often very different to how others perceive you. Understanding that is the first step towards being able to influence and, ultimately, control how others perceive you, and that's very powerful.

I love constructive criticism, as I never want to stop learning and improving, but it needs to be constructive.

For example, "Pete, I really like that charter you wrote, you really did a good job covering point A, B and C. Regarding point D though, I'd like to see this include XYZ because...., have a go, see how you get on, but if you struggle let me know and we'll get some time in the diary together".

Thats a far cry to what I have just gone through.