5 Benefits of Employee Self-Evaluation - ZenHR's Blog

Probably, as many other employees, you view the employee self-evaluation as an additional non-necessary step in the performance appraisal process and you might even consider it as a waste of time, while in fact employee self-evaluations play a vital role in making the evaluation process more effective. When done properly, employee self-evaluation provides the below key benefits:

1. Enhancing Employee Engagement and Involvement in the Evaluation Process

Instead of only receiving feedback from their managers, employees are given the opportunity to speak their minds and play an active role in the performance appraisal process. This active participation helps in increasing their engagement in the whole process.

2. Providing Managers with Valuable Insights

Even if the manager works closely with his/her employees, it’s impossible to see the full picture and understand all the factors that affected the performance of each employee. So by having each employee complete a self-assessment, managers will be given a broader perspective as they will gain insights into all employees’ accomplishments that may not have been noticed otherwise.

3. Increasing Employee Acceptance of the Evaluation Process

Employee self-evaluation allows each employee to assess his/her own successes and areas for improvement. By doing so, each employee gains a bigger picture of their role in the company. With this transparency in the evaluation process, employees are more likely to agree with their managers’ perspectives about their performance and accept the evaluation results.

4. Finding the Start Point for Future Goals and Objectives

Identifying clear goals and objectives for each employee at the beginning of each year is a critical task that affects the employee, his/her direct manager, and the whole company. When an employee is fully aware of his/her weaknesses, he/she can easily identify how to work on them and make progress. The self-evaluation can be the start point to make a road map for self-improvement.

5. Identifying Differences in Perceptions Before the Review Meeting

It’s very common that the employee has a totally different perception of his/her performance from his/her manager. So, an employee self-evaluation help identify differences in perception that allow the manager to prepare appropriately for the review meeting and ensure a fruitful discussion and fair performance results. In some cases, the information revealed in the self-evaluation might even guide or redirect the manager’s assessment.