What do you do if your performance evaluations aren't helping you track progress towards your career goals?

2 Seek Clarity

If your performance evaluations are not helpful, it's crucial to seek clarity. Ask your supervisor or evaluator for a meeting to discuss the evaluation process and criteria. Express your concerns and be specific about which aspects of the evaluation do not align with your career goals. Request examples of how you can demonstrate progress in areas important to your development. This conversation can open up a dialogue about what success looks like for you and how it can be measured effectively.

3 Set Benchmarks

Creating personal benchmarks can be an effective way to track progress towards your career goals independently of your formal evaluations. Identify key milestones that signify advancement in your career and break them down into smaller, achievable tasks. Regularly review these personal benchmarks to monitor your growth and adjust them as needed. This proactive approach ensures you have a clear vision of your path and can supplement formal evaluations with your own metrics of success.

4 Gather Feedback

Sometimes, a single source of feedback isn't enough to give you a complete picture of your progress. Seek out additional feedback from colleagues, mentors, or clients who can provide diverse perspectives on your work. This broader base of feedback can offer insights that align more closely with your career goals and provide a more holistic view of your performance. Use this feedback to guide your development and to bring up new points of discussion in future evaluations.

5 Continuous Learning

In social work, continuous learning is key to professional growth. If evaluations don't align with your goals, take charge of your learning by seeking out additional training, workshops, or conferences that address the skills and knowledge you need to advance. Document your learning experiences and how they contribute to your career objectives. This will not only enhance your skillset but also provide concrete evidence of your commitment to personal and professional development during evaluations.

6 Advocate for Change

If after taking these steps, performance evaluations still don't serve your growth, it may be time to advocate for systemic changes in the evaluation process. Prepare a well-thought-out case for how a revised approach could benefit not just you but also your organization by fostering more meaningful professional development. Engage in constructive conversations with decision-makers, offering suggestions for more relevant evaluation criteria or alternative methods that could better support social workers in their career progression.