How to Write an Appraisal Letter
In a business, employees are expected to perform according to set standards. They have to meet the standards that have been set for them and if they do, there’s a very high chance that these employees will get rewarded for their efforts.
So in order to inform these employees of a job well done, employers will need to provide them with a document which praises them. That document is an appraisal letter, and this article is going to help you understand more about it as well as how to write one.
What is an appraisal letter?
The main objective of an appraisal letter is to share information regarding an employee’s performance in writing. With the help of this letter, the employee will be able to better understand his or her own performance in a professional or academic setting. So let’s say that an employee hasn’t exactly been upholding the responsibilities of his or her position. With a sample appraisal letter, managers or supervisors can tell the employee what duties he or she has been slacking on and why this information is being brought up in the letter. So whether an employee has been doing a good job or not, a well-written appraisal is all it takes to address the employee’s level of performance within the workplace.
Tips for writing appraisal letters
In the event that you’re going to have to write an appraisal letter, these tips should be able to help you out:
- The first thing that you’re going to have to take note of is that it’s important for you to write the letter with an air of professionalism. Remember that this is something that’s meant to help the employee, so it’s something that should be taken seriously. Try to leave the employee’s personality out of the letter and focus on his or her performance and other criteria that affect that person’s employment.
- Remember to keep the tone of the letter as formal and as polite as possible. Even if you’re frustrated with the employee you have evaluated, it’s best that you keep your calm and make sure that the letter keeps a polite tone. Because you wouldn’t want to give your employee a negative image of you and you also don’t want to say something that you might end up regretting. So remember to keep things formal and polite; do that and you can expect your letter to be well received.
- Your letter should be concise. It won’t help your employee if your letter is too long. It’s best that you get straight to the point and tell the employee what he or she needs to know immediately. Keep it simple by stating what the employee has done—whether it was positive or negative, and the reward or consequence the employee will receive for it.
- After you have finished writing your letter, it’s best that you go through it again. You want to make sure that this letter has no grammatical or spelling errors. But most importantly, you’ll want to make sure that this letter is as professional as possible by having a proper and consistent tone all throughout. It’s best that you have another person go through your letters such as a friend or colleague to help you check.
What is a self-appraisal letter?
A self-appraisal letter is basically your opportunity to reflect on all of the things that you have done well, as well as the things that you think you weren’t able to do your best at, within the working year. With the help of a self-appraisal letter, you can share with your manager or supervisor everything that you have achieved while working in the company that they might not have taken note of.
The self-appraisal letter is also useful for when you have to point out the difficulties that you have faced. You don’t just say that you were having a hard time due to certain problems; instead, you focus on how you were able to overcome them. An appraisal letter can mean the difference between getting a promotion or being terminated. So make sure that when you write one, you do so in a way that your employer can easily understand it.
Steps for writing a great self-appraisal
- Share all of your successes. Try to leave nothing out when you’re placing it in this letter. As said before, there might be a couple of things that your manager missed out, so it’s best that you list everything in your letter.
- Share everything that you have learned while working for the company. Explain in detail all the skills that you were able to develop and master to the point that they have helped you in your career growth. Describe how you were able to put all of these skills to use during your time working for the company.
- Remember to always be honest. It never pays to lie about any achievements that you haven’t accomplished. All your evaluator has to do is go through your records and verify the information, and you may end up with a bad image or even lose your job if you decide to go through with a lie. So if you’re going to give yourself a high rating on your own performance, then you’re going to have to provide examples that will help support the rating that you gave yourself.
- Take the time to do it well. This is your own performance assessment, so try to make sure that it’s as professional as possible. Make sure that it contains no errors when it comes to grammar, typos, or even the information that you’ve placed in it.