Half-year review is not just a ‘light version’ of annual appraisal

We are all familiar with the annual appraisal. The moment when performance is officially reviewed. People look back, goals are ticked off or missed, and often a formal assessment is attached. But there is another such conversation halfway through the year. A less charged moment, some say. But if you are clever about it, you realise that this conversation can have a huge impact - on your performance as well as on your career. Recruitment specialist Robert Walters explains.

Midpoint with potential

Unlike the annual appraisal, which focuses heavily on target completion and assessment, the half-yearly review is mainly about evaluating where you are now and where you want to go. The atmosphere is often more informal, but don't let that fool you. Precisely because there is still room to adjust the course for the rest of the year, this conversation is an opportunity to increase your influence.

Take, for example, the goals set at the beginning of the year. These are often set in a context that has since changed. The market moves quickly, teams shift, priorities are revised. Sometimes targets are no longer realistic, but it may just as well be that you perform better than expected. So why not make adjustments? Six months in, with another six months to go, this is the time to discuss this with your manager. 

A different kind of preparation

Whereas an annual evaluation often involves you substantiating results, the half-year performance review requires a different kind of preparation. Not proving, but understanding. What have you learned so far? Where have you encountered any challenges? Are there patterns in your work that you want to break, or just strengthen? You don't have to come up with a list of achievements, but rather an understanding of your own development and ideas about what will take you forward.

Think beyond the numbers

Those who focus only on the short term - the project to be finished, the target to be met - miss the opportunity to discuss the bigger picture. And therein often lies the real value of this review. Perhaps you feel you have more to offer. That you are ready for extra responsibility, a new role, or a wider range of tasks. This is the time to name it. 

Not only because your ambition then becomes visible, but also because there is still room to take action. If you indicate now that you want to grow, your manager still has time to give you that opportunity. And more importantly, you still have months to show that you will deliver. By the time the annual evaluation does arrive, evidence will already be on the table.

Make it a substantive conversation

A good half-yearly review is about more than “everything is going fine” or “things are going well”. Engage in the conversation with substance. What do you need to perform better? Where's untapped potential - in yourself, in your team, in collaboration? What would you like to do differently and why? And above all: what do you want to see happen in the coming months?

Don't let the conversation become a casual retrospective, but a shared moment of direction. By doing so, you not only demonstrate your strategic insight, you also actively increase your influence on your own role and future. 

By making good use of the half-year performance review, the annual appraisal within six months becomes the logical continuation of the steps you have already taken now.

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