A lot of veterinary practices have annual appraisals. Ideally feedback and conversations happen more regularly than just once a year, but often the annual appraisal is a more structured process. Both the employer and the employee should contribute to the feedback and the setting of future goals or targets. The time spent focussing on your role, your aspirations and any concerns you might have with your line manager is valuable and it is worth preparing for this and viewing it as an opportunity for meaningful discussion with your employer.

The first thing to do is to familiarise yourself with your employer’s appraisal system, are there self-assessment forms for you to complete in advance? What does the handbook say about the process? Notes should be made during the appraisal, and you should be given the opportunity to sign your agreement to the appraisal record which will be kept on your personnel file and is an important record of your performance, so it is critical that it is accurate.

Appraisals should be conducted in private and not rushed. Honesty is required from both parties. You should feel motivated for your future and for the goals or targets that have been set for you.

Ideally, an organisation will have its own long-term goals and you should know how you fit into this and how your own goals will support these.

What are your goals – For the next twelve months? For the next five years? What do you need to do to succeed in these? What do you need your employer to do to support you and achieve these? You need to share your thoughts and ask for any specific help.

How have your last twelve months been in your role? What have been your successes? What has not worked well? Highlight those areas you are becoming more skilled and knowledgeable in and maybe have taken more responsibility for, and be ready with examples. It can be hard to think about twelve months ago, help your line manager with this or they might just focus on the past few weeks. If there are any areas of your job that can be measured – have the figures ready.

What concerns do you have? Don’t be afraid to raise them, whatever they are. Things won’t change if you keep quiet and problems can fester and grow.

How are you going to manage bad feedback? Ideally, this will be in the form of constructive feedback, but can still be hard to listen to. Think about what is being said to you and if you don’t understand, or it’s not very clear then ask for details and examples to help you. Try to be positive about any negative feed-back, it is an opportunity for you to improve and everyone has areas that are not as strong as others. It is generally better if you can raise any failures first before your line manager does – it helps them out as they are possibly hesitant about how you will respond to any negative feedback. If you have had a memorable failure – what have you learnt from it?

Identify exactly what is it you want from your appraisal. If you want promotion, then ask what it is you need to achieve to be considered for this. This is a good time to request support for learning new skills, and also highlighting that you wish to improve and develop your career. Don’t forget as well as the formal Vet Nurse training and courses, a lot can be done in house with mentoring and internal initiatives – shadowing, swapping roles for a period, short presentations by a colleague to their team, etc.

Is your job description up to date? Does it accurately reflect your job? If it doesn’t, then raise this and make suggestions of what needs to change.

This year a lot of our reflection and planning for the future is affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic. The way you work may have changed, you may have had bad experiences and found the workplace to be stressful. Some of the changes to the way you work maybe good and will stay this way. It is helpful to process this difficult time and you may have learnt a lot about yourself. Were you able to support other team members? Do you have any suggestions about helping colleagues or the practice to move forward from the pandemic?

Have a copy of your previous appraisal and review the targets or goals that were set – hopefully, this is not the first time you have looked at these since the last review! Be prepared to discuss your progress relating to these targets and stress any improvements.

Author

Nicky Ackerley BA(Hons)

Nicky is the owner of HR Support Consultancy. She has a BA(Hons) in Business Studies, is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and has been a practising HR manager for more than 20 years. HR Support Consultancy has provided the BVNA Members Advisory Service (formerly known as the Industrial Relations Service) since it began in 2002.

Email: nickyackerley@hrsupportconsultancy.co.uk

DOI: 10.1080/17415349.2021.1960731

VOL 36 • September 2021 • Veterinary Nursing Journal