Apply Quality Standards

Assess Own Work

 What is the module all about?

This module contains the following content:

 Learning Outcomes

 Information Sheet

 Self-Check

 Performance Task Sheet/Job Sheet/Operational Sheet

 Evaluation Criteria Checklist

 Answer Key

 Reference

To get the most main point of this Module, you need to do the following:

 Read and understand the modules learning outcome.

 Followed by doing the required activities beginning with analyzing the

informations and testing your understanding by answering the self check.
Answer key is provided for correction.

 Lastly is the demonstration of your learnings and understanding by

demonstrating the Performance Task/Operational/Job Sheet.

Information Sheet 1.3: Assess Own Work

Learning Objectives

Introduction
Self-assessment can provide insight into students' true comprehension and can help to
identify gaps in students' knowledge. Encouraging students to examine their own learning and
levels of understanding can also be an important 'wake-up call', identifying areas that require
improvement. Thus making assessment and its associated feedback are essential to student
learning. However, you may find that more of your time is taken up with the areas of
assessment associated with quality assurance, rather than its potential to support students'
learning. Well designed assessment has numerous benefits aside from the obvious one of
providing a measure of students' progress as it can be a means to engage students with their
learning. Ideally then, you should aim to support active learning rather than Assessment of
Learning to ensure that the assessment process is an integral part of your students' education.

Informations to know
How to assess your own performance at work? Well, it doesn't matter if you're at the
senior most position in your company or you're a fresher, everyone has to evaluate their
performance at one point or another. You might be doing it for your personal reference to
know where you can better yourself or you might be doing it for you company's annual
performance review. Either way, you need to assess your strengths and weaknesses with an
unbiased eye to know where you stand (Rangwala 2017).

There are following three easy ways in which you can assess your own performance at work.

1. Take a hard look at your career graph

Evaluating your performance doesn't only involve assessing how you are doing at your current
job – it also includes taking a hard look at your long-term career plan. Does your present job
play an important role in where you see yourself in the future? Is it a stepping stone to where
you want to be five years down the line? If the answer to those questions is a yes, you are
probably doing things right. Self-evaluation also gives you an opportunity to assess the kind of
skills you wish to acquire in the long run which will lead you to your ultimate goal. If you don't
already have a plan in place, self assessment gives you the opportunity to figure out what you
want. Doing this will put things into better perspective and make expectations tangible.

2. Have an honest conversation with your seniors

Your seniors have seen you grow. They know the new skills you've acquired in your tenure at
the company as well as your strengths and your weaknesses. If you really want to assess your
performance, keep the talk of increments aside. While money is important, it is your skill-set
that will help you reach your goals and not your salary. Use your self-evaluation as an
opportunity to understand what sets you apart from your team members and how solid your
contributions are. Asking your supervisors questions like ‘What would you like me to focus on?’
and ‘How can I make your job easier?’ will help them to evaluate your performance better.

3. Remain positive while dealing with your short-comings

While evaluating your performance, make sure not to blame your shortcomings on your co-
workers and clients as there will always be some hindrance no matter where you work. It's
upon you how you overcome those obstacles and do a good job regardless of the
circumstances. Try to do a balanced self-appraisal. No one is absolutely perfect. We all have our
flaws. When we recognise our weak points and work on those to better ourselves, we begin to
excel at our jobs. It is for this reason that you should never beat yourself up and always remain
positive while assessing your performance.

The only person who will be able to give you an accurate insight into your performance is
yourself. It is therefore imperative to do a self-appraisal every six months to know where you
stand.
 There are also some given tips and practices on assessing your own work and to fully
evaluate your own performance Robert Wilson states that, "At some point, you have to assess
what you think is good and bad about your performance with what the supervisor thinks is
good and bad, because he or she is the one that counts."

So here is the following eight steps that will help you and help yourself:

1. Check Your Attitude

"Attitude is very important," says employment consultant Rick Waters. "I meet with a lot of
employers, and they tell me the first thing they look for is a person with a good attitude. Doing
the work properly is only part of the equation. The other part is your attitude.

"Do you come in late, leave early, spend time talking to friends instead of working, dress
inappropriately, phone in sick when you want a day off, help yourself to company supplies for
your personal use or are you rude to other people?

"Any of these things will earn you the reputation of someone with a bad attitude."

2. Be Reflective

"Every day on your way home from work, think about how the day went and what you
accomplished. Ask yourself what went well, what didn't go well, and what you could have done
better," advises Carol Coe.

She leads a group of teachers that help one another with self-assessment.

"Get in the habit of reflecting on your performance. Every week, set job-related goals for
yourself. Do it in writing because that helps to clarify your thoughts. Then at the end of the
week, view your goals to see how you did."

Kerry Mahoney, a university training and development coordinator, agrees whole-heartedly.

"If you are working on a project, ask yourself what went well, what didn't go well, and what
happened. It's OK to make mistakes, but not the same mistake twice."

3. Assess Your Performance Against the Job Specifications

"There is no way you can assess yourself in a vacuum," says Robert Wilson. "At some point, you
have to assess what you think is good and bad about your performance with what the
supervisor thinks is good and bad."

a. If you have been given a job description, study it carefully and give yourself a thorough and
honest appraisal. How are you doing compared to what your job description says you should be
doing?

b. If there is no job description available, then write out your own specifications for the
minimum standards for performing your job. Then, rate yourself on how well you have met
those standards.

"It's very important to be both honest and thorough," says Wilson. "This is for your eyes only,
so be brutally honest."

If there are different aspects to the job, break those tasks down into a list and write down what
you have done to complete each task. Once again, this is for you alone, so there's "no need to
sugar-coat the deficiencies," reminds Wilson.

"Write down the good things you have done, and also the things that you have been able to
cover up. Then write the things you haven't done at all and where your below-average
performance is sticking out there for all to see."

c. Compare your self-assessment with any physical documents that confirm your self-
assessment.

4. Keep a File

It's important to keep copies of any documents that directly or indirectly give some
indication of your performance level.

This could be letters, memos, reports, proposals or e-mail printouts that give some clue as to
your participation in departmental activity. Be sure to keep records of any occasions when you
may have exceeded expectations or gone beyond the call of duty.

"Maybe you managed to help out when there was a crunch," says Wilson. "Keep records of it,
because you may forget later on when it's time for your performance evaluation."

The record will be useful if you need to defend yourself against a negative review from the
boss, or for documentation when asking for promotions or raises. It is also useful for updating
your resume or for collaborating accomplishments for your next job.
"You should keep this file at home," adds Wilson. "That way, it won't be found on your day off
and misinterpreted by people at work."

5. Find out the Supervisor's Expectations

a. "Make every effort to find out what the job involves from the boss's point of view," says
Sylvia Ho, a lawyer specializing in employee relations. Ho is the workplace coach for iVillage and
the employee advisor for the Monster.com job board.

"Often on the first day, the boss shows you the ropes and invites you to ask for a meeting if you
have any questions later on. Take him or her up on that offer."

"Establish communication with the supervisor right from the beginning," agrees Mahoney. "Ask
if he or she is satisfied with your work and if there are suggestions as to how you can improve."

b. Try to discover any additional expectations that the supervisor may have, then meet or
exceed those expectations. Look around you, talk and gather information.

For instance, if you are a cashier, there are some expectations that go along with the job, such
as showing up on time and being accurate.

There may be other specifics that the supervisor appreciates. Try to find out what they are. For
instance, "If you are a cashier, there may be someone to bag the groceries. You might help with
the bagging. This would be exceeding expectations," adds Ho.

6. Get Feedback From Others

The experts agree that getting feedback from other sources is very important to your self-
evaluation.

a. "Ask some friends you trust if they agree with your evaluation. Or approach someone in your
organization that is obviously doing a good job and is well respected -- perhaps someone from a
different department.

"Tell them you are not fishing for compliments, but you are looking for an honest appraisal,"
says Wilson.
"It's important not to depend on just one opinion, though. You need at least two, and if they
are very different, you will need three."

b. When you identify deficiencies, develop a strategy for eliminating the weakness. "If you have
already done this, you will be way ahead of the game," adds Wilson.

In your records, write down what you have done to improve these areas and what the results of
your efforts have been. During your formal performance evaluation, you will be able to show
the supervisor what you have done.

"Your supervisor will be very pleased that you have gone this far on your own. He or she will be
trained to help you work out a way to improve still further," says Wilson.

c. "Find a mentor," suggests Mahoney. Mentors are supervisors or colleagues, usually in a

senior position to you, who offer guidance, feedback and advice from time to time. Look around
your organization and find people you admire. Talk to them and see if they are willing to give
you some guidance.

7. Be a Team Player

"Be a team player and not an independent merchant," says Ho. "You need to understand the
dynamics of the group. If you are not a team player, you will get thrown out of the loop."

Newcomers to a workplace are not automatically accepted into the group. "The group has to
rediscover how to work together," says Wilson. Every workplace has "unwritten rules" -- the
expectations that don't appear anywhere in writing, but which people must abide by in order to
be accepted as one of the team.

"Joining the team depends on fragile interplay, communication, ability, the hierarchy of who
reports to whom and the egos of the people involved at every level.

"In some groups, you will find measures of fear, envy, jealousy, disrespect, and you will have to
deal with those things as well," says Wilson.

"Really watch and observe how things are done," says Mahoney. Network, research, and talk to
people. "And in the first few weeks on the job, it is a good idea to do more observing than
talking."
"And be really careful about dating someone from work," offers Waters. "It is especially unwise
to date someone that you supervise or who supervises you. A lot of people don't understand
this and they get into serious difficulties."

8. Plan Ahead

Think ahead to where you want to go in the organization or in your career. Look for ways to
increase your responsibilities. "If you are not busy, take the initiative and figure out how to get
some new skills. Look for people who are busy and ask if you can help on their project," advises
Mahoney.

Have a development plan for yourself and let your supervisor know your interests.

For example, if you are doing well in your present job but you are interested in learning public
speaking, you might ask your supervisor if they would give you some added responsibilities
where you will have an opportunity to practice speaking in public.