Remember Lisa?

[DottyG]

Those of you from the old board will remember the girl who yelled at me at work and caused me to get a call from my boss who was out of the office for the week.

Lisa's put me down as one of the people to give a Peer Review for her Annual Evaluation.  I'm stunned.  Why would she list me?

And, what am I supposed to say?!

[farmerted]

If you can't say no without making a stink(you don't want her or your boss to think you still have a problem), then just do it.  Be very professional make sure only evaluate her job and nothing else.  I'm sure she is using this as a way to manipulate you so don't take the bate.

Good luck

kathy

[Tabris]

You say just the facts.

I'm wondering what she plans, except that I think here is your confirmation that other people don't like her too. She *knows* they don't like her; she's not sure about you.

If she gets a nice evaluation overall, she'll look at you smugly and think you caved in to her.

If she gets a bad evaluation overall, she'll tell everyone you sabotaged her.

And all of that without you having to do a thing. Aren't you relatively  new in the job? You might want to say, "I'm really honored to be asked to evaluate a colleague, but due to how new I am here, I would rather sit this one out, just because I'm afraid there are aspects of her job I might not be able to address correctly. Next year, though, I would be delighted. Thank you SO much for thinking of me for this very important job."

[JoyinVirginia]

Be 100% objective. Discuss job-related behaviors, not emotions. Specific work performance that you have witnessed only. Do not bring any personal behaviors into it unless it hampered work performance.
Joy in Virginia

[Sandi Papaya]

Be 100% objective. Discuss job-related behaviors, not emotions. Specific work performance that you have witnessed only. Do not bring any personal behaviors into it unless it hampered work performance.
Joy in Virginia

Totally, completely, 100% in agreement.

If you feel you cannot remain objective, then do as Tabris suggested and politely but respectfully decline because "you don't feel you've been here long enough to do a proper assessment" or something along those lines.

[DottyG]

Ok, the Lisa thing was weird enough.  But, I just got in to work, and get this.....the BULLY has put me down as someone she wants a peer review from.  Why would she do this?  I'm completely and utterly stunned.

There's no way to politely decline doing these.  It's not how it's done.  Plus, I've been here long enough that I'm expected to know these people well enough to do the reviews.

For Areas of Improvement, can I bounce some things off of y'all?  I have to complete this by the end of today, so I don't have much time.  But, I need help in phrasing this.

I need a nice way of saying that the bully really needs to lay off of me and be nice to me.  Ok, so I can't say that.  Seriously, though.  Here're my thoughts - help me put them into something that's "constructive" and doesn't make me look like I'm being petty or childish.  Help me sound professional.

*  She needs to work on how she phrases emails to people.  Emails (and internet postings) are very dangerous things, as we all know.  You can't get a feeling for the emotions behind what someone says, so you have to make sure you phrase it properly.

*  There's a way to approach someone who's made a mistake in a way that allows them to retain their dignity and feel like they're not worthless.  She can't do this.

*  A good manager (she's not a manager, but she's in charge of this study) knows how to do what's typically called (and, understand that I don't use this word in my life.  I don't curse.  But, it does fit.) a "sh it sandwich."  This means that, when you need to reprimand someone, you give something positive, the negative and then another positive.  In this way, you've stroked the person but also gotten your negative across.

*  She needs to mention the 99 jillion things we (I) do RIGHT instead of lying in wait for the ONE thing I do wrong.  She needs to realize that the people on her team are here late and on weekends for the study.  She needs to thank us for doing a good job instead of tearing us down.

*  She needs to work on not picking obvious favorites in the office and treating them like queens.  Yes, I know we all have people we like more than others.  But, when that shows to such a great extent, it's detrimental to the others who aren't "teacher's pet."

*  Related to the above, she cannot pick one person out to ignore (unless they make a mistake, in which she jumps on them).  When the person says "hello" in the hallway, she should not be turning her back on them and walking away.  That's rude.

There's more that I think she could improve upon, but my fingers are getting tired!

The "needs improvement" part of the evaluation can't be noticeably longer than the other portions (where, I have to say, I can compliment her - she does have excellent computer skills and knows the business - I have no problem complimenting her on these areas).  But, how can I put what I truly do feel are some areas for her to improve upon into a concise format that's also professional?  Help me write something.

[Morty'sCleaningLady]

Are you sure Lisa put you down on the sheet?  At my last job, anyone who had a confrontation or public disagreement with another employee got that employee on their peer evaluation sheet and vice versa.

Your comments are very good.  Honesty (but with lots of diplomacy) are key here.  If you don't feel comfortable putting this in words, call the person to whom you are supposed to send the form to see if you can do it verbally.  I had an HR employee do that to me because she didn't feel right using the words "creepy" or "staulkerish" in an email.

[DottyG]

Are you sure Lisa put you down on the sheet?  At my last job, anyone who had a confrontation or public disagreement with another employee got that employee on their peer evaluation sheet and vice versa.

Actually, I had that thought, too.  I was just too scared to mention it, because that would mean that I'm on both of these people's lists, too.  And, I seriously don't trust them to be objective and nice.  Yes, I need to improve in some areas.  I dare you to find one person who can't improve somewhere.  But, if both of these people are going to do reviews on ME, I really am nervous.  Because I wouldn't put it past them to do something underhanded and sneaky.  This would mean that TWO of my reviews would be coming from people who hate me and want to see me destroyed.  Not only that, but these two people sit across from each other and can compare notes on how to really stick it to DottyG.  I can see them collaborating on how to really twist the knife together.

Ok, someone talk me down here!

My boss wouldn't do that to me.  Would she?  Knowing that both people would probably rate me low, she wouldn't use those two out of the three for my review.  Would she?  She's smarter than that and would know not to to that.  She just has to.

[Tabris]

It's a shame you can't decline to do it. Hm. I was thinking about some of your comments below.

*  She needs to work on how she phrases emails to people.  Emails (and internet postings) are very dangerous things, as we all know.  You can't get a feeling for the emotions behind what someone says, so you have to make sure you phrase it properly.

"Is very good about utilizing email for correspondence. Sometimes the tone of the emails is rather terse and confrontational, leading to uneasiness about how one's work has been received."

*  There's a way to approach someone who's made a mistake in a way that allows them to retain their dignity and feel like they're not worthless.  She can't do this.

"Has shown a tendency to exaggerate the negative effect of mistakes or deviations from plans, sometimes devaluing the employee who made the mistake."

*  A good manager (she's not a manager, but she's in charge of this study) knows how to do what's typically called (and, understand that I don't use this word in my life.  I don't curse.  But, it does fit.) a "sh it sandwich."  This means that, when you need to reprimand someone, you give something positive, the negative and then another positive.  In this way, you've stroked the person but also gotten your negative across.

*  She needs to mention the 99 jillion things we (I) do RIGHT instead of lying in wait for the ONE thing I do wrong.  She needs to realize that the people on her team are here late and on weekends for the study.  She needs to thank us for doing a good job instead of tearing us down.

These two are the same thing.
"Her attention to detail is an asset to the company, but she does not pass along when she notices the details we get right, only those we get wrong. This gives her correspondence an air of criticism."

*  She needs to work on not picking obvious favorites in the office and treating them like queens.  Yes, I know we all have people we like more than others.  But, when that shows to such a great extent, it's detrimental to the others who aren't "teacher's pet."

"Certain team members get their choice of tasks on a consistent basis while the rest are given the unappealing tasks. Rotating the tasks fairly among the team members would assist in boosting morale and giving everyone a better ability to contribute."

*  Related to the above, she cannot pick one person out to ignore (unless they make a mistake, in which she jumps on them).  When the person says "hello" in the hallway, she should not be turning her back on them and walking away.  That's rude.

"Her 'soft-skills' could use some work. For example, after team members receive an email about an alleged mistake in their work, she will pointedly refuse to speak to them about anything, even to reply to 'hello.' This creates an air of hostility in the workplace."

The "needs improvement" part of the evaluation can't be noticeably longer than the other portions (where, I have to say, I can compliment her - she does have excellent computer skills and knows the business - I have no problem complimenting her on these areas).  But, how can I put what I truly do feel are some areas for her to improve upon into a concise format that's also professional?  Help me write something.

Whenever you write something she does wrong, only write it once. There are some things you listed that are repeats of others. If you can give specific examples, such as "Joan is allowed to leave early during crunch time even though she specifically indicated I had to work five hours of overtime plus come in on Saturday," that would be terrific.

Good luck!  Frankly, this sounds like collusion to me. I would be very careful here. If you write negative reviews for both of them, they may accuse you of not being a team player, and who only knows what would happen?

[graceh9]

assume she is getting her turn on you as well but don't worry about it -- it would be odd if reviews were done by people you choose

be very VERY objective in your review -- which makes YOU look good

and thus if you list very clearly and concretely the many things she does well

and clearly and concretely the things she doesnt -- your list is fine -- just boil it down
and be a bit clearer about some fo the points

a reviewer really gets the picture when someone is 'excellent' at data entry, punctual, has a good command of microsoft word,  and also needs to give feedback more constructively, refrain from giving negative feedback in a public place, communicate project details more clearly, follow up on assignments when coordinating a team etc  etc etc etc

[Lisbeth]

Ouch.  That took nerve on Lisa's part.

When it comes to her evaluation, stick to the facts.  Don't embroider the bad or overstate or understate.  Where there are areas where she needs to improve, give concrete examples and present your case as non-judgmentally as you can.

[DottyG]

Ok, I've found out two of the people who got the ones for me.  And, they're two of the people that I chose.  That's a good sign.

Ok, so I'm thinking that the boss uses the 3 we submit to her and then chooses a couple on her own.  Someone said that the number of peer reviews used to be 5.  So, I can see the boss picking two people that she thinks would give an "interesting" evaluation to add to the 3 we submit.

If I have 3 good ones and then 2 bad ones (from the Wicked Witch and her monkey - hey, I'm an Oz lover even in times of trouble!), the boss will see that I'm not completely horrible, right?  Surely she can see that the two people who rate me low are the two that have something against me?

[girlmusic]

Dotty if their reviews of you are clearly snarky and unfair, commenting on personal and not professional traits (such as we don't like Dotty's hair - it is too shiny and that shows how stuck up she is) and your reviews of them are professional, your boss will easily see that they are in the wrong.

[Bob Ducca]

Dotty if their reviews of you are clearly snarky and unfair, commenting on personal and not professional traits (such as we don't like Dotty's hair - it is too shiny and that shows how stuck up she is) and your reviews of them are professional, your boss will easily see that they are in the wrong.

If the boss did arrange this (and I think that is likely) it is possible that their reviews of you (and yours of them) will be part of the overall review process.  In other words, if Lisa and Bully have had complaints made against them in the "interpersonal skills" area before, and their reviews of you are totally off the wall, that could be proof to the boss that they really are the problem.  On the other hand, your review of them could potentially show the boss that you are a whiner and complainer, if you use the review to list all the mean things they have done (I know you aren't going to do that, but this is a "for instance.").

Peer reviews are tricky, and I think they can be as telling on the review-er as on the review-ee.  Stick to facts, be honest (even about the bad stuff, and Tabris listed some excellent suggestions on how to word your complaints professionally) and, if they try to sink you, it will probably just make you look better.

Good luck!!

[DottyG]

How am I doing so far?  I've taken the suggestions above and tried to put them together.  How does this sound?

Areas for Improvement:  [Bully] is very good about utilizing email for correspondence and she has a terrific attention to detail.  This is a vital asset to the company and to our study.  However, sometimes the tone of her emails comes across as confrontational rather than helpful which can lead to uneasiness about how one's work has been received.  She doesn't seem as quick to pass along when she notices the details we get right, only those we get wrong. This gives her correspondence an air of criticism rather than promoting a team atmosphere.