How to Create the Best Self-Evaluation Survey for Your Team

Although it is one of the most important aspects of career development, self-evaluations aren’t always fun. The process can be uncomfortable and tiring. But tough processes sometimes have their benefits. Even better, a well-crafted self-evaluation survey can make it less cumbersome.

As a manager who is interested in the personal and professional growth of his team, the task of creating the best self-evaluation survey for your team falls on you. 

This article will look at the importance of self-evaluation for you and your team. We will also share tips on creating a fitting self-evaluation survey that caters to your team's needs and performance.  

What Is A Self-Evaluation Survey?

A self-evaluation survey is a series of questions that employees answer to help them evaluate their performances over a period of time. It is an important performance management method that guides employees’ thought processes. It helps them look inwards and analyze the different aspects and nuances of their performance and behavior at work.

The main goal of a self-evaluation survey is to measure employee performance and gain insight into their career goals.

But why ask team members to evaluate themselves? 

Why are Self-Evaluations Important?

Self-evaluations are important because they help employees critically examine themselves. The key purpose of self-evaluation in the workplace is to give team members accountability and freedom. It allows them to see their strengths, successes, and areas they need to improve from their perspective. At the end of the process, they can then build a path for personal and professional development. 

Self-assessments are a great way to keep employees involved in their appraisal process. Carrying them along makes them feel heard. Encouraging your team to self-reflect allows them to take control of their feelings, actions and challenges. It empowers them to become self-aware, give honest insights and make effective decisions in the workplace. 

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Another importance of self-evaluations is that it provides autonomy to employees. This discourages micromanagement from managers and increases commitment, loyalty and productivity. Ultimately, this benefits the employee, the manager and the company.

Benefits of Self-Evaluation

For Team Members

Effective self-evaluations can help team members to:

• Be more accountable for their performance.
• Develop more self-awareness and confidence in themselves and their abilities.
• Feel valued.
• Become more engaged and contribute to their appraisal process.
• Improve capacity building by learning how to implement corrections fast.
• Gain better insights into their personal and professional abilities and make plans for continuous improvement.
• Develop problem-solving skills.
• Leverage the results for a salary raise, a promotion or a contract extension.

For Managers

Encouraging self-evaluations for team members can help managers to:

• Gain better insights on how employees feel about their work and their value in the team.
• Discover skill gaps in the team and provide training and support to address them.
• Stay on top of issues and misunderstandings within the team.
• Understand what motivates the individual and discover better ways to incentivize and support them to achieve set goals.
• Reconcile the differences between the views of employees and that of the manager. 
• Identify an employee’s strengths so as to direct tasks that play on their strengths to aid productivity.
• Leverage it as a tool for driving conversations and supporting 1-on-1 meetings.

Now that we’ve highlighted the benefits of self-appraisals, you might ask ‘how do I create a self-assessment form?’

Read: The Ultimate Self-Evaluation Guide (+Tips and Examples)

How To Create An Excellent Self-Evaluation Survey For Your Team

The first step in creating a self-evaluation survey is finding the right self-evaluation template. Ideally, you want to use one that is flexible, customizable and easy to use. 

When creating employee self-appraisal surveys, you want to keep your team’s personal and professional needs. Strategic self-evaluation questions will help guide your employees toward effective introspection and honesty. To ensure that you effectively cover your bases, include questions around these 3 points:

1. Successes
2. Failures/Mistakes
3. Plans for the future.

Let’s explore them a bit.

1. Successes.

It’s good practice to have self-evaluations start on a good note. Your employees need to take the time to reflect on their accomplishments and write them down. Such achievements can include:

• Projects they participated in or played a significant role in.
• Training, courses and any other learning opportunities they took.
• Any additional tasks they handled.
• Personal, team or organizational goals they achieved.

Let them know that they need to be specific when writing about their wins. Have them mention names, dates and other stakeholders. They should clearly state tasks and describe precisely how they participated. They should also attribute their accomplishments to specific skills they have. 

For example, “I stepped in to resolve a conflict between ABC and XYZ and ensured that we delivered the project on time. I did this thanks to my people management and excellent communication skills.”

2. Failures/Mistakes

It is tough to admit failure in a professional setting. Still, reflecting on their mistakes, learning from them and improving makes them honest and accountable. Help your team understand that their mistakes are opportunities for improvement. In the self-assessment survey, create a section where they can explain how they plan to avoid such mistakes in the future. 

3. Plans for the Future

On the self-evaluation template, create a section where team members can outline their next steps. Making plans and setting goals for the future is a great way to set team members up for success. 

Since the evaluation already addressed their wins (strengths) and mistakes (weaknesses), it is important that they determine what they want to do next. Their goal could be to change departments, advance to a higher role or develop in their current role. They can also include plans like working on soft skills, taking courses or seeking other learning opportunities. 

What are some self-evaluation questions, and how can you answer them?

Sample Self-Evaluation Questions

A detailed self-evaluation worksheet should include variations of the following questions:

• How would you describe your willingness to take initiative?
• How would you rate your ability to admit and learn from your mistakes?
• How would you rate your ability to handle pressure/stressful situations?
• How would you describe your ability to motivate your teammates?
• Do you display passion towards achieving the company’s vision?
• How have you shown efficiency at problem-solving?
• How would you rate your ability to give/receive feedback?
• How would you rate your ability to work as a team or independently?
• How would you rate your communication and people management skills?
• How would you rate your clarity in giving or ability to clarify when receiving instructions?
• What is something you excel at?
• What aspect of your performance would you like to improve?
• Are there any comments you would like to share regarding your leadership/management/role?

Improve your employee self-evaluation process by learning about the do’s and don’ts of self-evaluation for work.

6 Tips For Writing Great Self-Evaluations

Whether you’re a manager or a team member, answering self-evaluation questions can be tricky. But it’s doable. The first step is not to overthink it. Apply the following tips, and you’ll be ready to crush your self-evaluation.

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1. Be honest

Self-evaluations are about both the successes and the mistakes. With this in mind, don’t shy away from taking responsibility for your mistakes. Be honest, identify what you could have done better and outline your plans for improvement. 

2. Be proud

You have permission to boast. Be proud of your achievements, and feel free to highlight your accomplishments and successes. But be careful not to over-inflate them. Outline those tasks and projects you handled exceptionally and describe how your contribution was priceless. 

3. Be professional and specific

Professionalism here is a no-brainer. Avoid letting your emotions prevail when answering self-evaluation questions. In situations where you feel like you’ve been unjustly treated by your superior or a colleague, avoid using your self-assessment survey as an avenue to criticize them. Restrict responses to your work performance.

In terms of specificity, avoid vague answers. Instead of saying, “I am hard-working and eager to learn new skills”, you can say, “I completed all my tasks in record time, implemented the new changes for the team and took a data analytics course to help me handle my projects better.”

4. Talk about your challenges

Want to position yourself as an innovative problem-solver? Mention the challenges you faced in your job and explain how you overcame them. Be sure to outline specific skills that helped you manage these difficulties.

5. Share lessons learned

Your self-evaluation worksheet should include what you have learned over the course of the year. This part should highlight specific things you have learned personally that has/can improve your performance.

 For example, you can say, “Working in a fast-paced environment has taught me how to keep up and increase my productivity. Taking a course on time management also helped me.”

6. Include facts, and figures

Numbers don’t lie. Use figures to show how your performance has improved and benefitted the organization. Also, remember to include facts about your participation in important projects. Mention the names of collaborators and include specific dates and locations. Think of it as a ‘show, don’t tell’ situation. 

For example, you can say, “I stepped in to help the ABC team tidy up the XYZ project in March by tracking down Mr Smith for an interview and preparing six reports.”

Streamline Your Self-Evaluation Process Today

When creating a self-evaluation survey, the aim is to help your team improve their performance. Include questions that will help highlight their strengths, identify their mistakes and weaknesses and guide them to set professional development goals.

Simplify the process with Assembly’s self-evaluation template. It is customizable and will help you foster honesty and accountability in your workspace. Request a demo today to get started.