Day one hundred and thirty eight: Ability

It's employee review time so I've decided to breakdown the self-assessment via blog post before I hand in my sheet to the bosses at (insert real name here). 


Category #1: Ability


Had the skills and knowledge to do the job. Strives to continuously improve skills in current job and through cross-training.


(insert real name here) 


The skills and knowledge to do the job? I think I've got both, sorta. 


Can I carry two glasses in one hand? Yes. At least three plates of food at a time? Yes. In the year I've worked at (insert real name here) I can only remember dropping plates twice -- once by accident and once, maybe (totally), on purpose when no one was looking. It helps if you exclaim something like "Oh shit!" or "Oops!" afterwards to avert suspicion (I assumed, based on the one time I may have done that).


The knowledge? Do I know every single ingredient that goes into each menu item? Of course I don't. But I know enough to get by and I'm quick enough on my feet that I can lie if need be. 


Strives to continuously improve skills in current job? 


The other night I carried six lemonades --SIX! -- to a table sans tray without dropping a single glass. I didn't know how to put them down and had to come up with a solution a la Adam West Batman:

If that's not continuously improving my skills I don't know what is. 

As for working towards improving my skills through cross-training, sometimes I get to make drinks in the bar. It looks a little something like this:

Eat your heart out Tom Cruise! 


My rating? Exceeds expectations, obviously.

Day one hundred and thirty seven: employee reviews

The thing about working at a corporate chain like (insert real name here) is that there are certain expectations the company has of its employees and how those employees conduct themselves at the restaurant. 


Today I got a sheet to fill out simply called "Associates Expected Behaviors - self assessment"


The instructions on how to fill it out are simple: 

Use the performance standards (listed on the sheet) in the performance rating outline to identify the most appropriate rating for each behavior. Include any comments or examples that support your rating.

There are  three rating levels:

1. E - exceeds expectations
2. M - meets expectations
3. DN - does not meet expectations

It doesn't say whose expectations are to be met and while most people would assume they are that of the management staff and the company, I have chosen to fill it out according to my expectations. 

There are 11 categories to comment on which, as you can imagine, has given me a lot to ponder. So before I hand in my sheet I've decided to give each category some serious thought. 


The categories are:

• ability
• guest driven/passionate
• results
• team player
• initiative
• cooperation
• integrity
• stamina
• reliability
• grooming standards/appearance
• fun

And what better forum to work out my answers than to post them on the internet via this blog. And because the New Shop doesn't have employee reviews or paperwork to fill out regarding my work performance I'm thinking, what the hell? Why not self-assess my performance there according to (insert real name here) standards too. 


This is going to be fun. Stay tuned.