Staff review was better than expected

My annual performance & salary review went fairly well. Fairly well, but not excessively well. Nevertheless, it was better than I had expected, for I had walked into the meeting room, with low expectations. I deliberately set low expectations to minimise any potential disappointments. In the event, on the whole, things turned out better than I thought possible.

My boss/director & manager were both present. We talked about how the past year went by, especially my performance during that time. The boss & manager were both complimentary towards my work, by my commitment & dedication, by how well I seem to get along with everyone. Both were pleased by my contribution to the firm. My boss also talked about my future role within the firm - he said he sees me as a key member & quickly touched on how my role will evolve. It was nice to get all those compliments, but I do wonder if they (especially the boss) are saying those things (including the spiel on how my role will evolve) just to get me to want to stay at the firm. Anyhow, I'm not sure if my role will really evolve the way my boss talked about, & even if it does, I think it'll be a long time before it happens. I can't wait for that long....

I narrowly missed out on the annual bonus, but I wasn't surprised by that, because I had a feeling I would miss the annual billing target. I wasn't able to meet that target thanks to the tardiness of some of my clients - they don't respond to information requests quickly enough, so that meant I couldn't complete their work as quickly as I would like, & that meant I couldn't bill them by the billing target cut-off date, so at the end I was just under the billing target. However, I got an unexpectedly high increase to my base salary. The size of the pay rise took me completely by surprise, & I did my best not to look shocked. I was told the pay rise was done in consultation with the other directors, taking into account my performance & overall contribution to the firm. My director did say that he can't guarantee similar pay rises in future. Fair enough, I completely understand that.....

Well, it's nice to be rewarded that way, & it's nice that all my hard work was recognised. However, the work-related issues that I raised were played down or "brushed aside". The issues mainly relate to the client tardiness & certain type of work I've not enjoyed but have been compelled to do for those tardy clients. It's as if the issues I raised were not significant enough to warrant further attention. Anyway, I guess I'll be pretty justified if I were to look elsewhere for something that will give me more satisfaction & opportunity to progress my career....

Overall, I'd say my review went pretty well. I left the room trying my best to put a straight face, so my team mates will not be able to tell what I felt about my review. It didn't work. Wei & Murray could tell, from my behaviour during the rest of the day, that I had a good review. They guessed that I did get a pay rise & that I was happy with the scale of the pay rise. I tried my best to play things down, but wasn't convincing - I wasn't a good enough actor...hehehe....

Anyway, I just want to say I'm thankful to God that the review went reasonably well & thankful for the unexpectedly good pay rise. I hope I will be able to use the money wisely for His Kingdom, & I hope that God will ensure I am humble by reminding me that all good things come from Him.