R is for… Rating System
Most companies have a rating or grading system where they give their employees a rating / grade based on their performance. This is normally based on their appraisal and their performance during the course of the year. Some companies will also rate (and sometimes rank) their employees against their peers as part of this process.
As an individual it is important that you take the time to understand the ratings and if possible understand what you need to get a particular rating and what rating you need to get to get a promotion/pay rise.
Ratings are not the best way to evaluate performance. However, if your appraisal is based on a rating system you just need to accept this and learn as much as you can to understand what is being measured/what is the basis of the rating. Then you can push to maximise the rating.