- 1️⃣ Are the expectations clear?
- 2️⃣ How often should you hold performance reviews?
- 3️⃣ Managers’ Preparation
- 4️⃣ Employee Self-evaluation
- 4️⃣ It's a two-way street
- 5️⃣ Nail the logistics
- 6️⃣ Co-lead the review
- 7️⃣ Follow-up
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I do get anxious before performance reviews.
Do I bring enough value to my team?
Is this the right direction?
Was I sufficiently present to give concrete feedback?
On top of that, there are mountains of hate around the topic of Performance Reviews and it's easy to feel that most employees share this opinion.
Performance reviews have a notorious reputation for being a tool used by employers to show power, or “put employees into boxes”. To many employees, this notion of performance reviews can feel intimidating and anxiety-inducing.
However, I do believe there is a great benefit of holding performance session as long as you use them as a development tool - this is what this article will focus on.
Now let's see how we can keep this pressure to a healthy level by looking at the preparation, logistics and content of the performance review discussion.
1️⃣ Are the expectations clear?
🎯 Be fair on what you evaluate your direct report on
This can sound a bit obvious but in order to review the performance of an individual, you need first to clarify what the expectations are.
Where have you communicated the expectations? Several possibilities:
→ Job description missions
→ Quarterly / Semester objectives
→ Project scopes - roles & responsibilities.
If you have not clearly set the expectations yet, then it's not the right time to hold the performance review. Rather, use the time to have exactly this conversation: discuss what your expectations are and set them black on white.
2️⃣ How often should you hold performance reviews?
🎯 No matter the frequency, make feedback regular to avoid bad surprises.
I have seen different models that can work great - you could hold a review every year, semester, every quarter, or even every two weeks. The more often you have reviews, the narrower the evaluation period and the quicker the preparation (in theory). In my company, we have a formal performance review every 6 months BUT we also make sure it's part of our managerial responsibilities to provide regular feedback throughout the year.
If you keep your performance review more frequently, let's say every month, it's clear that you will talk about the future with a shorter term vision.
I find the semester reviews combined with weekly 1:1s the best combination to support your direct report in their performance and career development.
You can focus the 1:1s on the short term, tackling challenges and brainstorming ideas. Use the semester review to take a step back, analyse what went great, what can be better, and design together the future.
3️⃣ Managers’ Preparation
🎯 Be fair and fight the recency bias! Keep in mind several topics: be fair between all members of your team(s) and use concrete observations for your evaluation.
If you are fortunate to have a formal evaluation system with different ranks and what each one of them means, great!
If not, make a system for your team. You can use a 4-step rank to evaluate overall performance:
→ Did not meet expectations
→ Partially met expectations
→ Met expectations
→ Went beyond expectations
Use the same measuring logic for the entire team. Ask yourself the question “What are they doing vs what is expected from their position?".
Calibrate: once you have the ranking of the entire team, compare how you evaluated each one of them and ask yourself if the evaluation is fair. Is the person who “partially met expectations” really performed less than the ones who “met expectations"? Ideally, gather with your colleagues from the department to calibrate between the different teams and make sure there is no discrepancy between the evaluations within the company.
Avoid the recency bias: throughout the semester, I note down what happened in specific situations. I use a “Performance log” where I try to objectively describe a situation which got my attention to either provide coaching or praise. This is useful as a recap to remember specific situations which took place during the semester and not let into the "trap” of remembering only the most recent events.
Ask for peer feedback: you cannot (fortunately) be everywhere. If you work in a company with more than 2 people, this means your direct reports have worked with someone else. Ask them in private about how working together with your direct reports went. You can automate this process to avoid mistakes and gain some time.
4️⃣ Employee Self-evaluation
🎯 Ensure accountability on personal development Both you and each one of your team members can use the performance review to take a step back and analyse what went great and what can be better. Ask each employee to prepare their own self-evaluation and sends it 1 week before the review.
If the self-evaluation is incomplete, do to send it back and guide your employee to what is missing and what questions they can ask themselves to help them complete their evaluation in more details.
Chances are you already have a common template for the performance reviews in your company. If not, build your own template with the same questions and areas for each employee. Ideally, use a tool which is easy to edit for both you and your direct report - for example, a Google Sheet, Docs, a Notion page.
4️⃣ It's a two-way street
🎯 Improve working relationship manager-managee Clarify that the review is about how the person performed in YOUR team and so you also need to get their feedback about how you can better work together.
Giving feedback to your manager is not a natural skill for 99% of human beings. Help your team by asking open questions:
→ [Very direct] What feedback do you have for me as your manager?
→ [Softer] What is one area in which you think I can improve?
→ [Softish] What do you think we could put in place to make our working together (even) better?
→ [Softest] How can I help you do your best work?
5️⃣ Nail the logistics
🎯 Create a safe environment Duration.
One of the biggest mistake I have seen managers do is go through the review quickly, as if it was simply a task to be checked on the to-do list.
Reserve a generous time slot, at least 1 hour. Add a buffer of 30 minutes. You will either use the buffer to complete the discussion, or to get a well-deserved break.
Never schedule back-to-back meetings about performance reviews. Time often runs out and you don't want to be stressed because you need to be in another place. This could give a negative signal to your team member and that's not an impression you want to create.
Location.
If you can meet in the same office, take this option. Reserve a meeting room or a private space. The main rule here is that both of you should feel comfortable to share and discuss the past and think about the future.
Avoid using your computer.
We often hide in the safety of our screens.
If you want to ensure there is trust between the two of you, print your notes and go through them together when you are shoulder to shoulder in the same room.
This technique achieves two goals:
- It shows you took the time to prepare.
- It clearly shows respect: you are focused on the discussion and not answering your chat.
Be present Allocate your attention to the moment reserved to the development of your employee. Be 100% there, physically and mentally. If you need to rush, reschedule.
6️⃣ Co-lead the review
🎯 Ensure a productive session
There is plenty advice from coaches or management magazines on how you should ask your report lead the meeting. My problem with this advice is that you already asked them to do a self-evaluation, they sent it to you but they don't know yet what you think. At this stage you have an advantage with the information you have.
There is enough suspense for the report at that point and it's only fair for you to open the session.
A sample agenda to follow:
→ Remind the objectives of the review (e.g. steer the career development, define areas to support them etc).
→ The past: discuss the performance in relation to the goals and objectives you identified. Provide concrete feedback and examples, and be open to hearing the employee's perspective and feedback. Remember to give praise - It's easy to notice what is not going great, make sure to keep note and mention what is going great.
→ Together, identify any areas for improvement or development and agree on plans to put them in action.
→ The future: talk about career aspirations, dream missions and projects - make them achievable in the context of your company and team's vision.
→ Summarise the discussion and validate any next steps.
The feedback you share can be either redirecting or reinforcing. Redirecting specific behaviour means providing suggestions about what to do instead. Reinforcing is used to build up on the strengths and repeat the behaviours that brought great results. Use both in your discussion.
7️⃣ Follow-up
🎯 Activate the actions
To make the actions you agreed on alive, be religious about the follow-up timeline.
When should the employee put the plan in action? Do you have any role to play in the development plan?
An easy technique to get this up and running is setting up several check-ins in the coming months to follow-up on the agreed plan. There is no better motivator than a set deadline.
Performance reviews can be a powerful tool to take a perspective, give confidence, discuss everything that was left unsaid until now, and think about how to build a future which suits all parties.
Let's make performance reviews a piece of cake!
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