Top 10 tips for holding effective performance reviews

Performance Review Tips

1. Share the format with the employee

A performance review is not in itself a performance, and so you should avoid creating a pressurised environment that employees feel they simply need to ‘get through’ rather than learn from. Studies show that simply saying “let me give you some feedback” creates a threat response in the brain that is experienced in the same way as a threat to our survival, meaning people are less likely to remember what you actually say. Sharing the performance review format in advance can help reduce uncertainty and stress for an employee, ultimately leading to a real conversation with the potential for positive takeaways.

2. Prepare the right performance review questions

A performance review is not like a film review where the critic simply broadcasts their opinion on strengths and weaknesses; it is an exercise in reflection and setting goals accordingly. Questions should help an employee to reconsider their own choices and behaviours, judging them from the perspective of how they supported the achievement of individual and team goals. To inspire a compelling conversation, try to ensure that performance review questions are open ended, such as:
• What do you need to learn, re-learn and un-learn in order to improve your performance?
• What needs to be true for you to fully activate your potential?
• Is the current balance between support and challenge the right one for you?

3. Seek out different opinions

When you are reviewing someone’s performance, ensure that you don’t only offer your opinion. Ask other colleagues who have worked closely with the individual to review their performance and develop your feedback by encompassing this information. Make sure you don’t just use these other opinions as a way of driving home your own or the reviewee may feel attacked. Instead, use them to help paint a clearer picture of the person opposite you.

4. Connect on a personal level

Performance reviews should be kept conversational to encourage the individual to be open and honest, leading to a more constructive outcome. Plus, the more enjoyable the conversation is, the less it will feel like a box ticking exercise. Rather than diving straight into feedback for the individual, consider connecting on a personal level first by asking about their life outside of work, or about what interesting things they have done since you last spoke. Conversations go two ways, so don’t forget to share your answers too!

5. Really listen

It’s easy to jump straight into how you are thinking and feeling about the individual’s performance. An important part of this review is to hear what they are thinking and how they think their year has gone. Ask questions that encourage the individual to give their own assessment of their performance. Find out what they’ve learnt, development activities they’ve undertaken, their highs and their lows, etc. By listening to them you can ensure that your feedback is constructive, as you can focus on the development areas which they might be less aware of.

6. No surprises

Managers who run effective performance reviews ensure that they contain no surprises. You shouldn’t bring in any new information. Instead, you should use the conversation to summarise and confirm all the feedback that’s been given during the year, and point out what they bring to their role that is unique. This highlights the importance of not saving all your feedback for the end of the year, but rather regularly reviewing behaviour. Make sure you provide feedback in regular one to one conversations, after a project has wrapped up and schedule some longer quarterly review meetings into their diaries for next year and stick to them!

7. Avoid the ‘feedback sandwich’

Don’t rely on the ‘feedback sandwich’, where a piece of criticism is softened by sandwiching it between two positive messages. The sandwich method may have been an industry secret in the past, but nowadays people understand how it works and so they disregard the compliment as insincere or just part of the process. Instead, we encourage managers to deliver five pieces of motivational feedback for every one piece of developmental feedback. This 5:1 ratio encourages managers to find a balance between boosting people’s confidence and helping them identify how they can aim higher.

8. Be specific

Broad feedback is of little use when setting next year’s goals. Performance reviews are a time for grounded and detailed reflections rather than off-the-cuff advice. Great feedback should review specific behaviours and open a discussion on what the individual can do to improve that behaviour.

9. Have a future focus

The importance of reflecting on the year’s progress is so that suitable goals can be set for the following year. Spend time focusing on the coming year and what development they should achieve. You should think about how the individual can reach these goals and how you can support them.

10. Don’t just give it, receive it

As a leader, you play a vital role in the working lives of those you lead. Your behaviours and attitudes will influence how they perform and what they achieve. This means it’s important to take time at the end of the conversation to explore how they felt about your support this year. Did you provide everything they expected? Think about and discuss what they need from you in the coming year to best set them up for success.