How to create performance reviews that people actually value
When I was first promoted to a director 15+ years ago, learning how to manage people, I had to fire someone and they didn’t see it coming. That day I swore I would never do that again (and to that person, I am sorry). I took it upon myself to not only practice Radical Candor (providing timely feedback, caring personally, but challenging directly- I feel another post coming on) but also to make sure I was doing performance reviews well. If you’ve received one from me in the last 5 years you know what this looks like. This post is all about what to do to write a great performance review that people VALUE not dread. NB: I know, you've probably just done your year end reviews, so thanks Kim, too little too late, but no time like the present to build good rituals for the next one!
Yep, there’s an argument to be made that performance reviews are outdated, and not helpful, but I believe it depends how you think about it. I like to take the opposite stance: Feedback is a gift. This is an important document for your employees, you need to make it count. This can become a tool for coaching, career and growth discussions. It should take you 1-2 hours to create after feedback collection. It’s a great way to step back and think about the feedback you’ve provided over the year, to look at the overall trajectory of a team member. Invest the time.
Step 1: Preparing to write the review:
Use a consistent format like start/stop/continue format, find a format that works for you.
I do 360s, asking for feedback from their peers, stakeholders, and team members for each person (I send an email, or a google form to collect that feedback depends on the openness of the team)
I collect feedback (from myself and others) in a confidential notebook all year long, and share with the employee as I go- don’t just include things from the last month- recency bias is easy to get caught in**Start now!
I put together my own brief notes of themes I want to cover
I also look at where they should be at for their level and their career goals to be able to provide some good grounding for the themes
Step 2: Evaluate & Summarize the feedback received
I evaluate each piece of feedback received, and group it together in themes
For each theme I add my own feedback and analysis of the theme, and make suggestions on how they can improve.
I don’t just include the feedback as quotes with no analysis (this is lazy, don’t do this)
I include relevant direct quotes if helpful (try to keep this anonymous).
I drop any feedback that is too generic (aka, it could apply to anyone), it’s not helpful
I also question feedback if it's a real outlier, try to get to the bottom of it.
Step 3: Review & Make sure it’s constructive
I ensure that it’s clear in the intros and the themes that they know that I care about their success, and this feedback is to help them improve in their career
I like to sit on the document overnight, and read it again with fresh eyes, and make sure it’ll land with the person receiving it.
Step 4: Sharing in advance then walk through the document
I tend to prefer to share it in advance so the person has a chance to read it, and absorb the feedback (this is a pre-arranged agreement- each employee is different)
Then we walk through the doc, and talk through any question or clarifications at a special meeting (not just shoving into a regular 1:1), giving the review the time it deserves for discussion.
I have gotten pretty consistent feedback that the reviews are very helpful. What other tips do you have that have worked for you?
