Love them or loathe them, performance reviews have a bit of a bad rep. They take many forms, but here are our personal pet peeves:
The Tick Box:
The annual opportunity to check off boxes, nod thoughtfully, and pretend we’re not all just here to get this over with. Nothing says “we care about your growth” quite like a quick skim through last year’s goals.
The Surprise:
Few things scream “Happy Performance Review” like the surprise revelation that you’re not quite the superstar you thought you were. Just when you were ready to pat yourself on the back, along comes the feedback that, apparently, "needs improvement" is your new middle name.
The Elephant:
A conversation full of glowing feedback, yet somehow there’s still “just one little area” that’s not quite hitting the mark. You’re practically Employee of the Year, except for that mysterious performance issue lurking just beneath all the praise.
Let’s face it, we’ve likely all had a performance review that sits firmly in one of these boxes. Sigh. If you were to hold up the mirror, how many of your team’s reviews have fallen into one of these categories? What about people managers in the organisation? You’ll know as well as us that they don’t have to be this way. This is what we’re looking for 👇
The Coachable Moment
Performance Reviews are the perfect opportunity to put your coaching hat on and turn themthis into a Coachable Moment. A two way conversation, where your role is to help your colleague reflect on their year.
Here’s a collection of coaching questions for you to use in your upcoming performance reviews with your teams. Why not share them internally and get your people managers to give them a go too?
Summarising the Year
- What would you like to take away from your Performance Review today? This is their Performance Review; understand what's most important for them to take away from the conversation.
- How do you feel about your overall performance during this period? Start broad with a question that encourages them to reflect on their overall performance.
- What are you most proud of achieving during this performance period? Celebrate first by focusing on their wins, successes and achievements.
- What challenges did you face? How did you overcome them? Encourage them to reflect on the challenges they faced and focus on key learnings that they can use going forward.
- Were there any goals or objectives that you didn't achieve? If so, what factors contributed to that outcome? Give them space to reflect on why goals weren't achieved. This isn't about finger pointing, but instead to give them a thinking space to learn from the previous review period.
Prioritising Development
- What areas do you believe you need additional training or support in? A great follow up question might be "Specifically, what would that support look like?". They probably already have in mind what type of development they'd like.
- Looking ahead, what resources or support do you need to excel in your role? Encourage them to define the resources or support they'd find most valuable.
- What actions or changes do you want to focus on that will enhance your performance in the upcoming period? Support a bias to action by encouraging them to make a commitment to themself - and you.
Feedback Moments
- What's the best feedback you've received recently? How have you used it? Encourage them to reflect on peer or colleague feedback and how they've used the feedback.
- What was the toughest feedback you received this year? What did you learn from it? Feedback can be really hard to hear in the moment, but creating a non-judgemental space to come back to it once the dust has settled can be a great way to probe for deeper reflection.
- What would you like more feedback on? From whom? Encourage them to solicit more feedback on the things that are most important to them.
Setting Goals
- What goals or objectives would you like to set for the next performance period? People are much more motivated to achieve goals they've set for themselves, rather than goals being cascaded and given to them with little input or influence.
- How can we align your career aspirations with your performance and growth opportunities? Tap into their intrinsic motivators when collaboratively setting goals.
- What one thing, above all else, is most important for you to work towards for the next [x] months? Explore career aspirations, personal learning goals or goals they have outside of work e.g. buying a house and how you can support them.
Define Your Role
- How can I, as your manager, help set you up for better success this period? Don't be afraid of feedback. This is a great way to reframe the question "Do you have any feedback for me?", which often results in a single "no" response!
- Where have I not provided you with the support you needed to succeed this year? What can I do to avoid it in the future? Framing the question where you’re assuming there was a moment where you didn’t provide the right support sets the scene that it’s ok to not be perfect, but also more likely to elicit honest feedback.
- Thinking of the best manager you ever worked with, what did they do that made them the best? People are great at remembering the best and worst in people. Asking them to reflect on the best person will help to identify key behaviours that worked well for them, so you can replicate.
Wrap Up
- What did you find most useful from today? What can we learn from today to make your next Review more useful for you? Wrap up the review by asking for feedback so you can collaboratively make their next one more effective for them.
- What would be an ideal cadence for us to meet to review your progress against your goals? Let them define how often it is useful. As a general recommendation, meet at least quarterly to review progress.
- What are you most looking forward to next year? End the conversation with a high!
We hope you enjoyed these questions and found them useful. Happy performance conversations!
.jpg)