Preparing for Performance Reviews
How Leaders can Prepare for Annual Performance Evaluations
When preparing to write annual performance reviews, consider four questions to help guide your preliminary information gathering.
Preparing for annual performance reviews can be a daunting task but understand that it is an important part of leading a team and encouraging top performance. Preparation involves an examination of four key questions and researching options available. Making notes as you review this year’s projects and tasks and scheduling a preparatory meeting with each member of your team will help when it is time to sit down and write their performance reviews.
How Have They Succeeded?
Review the projects and tasks that they have been assigned this year. Re-read reports or other documentation relating to these projects to jog your memory on what they accomplished paying particular attention (and making notes on) to what they did well. In the preparatory meeting, ask them what they are particularly proud of accomplishing this year.
What Has Been Challenging for Them?
On the other hand, what were the areas that proposed a challenge for them? Did they struggle to get along with certain coworkers or have issues with certain processes or techniques? In the preparatory meeting, ask them what they found difficult this year.
How Competent are They?
If you have a competency profile for the job, review their level of competency in each area. This will help you to determine their areas of weakness that are in need of development or whether they are a good fit in the role or department. In the preparatory meeting, ask them what skills they would like to develop this year.
What Resources are Available to Help Them Improve?
Creating a performance improvement plan may involve some research. Ask your human resources representative or training and development manager to suggest in house or outsourced training options that are available. Also search for good books on the topic they want to develop or offer them a gift card to a bookstore or reimbursement for bookstore purchases to a dollar limit. Another option is to partner them with a more experienced person of your team as a mentor.
Once you have all the preliminary research completed, it is time to write the performance comments on the review. It may be a tough part of leadership and require you to put aside other operational tasks, but it is well worth the time and effort if you can see marked improvement in your team’s performance. Managing your talent will reduce turn over and improve moral. After all, a happy workplace is a productive workplace.
