I recently had a performance review at work, and it got me thinking about what makes a really great performance review. I’ve been on both sides of the performance review process, and I know it’s not easy to pull off. You want to strike a balance between providing “constructive criticism” vs. simply calling an employee on the carpet and delivering a laundry list of their shortcomings. Chances are, if you’ve done your hiring right, the employee is already painfully aware of these. Here are a few suggestions for making the most out of the performance review process:

1. Don’t wait until the performance review to provide feedback.

This is a very common problem: many managers will withhold information critical to an employee’s success until the performance review, at which point it’s too late for the employee to alter their behavior. Hold regular 1:1 meetings with employees to establish an ongoing feedback loop with them. It’s a lot easier to correct problems before they become engrained as habits.

2. Employee self-assessments are a waste of time

I’ve never found these to be particularly useful. The main point of the performance review is to provide management’s perspective to the employee. Use the 1:1 meetings as opportunities for employees to give you their input.

3. Establish clear metrics for performance early

Too often, the first time an employee gets to see the criteria for their performance evaluation is at their first review. These metrics should be presented within the employee’s first week on the job, and should be revisited as the nature of an employee’s assignments change.

4. Get input from the employee’s “customers”

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5. Use objective rather than subjective criteria where possible

An employee should be evaluated primarily on their ability to perform their job, not on how well they are “liked”. An employee may have some personal habits or cultural practices that managers find objectionable, but at the end of the day, what matters is, did they get their job done? Of course this is somewhat different for “customer facing” roles, where one’s personality does come into play, but even then, the review should be mostly about numbers – task turnaround time, # of bugs generated/complaints vs. compliments issued, etc.. If personality issues are becoming a problem, again, this should be addressed in 1:1 meetings, not performance reviews.

6. Accentuate the positive

Everyone needs a pat on the back now & then. Always remember to acknowledge the positive things an employee contributes. Remember, “you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Setting up an antagonistic relationship with your employees is in neither of your interests.

I’m sure there are more good ones out there. Please feel free to add more!