Melissa Miller is the cofounder and COO of Tandem.
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As an employee, it can feel disheartening to receive a “not meeting expectations” assessment on your performance review, but with help from your manager, you can take steps to course-correct and make positive changes before your next review.
But what do you do when it’s your company’s performance review cycle itself that isn’t meeting expectations? Addressing this problem can be more complex, requiring leaders’ buy-in and deep reflection on the goals of the process. Let’s look at what can go wrong in performance reviews and the steps you can take to get back on track.
Warning Signs To Look Out For
Here are key signs that your company’s performance review process is earning a designation of “not meeting expectations.”
Inconsistent Or Surprising Feedback
Performance reviews should not be the first time someone is hearing feedback. However, given how busy folks get and how easy it is to put off a hard conversation, we often run into a feedback pileup at performance review season.
Another key indicator that something is off is that people are surprised by feedback. This misalignment occurs when someone thinks they are meeting or exceeding expectations when their manager thinks they aren’t. It is a key sign that performance reviews may be the only time feedback is happening.
Low ROI
Ideally every investment we make in business has a high return. The more resources (time, energy, dollars) you spend on a process, the higher the return needs to be to justify the cost. If you are seeing many hours being invested in your performance review cycle and not strong results in the form of alignment, higher capacity, stronger performance, etc., there may be something off.
Focusing Solely On The Past
A common pitfall for both managers and direct reports is fixating on past performance without considering future goals. Yes, it’s important to gather information and learn from the past. But performance reviews should achieve a balance between reflection on past performance and focus on future development. If your reviews are only focused on looking backward, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to move forward with intention on role and career development.
All Talk, No Follow-Up
Performance reviews are only useful if they inspire action. If you end the review cycle without a clear plan to continue feedback or development in the future, the process can feel like a waste of time for employees.
Top Performers Leaving
If you notice a trend of strong performers leaving right after review season, you aren’t alone. This can come because these performers didn’t get the rating they wanted or, more often than not, they aren’t getting the development they crave.
Why Problems Arise
Several common factors contribute to performance review processes that are ineffective:
• Overloading A Specific Time Period: Trying to do too much all at once can be counterproductive. If your performance review cycle coincides with your busy season, quarterly goal-setting sessions or the end of the financial year, your team may not have the bandwidth for thoughtful reflection.
• Trying To Do Too Much With One Process: It is tempting to think that one process can solve all performance-related goals. However, if you are trying to achieve too many goals with one process, you will likely be mediocre at all objectives, rather than great at fewer.
How To Build A Better Performance Review Cycle
Taking these four actions can help resolve problems in your review process and make it more valuable for employees and managers.
1. Define Your Goals
Be careful not to fall into the “more is more” trap when creating or editing review processes. Start by writing out your goals for performance reviews. What are your desired outcomes? Do you want managers and individual contributors to be aligned on performance? Ensure everyone understands their career development pathways? Have an equitable compensation review? Then ask yourself how you can achieve your goals in as few steps as possible. If you realize you are trying to accomplish too much within one cycle, ask yourself why and if there are other times or processes you can use to accomplish these goals.
There is likely no one process at one time of year that can address compensation, equity, inclusion, feedback, introspection, performance development, career pathways and retention. Figure out your goals and build for that. Be honest with yourself if you are expecting too much out of one process.
2. Be Smart With Timing
Pick a time of year when people can focus on the review (i.e., ideally not during your customer busy season or when everyone is heads down with yearly planning).
3. Set Boundaries
Let your team know the goal of the performance review cycle and the estimated amount of time to spend on it. If you tell them that the goal is to have a quality conversation about performance and development and their review should take no more than one hour to write, then you will help them understand that the goal is not a 10-page essay that takes five hours to write.
4. Make Feedback A Regular Practice
Encourage ongoing feedback to align expectations and performance. Create a culture of continuous feedback with regular events, such as Feedback Fridays, where all team members pause for 15 minutes every Friday at 2 p.m. to write one piece of feedback and ask for one piece of feedback. The key to making this part of your company culture is sticking to it, week after week, starting with top leadership. This way, no matter where you land with official performance review cycles, it is guaranteed to not be the only time people are receiving feedback.
Ultimately, whether or not performance reviews are right for your company is a choice that comes down to lots of unique factors internally. If you choose to have them, ensure you know your goals, have appropriate timing and check to make sure that it isn’t the only time of year feedback and development are happening. This will ensure that you have a process that is serving you, your team and your company.
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