Preparing for your next employee performance review session

While popular literature tends to focus on employee’s nerves heading into review sessions, managers can also struggle at performance review time. Often highly charged with emotion the sessions can be extremely draining on all concerned.

To prepare for the next employee performance review cycle, try some of these performance review tips:

1. Get ready to move forward by looking back. Pull out last year’s Performance Review to look through it and refresh yourself on what was agreed to with the employee, what training or development tasks were assigned, and what metrics you will be looking at in the review session.

2. Look up the Position Description. Be aware of the position being evaluated. Does the paper description match the day to day reality? What might need adjusted heading into the discussion?

3. Gather your files. Pull together any relevant memos, updates, project reports or milestone information relating to the work that was accomplished during the year. Also, review any personnel file notes to ensure that attendance, vacation habits, and sick leave levels are satisfactory.

4. Organize your thoughts and make notes. Reading through items 1 – 3, you should get a clear idea of what issues you would like to discuss in the employee performance review. Naturally, the employee will have some items to discuss as well, but planning your key points will help keep the discussion on track.

5. Start planning ahead. You’ve seen where you’ve been, you’ve laid out your main discussion points for the session reviewing the work that’s been done, it is time to focus on what lies ahead. Make a short list of upcoming projects, development opportunities, and administrative items you will be discussing with the employee in the session.

Until next time
Ingrid Cliff

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Heart Harmony – Freelance HR writer