42 Tips on How to Give an Effective Employee Review

Performance reviews offer helpful feedback to managers and employees, but not knowing where to start or what to say can make the process painful and awkward. Effective performance reviews are important to ensure the growth and development of both employees and management. We’ve collected 42 performance review tips from experts so that your next performance meetings will be a success.

Ten Tips For Your Best Performance Review Ever by @Forbes written by @humanworkplace

Preparation is the key to any great performance review. It’s a good idea to document an employee's performance weekly or monthly throughout the year, even if you only hold review meetings annually. When it’s time to hold performance reviews, having this information handy will make organizing the process easier. Our biggest takeaway from this article was that managers should devote time to evaluating an employee's good work and the areas that need improvement. Giving feedback on both ends of the spectrum will help to improve an employee's work and prepare them for growth in the future.

7 Ways for a Manager to Prepare for a Performance Review by @thebalance written by @greatleadership

Not only does the performance review provide constructive feedback to employees, it also gives them development objectives for the coming year. Our favorite part this article is step 2: providing regular feedback throughout the year. Employees deserve and need both positive and negative feedback on a regular basis. Be timely when giving feedback, the sooner an employee is informed, the better the results will be.

Get Started Today! 5 Tips of Giving Better Performance Reviews by @ClearCompany written by @SylvieWoolf

Successful businesses can no longer rely on the most important conversation between managers and employees to happen once a year. As information is now more easily accessible, it’s pertinent that new management models are adopted. That includes addressing performance issues and wins as they happen alongside structured meetings. The most important tip from this article is to set realistic goals. Find out what goals and plans an employee has for their career. This is a great time to see if an employee’s and company’s plans are aligned. Discuss the skills and experience needed for an employee to accomplish their career goals and how the organization can help them get there.

7 Tips for Delivering Negative Feedback to Employees Without Being a Jerk by @Entrepreneur written by Syed Balkhi @syedbalkhi

Let’s face it; negative feedback can be tough to hear and uncomfortable to administer. A majority of managers care about their employees and want to avoid hurting their feelings. Giving negative feedback is incredibly beneficial but can be quite challenging. This article gives helpful tips to deliver negative feedback, and the tip that stood out the most to us was number 5: offer positive reinforcement. After giving negative feedback, always accompany it with positive encouragement and reinforcement, even if it’s a simple goal for growth. This will ensure an employee knows they are an asset to your company.

5 Tips for Reinventing the Performance-Review Process by The Business Journals  @bizjournals written by Dana Manciagli @DanaManciagli

Performance reviews should happen more than once a year to be effective. Our favorite takeaway from this article is tip #1, which explains why old approaches aren’t working. It’s important to adopt a talent management strategy that is more forward-looking and focused on development. Reviews are no longer one-time events. Embrace more frequent feedback, and use annual reviews to reflect and summarize relevant activity over the entire year.

9 Tips for Effective Employee Review Meetings by @HuffPost written by Margaret Jacoby @MargaretJacoby

The most important asset of a business is the people who work every day to maintain its profitability. Keeping an organization running at peak performance while balancing the needs and productivity of employees is a challenge for any business owner. There are some common mistakes managers make while conducting performance reviews. The most important tip from this article is not to give out platitudes. If you want someone to leave the evaluation feeling like it was a waste of time, use those tired old expressions like “you’re the best” or “you’re a great worker.” Instead, discuss how to grow and develop, and tell your employees what they need to work on. Of course, don’t ignore the positive reinforcements; just be sure to focus on development.

Interested in hearing more about performance management? Check out our performance management resource page for more tips and techniques!