Mid-Year Review: Process Mandate or a Performance Culture?

Recently, I engaged with the Sales team during their Mid-Year Review (MYR) discussions. It was fascinating to see how team members look forward to discussing the progress they've made so far, the direction they’re heading, and what they could do better to stay at the top of the delivery charts.

Unfortunately, some People Managers fail to see that. They conduct MYRs as a tick-mark activity, as it’s simply a process mandate in many organizations.

Multiple surveys globally confirm that about 30% (if not more) of people managers either skip mid-year reviews or do them just to check the box.

Ohhh! Why should anyone bother? Because it’s an HR process? Or because it helps with people development and ultimately supports business results?

In my view, people development and business delivery are two key vectors all people managers must look at. Consistently delivering expected business results and fostering growth are basics for the survival of any organization, team, and individual. Sustainable growth, however, cannot be achieved if people development is overlooked.

While people development shouldn’t depend solely on Annual Reviews or MYR and should be a continuous process. However, MYR can serve as a valuable pit stop to check progress.

MYR discussions with team members can focus on a few simple & straightforward questions:

1.????? What went well in the last six months? (This question isn’t just about outcomes but about the identification of right decisions and actions taken that led to desired outcomes, which can be repeated in the next six months.)

2.????? What didn’t go well in last 6 months? (Identify actions and decisions that didn’t yield the desired results and should not be repeated.)

3.????? What could have been done better?

(This is about reflection as we do not learn from our experiences, we learn from reflection of our experiences.)

4.????? What are the priorities for the next six months? (Does the team’s goal post remain the same, or has it shifted due to dynamic business needs? Adjust actions accordingly.)

5.????? What is the career aspiration of the team member? (What steps should the team member take to achieve this, and how can the manager help?)

6.????? Most importantly: Two-way feedback. (Feedback for and from the team member helps bridge any expectation gap between the manager and team member.)

Business delivery is a must. And to deliver it, people development is a must. Hence, MYR cannot be a process mandate; it has to be a culture, a performance culture.

A Call to Action for HR Folks: HR professionals should engage with business stakeholders to help them understand the value of these simple tools. It truly adds value to the people and the organization.