What is a performance review meeting?

Performance reviews are formalized assessments in which a manager evaluates an employee’s work performance, discusses strengths and weaknesses, provides candid feedback, and collaboratively sets goals for the quarter and year ahead.

Also known as performance appraisals or employee evaluations, these meetings can come in many formats. Traditional performance reviews, for example, are done once per year or quarter. In these formal meetings, managers assess the employee’s performance from the previous year, offer guidance for the coming year, and set goals according to the company’s strategic goals.

Modern performance reviews, on the other hand, have largely shifted toward less formalized meetings, continuous feedback, and two-way communication. This has helped to breed more agile workplaces that collect, analyze, and respond to performance feedback on a continuous basis. In these workplaces, performance reviews take place on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

However performance reviews are done, they are critical components of successful workforce management. As a manager, you should use these meetings to clearly set expectations between yourself and your staff and to define what the goals are for all parties in the months ahead.

The importance of performance reviews

Performance reviews offer a wide range of benefits for both staff and managers. They’re an opportunity for both parties to put their cards on the table and to express what is working and what needs to change in order to be successful.

To illustrate the importance of performance reviews, we’ve identified key benefits for employees and managers.

Performance review benefits for employees include:

• Helping them understand what they’re doing well and what can be improved.
• They are aligning their efforts with company goals, thus establishing a clear impact on the mission.
• We are identifying what is expected of them to be successful on the job.
• They are giving employees the opportunity to reflect on their achievements.
• They are providing the opportunity to have candid conversations with their managers.
• We are setting performance, employee development, and personal development goals.
• They are receiving commitment from the manager and company to support their growth.

Of course, many of these benefits are only possible in situations where the employee and manager have a direct personal connection and are willing to speak honestly with one another. We’ll dig into how to facilitate these relationships later in the article.

Performance review benefits of managers include:

• Providing an opportunity to share what you think your employee is doing well, and what they can improve upon.
• I am unlocking two-way communication with the employee to identify previously unseen issues.
• I am focusing employees and teams toward specific strategic goals or outcomes in the year ahead.
• They are allowing managers and employees to work through roadblocks or problems collaboratively.
• You are showing a commitment to your team and building trust.
• We are receiving feedback on performance as a manager and leader.

While it is essential for managers to conduct the performance of their employees to help coach and steer them in the right direction, it’s equally important for leaders to receive that same guidance. As such, it’s recommended that companies include leadership performance as grading criteria for any managers who are in charge of a team.

By doing so, leaders and executives can identify areas that may need additional training or resources and provide help where needed. By doing so, you remove the burden of performance solely from your rank and file employees and evenly disperse it to leaders as well.