Per­for­mance reviews: this is how to make the most of them!

Depending on cir­cum­stances, employee reviews can be either pleasant, or downright un­com­fort­able. In a per­for­mance review, employees and their bosses meet to discuss goals, their own points of view, and the successes and failures of (usually) the last year. The latter topic in par­tic­u­lar can make many people – on both sides of the table – sweat. Most employees are extremely reluctant to hear that their own per­for­mance does not meet the ex­pec­ta­tions of their boss – but it is often anything but pleasant for man­age­ment and team leaders to draw em­ploy­ees' attention to any un­der­per­for­mance. However, even if things haven’t been the best, an employee review doesn't have to be a cause for anxiety. If you are well prepared for a per­for­mance review, and follow a few simple rules, you can have a con­struc­tive meeting, rather than an un­pleas­ant ex­pe­ri­ence for both parties.

Employee reviews should take place at least every twelve months, in this case in the form of annual reviews. In principle, though, they can take place at any time if one of the two sides – team leaders or employees – needs to discuss something. As a rule, the reviews must be completed by a specified deadline. But it is precisely this pressure that ensures that many par­tic­i­pants see the feedback dis­cus­sion as something to get through, rather than an op­por­tu­ni­ty.

The purpose of the per­for­mance review is usually to assess the em­ploy­ee's per­for­mance – but the employee usually also has the op­por­tu­ni­ty to express their needs and future plans with regard to the company. A face-to-face meeting for feedback may be an exception, but it is also usually intended to give employees a chance to address problems and dis­agree­ments. Questions such as the following are common in per­for­mance reviews: What is stopping the team from doing a better job? What problems are there in the op­er­a­tional process that a su­per­vi­sor does not know about? How does the employee see their future in the company?

As a boss, you should certainly give criticism if it is justified – but also give positive feedback (and point out potential in your employee). What went well, what could have been better? During a per­for­mance review, managers and de­part­ment heads have the chance to respond to the wishes of an employee. Whether the em­ploy­ees' goals are realistic and which measures they have to take in order to achieve them can also be discussed in an employee review.

There are many different occasions for dis­cus­sions between employees and boss. The contents mentioned so far play a role above all in the annual meeting or in general feedback meetings. However, even in meetings with employees on specific occasions, it is not necessary to discuss just a single topic. Employees and bosses can certainly use the dis­cus­sion situation to address further issues. There are several occasions for per­for­mance reviews, here are some examples:

• Annual meeting: An annual meeting gives bosses and employees the op­por­tu­ni­ty to talk about goals, successes, and problems.
• Feedback: A feedback meeting may be more general, but still has room to review plans and ideas for the future.
• Problems: If a boss notices that an employee has problems in certain areas, a dis­cus­sion can help uncover the causes and find solutions.
• Conflicts: If you notice that there are conflicts between col­leagues, a dis­cus­sion is the first step to defuse the situation.
• Success: Special triumphs can also be the occasion for a dis­cus­sion in which you then analyze what made this out­stand­ing per­for­mance possible.
• Return: An employee who has not been in the company for a long time due to illness, pregnancy, or a sab­bat­i­cal can be brought up to date during an employee meeting.
• Ad­vance­ment: If an employee has ambitions to advance in the hierarchy of the company, the cor­re­spond­ing pos­si­bil­i­ties can be explored in dialogue.
• Ter­mi­na­tion: If an employee has to be fired, it is a must that the boss and the employee talk about the reasons for this.
• Res­ig­na­tion: No matter whether vol­un­tar­i­ly or not ­– a final dis­cus­sion helps both parties to achieve better in the future.
• Wages: Both in the case of salary cuts or bonuses, or increases, a dis­cus­sion is necessary in which the reasons for the change are discussed.

The con­ver­sa­tion between employees and su­per­vi­sors has many positive effects:

Ideally, an employee review should not only be an event that takes place once a year, but also to open or keep open the com­mu­ni­ca­tion channel across hi­er­ar­chi­cal levels. This gives employees the feeling that they can make un­sched­uled contact with the su­per­vi­sor should there be a need.

If both sides engage, a per­for­mance review can strength­en working relations. The pre­req­ui­site for this is that both approach the matter with sincerity and are prepared to talk openly.

If you feel taken seriously, this also improves the mood in the company. For this effect to occur, however, it is necessary that the con­ver­sa­tion does not only run in one direction. If the su­per­vi­sor signals to their employee that the criticism of the employee is important to them, this improves the working at­mos­phere.

During the per­for­mance review, su­per­vi­sors also have the op­por­tu­ni­ty to provide mo­ti­vat­ing impulses. If you praise your employees for their success and show them prospects for im­prove­ment, this can have a positive effect on mo­ti­va­tion. The will­ing­ness to perform should always be higher after an interview than before.

A per­for­mance review ensures that you meet each other openly. The other person is perceived less in his or her position and more strongly as a person. The dif­fer­ences that exist with regard to re­spon­si­bil­i­ty and salary lose their sig­nif­i­cance for social in­ter­ac­tion and the bond is strength­ened.

It is often not clear to both sides what exactly char­ac­ter­izes the work of the other and which scenarios take place in the back­ground. In con­ver­sa­tions, the employee sometimes learns reasons for man­age­ment decisions and on the other hand the boss learns what chal­lenges the employees have to contend with.

It makes sense to deal with one's own goals even before a per­for­mance review – this applies to both sides. However, an open dis­cus­sion also makes it possible to identify new goals and open up new per­spec­tives.

During the interview, the employee has the op­por­tu­ni­ty to con­tribute his or her ideas. This can either ensure that the points mentioned are im­ple­ment­ed directly, or that the employee is given more re­spon­si­bil­i­ty so that they can implement the ideas them­selves.

Su­per­vi­sors often do not even notice that conflicts arise among their employees. In a one-on-one interview, however, things are openly discussed that otherwise can only be noticed sub­lim­i­nal­ly (if at all). By talking to different employees, the su­per­vi­sor can get a com­pre­hen­sive picture of the situation.

In par­tic­u­lar, the regular annual meetings more or less follow a pre­de­fined pattern. This can be roughly divided into three phases: First, the current situation is discussed in an analysis. The next step is to plan for the future. In this phase, clear tasks for the coming months are named. Finally, in the third phase, the long-term per­spec­tives are discussed. These are not yet planned in concrete terms, but the goals and de­vel­op­ment op­por­tu­ni­ties discussed are already recorded in writing.

In practice, one should try to navigate the con­ver­sa­tion fluently from one dis­cus­sion point to the next and dispense with a rigid division. Although there is usually a cor­re­spond­ing script or a ques­tion­naire (usually prepared by the HR de­part­ment) as a guideline, the most important thing is to be able to talk openly. Therefore, it can happen that you skip points at first, only to address them at the end. The following topics normally occur in every per­for­mance review.

• Con­ver­sa­tion goals: What is on the agenda? Before the actual dis­cus­sion begins, it is ad­van­ta­geous if both sides agree on goals.
• Ret­ro­spec­tive: What has happened in recent months? Employees and bosses look back on the chal­lenges of the past. Both also build a mental bridge from the previous interview to the current one.
• Praise & criticism: What went well and what didn't? Su­per­vi­sors must also praise successes in order to increase employee loyalty. Negative aspects, however, must not be concealed under any cir­cum­stances.
• De­vel­op­ment potential: How can it continue? The su­per­vi­sor shows the employee in which areas they can develop further.
• New tasks: What re­spon­si­bil­i­ties does the employee assume? The employee applies for new tasks or gets them suggested by their boss. The new oblig­a­tions can be written down in a target agreement.
• Planning: What are the concrete steps? So that the employee can do justice to the new tasks, employees and bosses agree on the necessary in­ter­me­di­ate steps.
• Summary: What was discussed? So that both sides are on the same level at the end and no mis­un­der­stand­ings arise, it makes sense to summarize every­thing discussed and planned again at the end.

In order for a per­for­mance review to be con­struc­tive and suc­cess­ful, it is not only important what you discuss, but also when, how, and where. For the meeting between employee and su­per­vi­sor to be positive for both sides, having enough time is the most important thing. It does not make sense to postpone the per­for­mance review briefly and spon­ta­neous­ly between two ap­point­ments. You should take at least 30 minutes and maybe even a whole hour off if the interview should last longer. Ap­point­ment and duration are announced to both sides with suf­fi­cient advance notice so that no other meetings come in between.

A per­for­mance review is con­fi­den­tial and, although it takes place in a pro­fes­sion­al en­vi­ron­ment, it may also reveal emotions and an employee’s private life to a certain extent. For this reason, picking a space where both employees and bosses can be assured that they are in con­fi­dence is ideal.

As a rule, a per­for­mance review takes place between two people. However, it is quite possible for the employee to call in a trusted rep­re­sen­ta­tive from the works council. This can be par­tic­u­lar­ly useful if it is not a regular annual meeting, but rather a negative occasion. An impartial third party can then later judge more ob­jec­tive­ly what was actually said and what was the subject of the dis­cus­sion in the event of dis­crep­an­cies.

Mutual ap­pre­ci­a­tion is a core element of a good per­for­mance review. This should also be reflected con­crete­ly in the content and choice of words. The beginning of the interview is a good time to show respect for others. This also fa­cil­i­tates con­struc­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion. If critical topics are addressed, it makes sense to express your ap­pre­ci­a­tion again at the end of the con­ver­sa­tion so that both sides can leave the con­ver­sa­tion with a good feeling.

A sign of respect is also suf­fi­cient prepa­ra­tion: the employee should think in advance about what goals they want to pursue in the future and what support they need from the employer to achieve them. But it is even more important that the su­per­vi­sor prepares - most bosses and team leaders have several employees under them and can therefore not remember all the details of each one. So that a search in the personnel file does not start during the con­ver­sa­tion, it is ab­solute­ly necessary that the boss has collected all important in­for­ma­tion early on and also has some ideas as to how future co­op­er­a­tion with the employee could look like.

Every per­for­mance review is shaped by the per­son­al­i­ties of the par­tic­i­pants. You have to react ap­pro­pri­ate­ly to the em­ploy­ee's history, wishes, and re­quire­ments in order for the interview to be sat­is­fac­to­ry. To not forget important points, however, it can make sense to stick to a template during the per­for­mance review. A checklist of this kind provides structure and at the same time serves as support for thought.

A good prepa­ra­tion ensures that you as the employer can con­cen­trate fully on the employee during the interview and have all important in­for­ma­tion ready.

Make an ap­point­ment: Set the date for the per­for­mance review in good time. Schedule at least one hour for the interview.

Reserve a room: A quiet room is required so that open com­mu­ni­ca­tion can take place during the feedback meeting.

Inform employees: Not only should you inform the employee about the time and place of the meeting, you should also ask them to prepare for the meeting as much as possible.

Gathering in­for­ma­tion: The dis­cus­sion is specif­i­cal­ly about the employee and their per­for­mance goals. Therefore it is necessary that you have all in­for­ma­tion about the employee at hand. Some in­for­ma­tion can be found in the personnel file, some has to be collected specif­i­cal­ly. If you take notes on certain mile­stones of the employee during operation, this will help you with the prepa­ra­tion. Important in­for­ma­tion in advance is:

• Contract details
• Term of em­ploy­ment
• Current remit
• Per­for­mance
• Target agree­ments
• Par­tic­u­lar successes
• Par­tic­u­lar failures
• Feedback from other col­leagues

Rethink de­vel­op­ment: Think in advance about what potential your employees can tap and what new re­spon­si­bil­i­ties they can assume in the future. This allows you to address these topics in a targeted manner during the meeting and you do not have to plan a follow-up ap­point­ment.

A script can help you not to lose the thread in a con­ver­sa­tion. However, you should keep in mind that the script is only a kind of memory aid and does not provide a rigid structure. Certain points should be worked through, but not nec­es­sar­i­ly in the order of the script. They should give the employee the op­por­tu­ni­ty to help shape the course of the con­ver­sa­tion – this is the only way con­struc­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion can work.

In­tro­duc­tion: Be friendly to the employee and talk to them re­spect­ful­ly, and this will create a con­struc­tive en­vi­ron­ment. Your in­tro­duc­tion can include:

• A greeting
• Creating a positive at­mos­phere
• Name time frame

Reason for the con­ver­sa­tion: It is important that you and the employee are at the same level. So, at the beginning, decide again what you want to do next and how the interview will proceed.

• Repeat reason for call (e.g. annual call)
• Agree on meeting goals
• Explain the procedure

Exchange: Both you and your employee should discuss the current situation together. In this way, (potential) problems can also be iden­ti­fied.

• Work situation
• Lead­er­ship
• Teamwork

Balance: A review of the last interview and what has changed in the em­ploy­ee's day-to-day work as a result is a good tran­si­tion from the pre­lim­i­nary interview to the actual feedback.

• Back reference to past per­for­mance reviews
• Changes since the last con­ver­sa­tion
• Recent special incidents
• Special chal­lenges in the recent past
• Achieve­ments
• Failures

Per­cep­tions: You and your employee may have different per­spec­tives on the facts. It is par­tic­u­lar­ly important for both sides to describe their views when dealing with con­tro­ver­sial issues.

• The em­ploy­ee's point of view
• As­sess­ment of current per­for­mance

Frus­tra­tions: An open and clear dis­cus­sion, in which negative aspects are also addressed, can raise emotions. Give your employees the op­por­tu­ni­ty to express their frus­tra­tion. Take each other's feelings seriously, but don't get carried away into an emotional dis­cus­sion.

De­vel­op­ment per­spec­tives: Once the current situation has been discussed, planning for the future can begin. Discuss the em­ploy­ee's ambitions and the possible options.

• The em­ploy­ee's wishes
• De­vel­op­ment po­ten­tials
• Possible new tasks (areas)
• Career op­por­tu­ni­ties

Agree­ments: On the basis of the dis­cus­sion about possible per­spec­tives, you can work with the employee to make concrete plans for the coming weeks and months. Together, you decide on the period in which trans­for­ma­tions are to be completed.

• Timeframe
• Trainings
• New as­sign­ments
• Necessary steps, which are required for further de­vel­op­ment

Con­clu­sion: Ensure that the meeting comes to a positive con­clu­sion. An employee should not leave the meeting feeling dis­ap­point­ed.

• Summary
• Prospect of suc­ces­sion talks
• Thanks for the interview

Since important goals and tasks are also discussed during the interview, action must follow after the ap­point­ment. This is how the trans­for­ma­tion can start.

Phrasing: During the con­ver­sa­tion, you will have taken notes. Type them up as soon as possible so that you still un­der­stand what was discussed in a year's time. Make the document available to your employee as well.

For­ward­ing: If there are special forms, such as an review sheet, forward them to the right people in the HR de­part­ment.

Mo­ti­va­tion: New tasks or training courses that have been agreed upon must now be im­ple­ment­ed.

Learning: Every employee review brings you new insights for the future. Think about what you want to do dif­fer­ent­ly in the next per­for­mance review and which strate­gies worked well.

Even as an employee, there are some points that you should bear in mind during a per­for­mance review. If you are well prepared, and want a con­struc­tive end result, the feedback interview can help you get ahead. A good prepa­ra­tion will help you enor­mous­ly during the interview.

Although you do not have to prepare as much as your su­per­vi­sor, you probably do not have all the important moments of the past year in mind either. Go through your documents and your memory: What was special in the past months? What successes have you achieved? What problems did you have to put up with? Intensive prepa­ra­tion also prevents you from being surprised or even taken by surprise in the con­ver­sa­tion – for example, you can think of the right words to be able to react to criticism. But also consider how best to present your successes to your boss.

Be proactive: Set goals for the future. What do you want to achieve in the short and long term? Don't expect your boss or team leader to assign you new tasks and more re­spon­si­bil­i­ty. You can choose ambitious goals, but also stay realistic and think about what you can actually achieve in the coming months. Figure out how you’ll justify why you are suitable for the ad­di­tion­al areas of re­spon­si­bil­i­ty. If you have already con­sid­ered which measures you can qualify for new areas of re­spon­si­bil­i­ty, you can quickly provide a suitable answer to this question in the feedback dis­cus­sion.

Don't go too de­fen­sive­ly, or even ag­gres­sive­ly, into your review. Your su­per­vi­sor would also like to have a positive dis­cus­sion and would like to leave the meeting with con­struc­tive ideas. So keep calm even in critical moments. Be friendly and show will­ing­ness to improve in case of criticism.

Nobody's perfect – you will certainly hear criticism from your su­per­vi­sor. However, this is rarely a cause for concern, instead, it is a chance for im­prove­ment. Take the feedback seriously, signal interest, and show that you want to improve on the points mentioned.

For some it is even harder to express criticism than to accept it – es­pe­cial­ly to a boss. Some bosses don't want this mutual feedback, others will ask you to do so. Be prepared for this as well. Make your points of criticism, but remain objective and diplo­mat­ic. In addition, you should not forget to be positive! Su­per­vi­sors also like to hear praise.

In the best case scenario, you have several new goals in mind after the per­for­mance review that you should tackle as quickly as possible. These include

• Implement feedback
• Approach new tasks
• Planning further training

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