Strategies to Improve Performance Reviews

I stopped performing annual reviews. 99% of the time they don’t increase actual performance.  Give me 2 minutes. I'll show you what I did instead: 👇 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 • Break free from traditional annual reviews. • Be a year-round coach, not a once-a-year judge. • Continuous feedback, like a sports coach, is key. 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 • Avoid misalignment with clear, measurable goals. • Limit to 3 major goals. • Employees set personal goals aligning with these. • Focus: 80% on these goals, 20% on everything else. 𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝟭𝘅𝟭 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 • Essential for ongoing feedback. • Ideal timing: 60 minutes every two weeks. • Discuss progress on top 3 goals. • Address blockers & celebrate successes. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸-𝗜𝗻𝘀 • Extend a regular 1x1 to 90 minutes quarterly. • Explore the employee’s broader career aspirations. • Discuss quarterly performance. • Checkin on personal development (see next) 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 • Traditional reviews list too many improvement areas. • Focus on ONE key area for yearly improvement. • Agree on the area together. • Review progress in quarterly sessions.    👇 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗧𝗶𝗽𝘀 For 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 1. Make every 1x1 a coaching opportunity. 2. Consistently give feedback or praise. 3. Avoid canceling 1x1s – they're crucial. 4. Repeated mistakes may indicate a poor fit. 5. Link bonuses to both company and individual goals (50/50 split). Ditch the bureaucracy and transform performance management into a tool for real feedback and personal growth! 📈 _____ Enjoy this? Repost to your network and follow me Scot Chisholm for more! 📌  P.S. I'm writing about how to delegate like a pro this Friday to all my newsletter subscribers. Sign up here: scotchisholm.com  

Rethinking Performance Reviews: From Ratings to Impact What if we stopped assigning performance ratings and instead started recognizing performance by its impact? Employers: If you are embracing a performance model rooted in continuous feedback and want to develop a growth-oriented culture, consider using “Degree of Impact” as your metric. "Degree of Impact" measures the scope, significance, and sustainability of an employee's contributions across four dimensions: 1.       Business Outcomes – Driving team and organization results 2.       Customer Value – Improving customer results, experience, and satisfaction 3.       Team Success – Collaborating to elevate others and their results 4.       Enabling Others – Coaching, mentoring, and sharing tools as well as knowledge Instead of a static rating scale, we assess outcomes in terms of Low, Medium, or High Impact: Low Impact - Definition: Contributions are consistent with role expectations but have a localized or short-term effect. Indicators: (a) Completed assigned tasks reliably (b) Minimal innovation or change driven by employee (c) Supported team members occasionally (d) No measurable change in business or customer outcomes Medium Impact - Definition: Contributions moderately exceed role expectations and affect broader team or process outcomes. Indicators: (a) Initiated improvements or solved moderate challenges (b) Enhanced efficiency or quality in a repeatable way (c) Regularly assisted peers or improved team dynamics (d) Helped retain customers or improved customer feedback High Impact - Definition: Contributions significantly exceed role expectations, drives lasting change or substantial business/customer success. Indicators: (a) Led major initiatives or innovations (b) Directly contributed to revenue growth, cost savings, or major customer wins (c) Elevated team performance through mentoring, coaching, or creating reusable resources/tools (d) Role-modeled feedback and improvement culture; helped multiple others succeed This model shifts the focus to fueling high performance broadly. It gives leaders better insight into who’s creating real, scalable, and sustainable value. It can also be linked to compensation and career growth: Base pay increases and bonuses reflect the level of impact, not just tenure or task completion. This approach helps build a culture of ownership, growth, recognition, and continuous improvement. Are you using something similar in your organization? #Compensation #CareerDevelopment #HR #TotalRewards #PerformanceManagement #ContinuousFeedback #PeopleFirst #CompensationConsultant #TalentManagement https://shorturl.at/0BeN4

“Winging it” in performance reviews or employee check-in meetings will get you nowhere. I learned this lesson the hard way. In the early stages of Executive Presence, I would hold open-ended, monthly check-ins with each team member, thinking I was being flexible and giving them space to bring up anything they wanted to discuss. I wanted their constructive feedback on the company as much I wanted to offer my own on their performance. But over time, I realized these 1:1 review sessions were not as productive as I thought. People didn’t always know how to use that time effectively. That’s when I worked with my executive coach, Victoria (Tory) Wobber, CPCC, and she gave me a simple but powerful piece of advice: “Give more structure to the conversation in advance.” Instead of a free-for-all, I started framing the discussion with clear, intentional questions - ones that gave my team a chance to reflect before our meeting. These are the questions I started using: 1️⃣ How are you doing outside of work? Anything new? 2️⃣ How are we supporting our clients? Any suggestions for improvement? 3️⃣ How are we functioning as a team? Any feedback or ideas? 4️⃣ Anything else you’d like to discuss? This approach shifted the dynamic. People were able to come to the table with thoughtful responses, and the conversation became more meaningful. I could use my time better, and my team members felt more prepared and empowered to engage. If you're looking for additional tips on making your performance reviews or other 1:1 meetings more meaningful, check out a recent Forbes article combining advice from 20 Forbes Business Council members (see if you can spot me 👋): https://lnkd.in/gyCnHQeX Structured, intentional questions turn scattered check-ins into powerful conversations. Give your team the time and direction to prepare, reflect, and engage deeply.

Teams with continuous feedback programs show 23% higher profitability and 18% greater productivity than those relying on outdated annual performance reviews. AI ALPI research has uncovered a critical shift in top-performing HR departments. While 76% of organizations still rely on annual reviews, market leaders are leveraging technology-enabled continuous feedback loops that drive real business outcomes. → Weekly micro-feedback sessions are replacing quarterly or annual reviews, creating psychological safety and real-time course correction ↳ This approach reduces employee anxiety and creates 3x more actionable insights than traditional methods → AI-powered tools now enable performance tracking without the administrative burden ↳ HR leaders implementing these systems report 42% reduction in management time spent on performance administration → Human-centered leadership training has become a critical enabler ↳ Organizations investing in empathy-driven feedback skills see 37% higher retention rates among high performers Companies that implemented continuous feedback systems initially saw a temporary 15% drop in satisfaction as managers adjusted to more frequent, meaningful conversations. By month three, both engagement and productivity metrics surpassed previous levels by significant margins. 🔥 Want more breakdowns like this? Follow along for insights on: → Getting started with AI in HR teams → Scaling AI adoption across HR functions → Building AI competency in HR departments → Taking HR AI platforms to enterprise market → Developing HR AI products that solve real problems #ContinuousFeedback #HRTech #FutureOfWork #LeadershipDevelopment #PerformanceManagement

It's that time of year again - Performance Reviews. I know it's a not the most exciting task on your list right now but I have 5 tips to help you get the most out of it. 1. Provide a Self Assessment I'm a firm believer that when it comes to performance reviews, you need to be your own biggest advocate. Your manager is leading several other people and I guarantee they don't remember your every win this year - so help them help you! Some companies make this optional, and some don't provide a formal way to do this at all. But even if you need to send your self assessment via email, do it! 2. Highlight Key Projects and Contributions Choose a few standout projects where you played a significant role. Be sure to describe your unique contributions and the positive outcomes they led to. 3. Highlight Your Impact Whenever possible, quantify your achievements. For example, instead of saying, "I improved team efficiency," say, "I improved team efficiency by 30% by doing X." Numbers make your contributions more tangible. 4. Showcase Initiative Emphasize any areas where you took initiative to solve challenges... things that weren't necessarily assigned to you, but work that you did because it needed to be done. This highlights your proactive approach at going over and beyond. 5. Include Feedback from Others If you've received positive feedback from colleagues, clients or even your manager themselves, mention it in your self-assessment. This provides an external perspective on your contributions and reinforces your claims. Good luck!

It's mid-year, which means many leaders are conducting employee performance reviews. That's good—delaying until year-end is too late. More frequently is better, yet if you're not giving feedback the right way, it's pointless! Too often, reviews are unhelpful and vague, lacking concrete examples or clear explanations of how employees' work impacts customers. It creates confusion, low morale, and turnover. Research indicates: Only 31% of U.S. employees are engaged at work—the lowest in a decade (Gallup, 2025). 24% of employees would quit their jobs because of ineffective performance appraisals (Folkshr, 2025). The good news: You can turn it around at your company. Here are examples that benefit both individuals and those they serve. ✖️ Instead of: “You’re doing great.” ✔️ Say: “You took direct customer complaints and brought them into our weekly meeting. Because of that, we fixed an onboarding error that caused 40% of new users to call support in their first week.” ✖️ Instead of: “You’re a team player.” ✔️ Say: “You supported the product managers by sharing relevant customer feedback they didn’t have. That collaboration saved time—and solved the issue faster.” These are real examples. I’ve led hundreds of performance reviews—and been on the receiving end, too. I know how easy it is to get it wrong. And how powerful it is when you get it right. Want more actionable strategies? Message and follow me on LinkedIn + subscribe to my newsletter. What are your views? Comment below. #DoingCXRight #customerexperience #leadership

This performance review season, let's do away with "Start, stop, continue." It's insulting and passive-aggressive on many levels. You know what you MEAN to say, but here's what others hear at each stage: Start - I waited all year to say that you should start doing these good things, which you currently don't do. Stop - Again, I waited all year to tell you to stop doing these things you do now. Continue - You're not a complete idiot. To make you feel better, here are a few things you actually got right. I'll save this part for last. Instead, focus on these more constructive areas: 1️⃣ Don't save it up. Deliver feedback in real time throughout the year. 2️⃣ Give examples. Provide specific anecdotes and share what you'd like to see done differently. 3️⃣ Be actionable. If someone knew how to address their opportunities, they'd have already done it. How do you help them make improvements? 4️⃣ Show support. Your role isn't just to critique — it's to coach. Ask how you can help them grow and reach their goals. 5️⃣ Celebrate growth. Recognize progress and the effort behind it, not just the results. This performance review season let's elevate how we develop and support our teams. What are your go-to feedback strategies? Drop them below! 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾

Managers, how can you build trust with employees during performance appraisals? YOU CAN'T. In fact, your employee appraisal process creates the appraisal resentment and mistrust you’re trying to avoid! Approximately 90% of the tens of thousands of managers I've worked with globally tell me they don't do any pro-active, intentional observation (remote observation or in the field). In fact, a Forbes study reported that only 13% of employees agree that the performance reviews they receive inspire them to improve and wasn't a true indicator of performance. Granted, there are some industries, such as pharma, where intentional observation in the field is part of their sales culture. When I ask most companies how they evaluate performance, I hear, "I look at the data, activity and results." Then, stop calling it a PERFORMANCE review and call it what it is; a RESULT review. How can a manager review performance if they're not observing their people perform? And why is this only done once or twice a year? Assumptions are then made around WHAT they're doing in activity, and how they're doing things, based on their results. The cost is, bias, a negative work environment, ineffective, subjective guidance from the manager and the erosion of morale and trust. Here are six alternatives to the dreaded annual performance review: 1. Focus on accomplishments and goals to reinforce desired behavior. 2. Have more frequent reviews. Rather than one or two formal performance reviews a year, consistent coaching and feedback is the conduit to better performance and NEVER stops, making the reviews more valuable, relevant and personal. If the review comes as a shock to your employee, that's an indication of a lack of effective, consistent coaching and communication. 3. Get more input. Ask for feedback on you and your management style, and what they need most from you. The performance review goes both ways, which builds trust. 4. Replace formal review with casual feedback. This can only happen if your observing what they're doing. 5. Separate feedback from compensation. 6. Review the review. Assess with your employee the process, what they'd like to see improved or changed in the process, and how valuable it was. #performanceappraisal #management

Here's how one company made reviews more objective with just 5 key questions. Crystal Boysen, CPO at Sprout Social, shared how they transformed their performance process. Instead of subjective essays, they now use 5 simple rating-scale questions: 1. "How well did this person consistently achieve their performance targets?" (1-5) 2. "What's their overall impact on the company/team?" (1-5) 3. "If they told you today they were leaving, would you fight to keep them?" (1-5) 4. "Does this person have an immediate performance problem that needs addressing?" 5. "How well do they demonstrate our values?" (1-5) The magic? Their system auto-calculates recommended ratings based on these responses. No more manager bias. No more writing novels. Key benefits: - Saves managers tons of time - More objective/consistent ratings - Clear connection to compensation decisions - Better data for identifying top performers What's the biggest pain point in your performance review process? Link to the full episode in the comments. #hr #leadership #management #performancemanagement