The End of the Pointless Annual Review

No Surprises

The golden rule of performance reviews is that there should be zero surprises. If an employee is hearing about a performance issue for the first time in an annual review, the manager has failed.

The SBI Feedback Model

When giving feedback, use the Situation-Behavior-Impact framework.

• Situation: Be specific about when and where. (e.g., 'In yesterday's client meeting...')
• Behavior: Describe the observable behavior. (e.g., '...you interrupted the client three times.')
• Impact: Describe the result. (e.g., '...which caused the client to shut down and end the meeting early.')

Calibration

Ensure your ratings are aligned with other managers. A 'Meets Expectations' should mean the same thing across the entire organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a review document be?

Keep it under two pages. Bullet points are better than prose.

Should compensation be tied to the review meeting?

Best practice is to separate performance feedback from compensation discussions by at least a few weeks.