Your Gambit

It’s Time to Rethink Performance Reviews…

Performance reviews have long been known as an annual conversation between employees and managers that are an often nerve-wracking meeting where past performance is scrutinized, feedback is given, and salary increments are decided. As an HR professional, I’ve had countless employees express frustration, saying their managers were unfair in scoring them or biased in favor of certain team members, leading to higher increments or even undeserved promotions.

Frankly, it’s time to retire this outdated system.

Yearly performance reviews were designed during the early 1900s as a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution. But as businesses and roles evolve, so should the way we evaluate performance.

Why Do Employees Dread Performance Reviews?

Let’s be honest most employees don’t look forward to performance reviews. For many, it’s an annual critique session where their shortcomings are highlighted, while additional responsibilities they’ve taken on or external challenges that impacted their work are conveniently overlooked.

So, as a manager, ask yourself: How can I do better? How can I make performance reviews a constructive experience rather than something employees dread?

The Problem with Annual Performance Reviews

Annual reviews often lead to unnecessary stress, awkward conversations, and, at worst, resentment. The aftermath? Weeks of disengagement, low morale, and employees second-guessing their career choices. Instead of a yearly review, companies should adopt quarterly performance check-ins that allow employees to adjust, grow, and stay aligned with company goals.

Quarterly reviews also help prevent the “halo effect,” where employees go above and beyond only in the final stretch before the review rather than maintaining consistent performance. And let’s be real—expecting employees to recall an entire year’s worth of accomplishments (when they can’t even remember last week’s dinner) is setting them up for failure.

How to Make Performance Reviews More Effective

Here are a few ways to transform performance reviews from a dreaded obligation into a valuable growth opportunity:

Encourage your employees to self evaluate

It is very important to let your team members self evaluate. To get them started you can ask them to clearly write down the answers to the following on a quarterly basis:

1. The role they were hired for versus the new responsibilities they’ve taken up or received as an opportunity. OR what were the new tasks given to them in the last quarter.
2. Their Accomplishments
3. Their Learnings
4. Their Challenges
5. Their Future Goals/Targets
6. Their Future learnings

Through this self-evaluation, as a manager you will receive an insight to an employees’ view and aspirations. As a leader you will also understand the growth the team member wishes for themselves though upskilling.

Bifurcate the role in to minimum 3 and maximum 5 core KPIs

Instead of reviewing a long list of tasks, break the role into three to five core KPIs (key performance indicators). Daily routine tasks that take minimal time should be considered supporting KPIs, while the North Star KPI being the primary reason they were hired, should be valued the highest.

Moreover analyze if the routine tasks could be automated to reduce stress and workload.

Have frequent 1:1 reviews or feedback sessions.

Performance conversations shouldn’t be limited to once a year. Schedule quarterly feedback sessions or call them “growth check-ins” to avoid the stigma of “reviews”. These meetings should be:

1. A two-way conversation, Encourage employees to share their feedback on leadership and work culture.
2. Future-focused, Only 20% should address past performance, while 80% should be about the future
3. Specific and actionable—Set clear, measurable goals for the next quarter

Open-door Policy?

Ditch the “Open-Door Policy” and Be Genuinely Accessible. We might as well remove the door, think about it, saying “My door is always open” is easy, but how often do employees actually feel comfortable walking in? Instead, spend at least 45 minutes daily with your team, preferably before lunch or during a casual coffee break, (PS: Coffee or Tea may help with the bonding process ;)) and have a conversation that is not necessarily about that presentation that was due over an hour ago from Mr. X, but it could be something light that keeps you approachable.

Having regular check-in once a month one on one may also help smoothen the performance reviews that are held.

Gather Peer Feedback Thoughtfully

While you have the conversation with your whole team on a 1:1 basis quarterly, take feedback from the peers for their peers. While gathering peer feedback, ensure it’s constructive and unbiased. Never pass along feedback as office gossip, filter it through a leadership lens and frame it in a way that helps the employee grow.

Make notes of the accomplishments

Great managers don’t rely on memory alone. Keep track of each team member’s contributions throughout the year, not just when review season rolls around.

1. Refer back to your notes in quarterly reviews – This ensures employees receive well-rounded, data-backed feedback rather than vague, last-minute assessments.
2. Document accomplishments in real time – Did an employee go above and beyond on a project? Note it down immediately.
3. Track feedback from various touchpoints – Include insights from 1:1 check-ins, peer feedback, and client interactions.

By maintaining records, you not only make the review process fairer but also help employees see their progress and areas of improvement more clearly.

Offer support and opportunity

Growth should be continuous. Encourage employees to learn a new skill every quarter to prepare them for future leadership roles. If your team isn’t learning, they aren’t growing—and a stagnant team leads to a stagnant organization.

Be an active listener

Work is never ending and distractions are limitless, there will be calls from clients, bosses, or emails and texts. But, keep it all aside when doing the quarterly review or while spending time with your team. A person who receives another’s undivided attention makes them feel they’ve been heard which would lead them to feel valued, wanted and appreciated.

It is key to note that not everyone has a well built and equipped vocabulary or a way of words. so focus on understanding the intent behind their words rather than getting caught up in phrasing. Take a pause, process and derive what you need to move forward.

In conclusion, Performance reviews shouldn’t be about looking back with regret; they should be about looking forward with purpose. If you want a high-performing, motivated team, move away from outdated annual reviews and shift towards quarterly, growth-focused check-ins that empower employees to do their best work.

After all, great leadership isn’t about managing, it’s about leading, mentoring, and helping your team thrive.