Employee reviews can be a powerful tool for engaging and motivating your team. Here are three rules to help supercharge your employee reviews.

By David Schreiner

Employee reviews can be fraught with tension on both sides of the table. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

At your place of business, are reviews a rote exercise met with dread from both parties? Or is it an inspirational opportunity for you as a leader to meaningfully engage with the people who matter most to you – people who play a key role in achieving organizational goals?

Here are three ways to supercharge your employee reviews.

Rule 1: No surprises

Regular one-to-one meetings throughout the year are a best practice that allows the leader and the employee to ensure priorities and actions are aligned. If something comes up for the first time during the employee review, especially something negative, that’s on the manager.

These one-to-one meetings should have an agenda that includes:

• A catch-up on personal items the employee chooses to share (think kids sports or a new job for their partner)
• Personal development
• A review of key performance indicators
• A discussion of obstacles to success the leader might be able to mitigate
• Dreaming for the next period

These one-to-ones can be accomplished in 30 minutes or less. If the scope of control for the leader doesn’t allow time for these conferences due to the number of direct reports, I suggest you look at your organizational chart.

Rule 2: What’s the one thing?

I love to ask colleagues this question as a component of our annual review: What’s the one thing you could learn, change, or develop to make everything else easier?

My experience is that much like the resolution of a customer service complaint, the ask is much easier to deliver than you might expect. This question often leads to a discussion of a task the employee performs that does not allow them to operate at the top of their license. Could this person be freed up to thrive if you as the leader took that task off their hands and assigned it to someone at a lower level of the workplace?

Think about how you would feel if you could give away something you do not enjoy doing, but someone has to do that job. By listening to your employee during the review and following through, removing an obstacle that’s hindering their growth, that employee might deliver a new and exciting performance.

Are there tools your employees need to increase their performance? Software, technology, and devices in the marketplace might lead to greater productivity and enjoyment of the work. Microsoft Copilot has revolutionized the way I communicate. Artificial intelligence is changing the way we work.

Leaders should ask themselves, What is the core role of this individual, and what could be added to their toolbelt? The key here is not to offer suggestions but to ask for their thoughts. As discussed above, the cost might have a positive return on investment.

Rule 3: Dream

This is my favorite part of the annual employee review. Ask your colleagues to imagine themselves in their lives one year from now. The past year has exceeded everyone’s and, most importantly, their own expectations.

They met and exceeded every key performance indicator. Leadership recognized them as making a meaningful contribution towards the company’s success. And their professional satisfaction and feeling of success exceeded their wildest expectations.

Here is the critical component to this challenge: encourage them to describe that moment one year from now in vivid detail.

• What happened?
• How did it feel?
• Who was instrumental in making them so successful?
• How did their family and friends react to their success?
• How did this level of astonishing success change their life?

I want them to feel it, breathe it, soak in it. To thrive as human beings, we have to dream. We must imagine a state that makes us feel fulfilled on multiple levels.

In conclusion, employee reviews can be a powerful tool for engaging and motivating your team. By following the three rules of no surprises, focusing on the one thing that can make everything else easier, and dreaming about the future, you can supercharge your employee reviews and help your team members achieve their full potential. Take the time to invest in your team and see the results in increased productivity, satisfaction, and success … for you and them!