Performance Reviews FAQ Hub

For Individual Contributors
A performance review is a structured conversation with your manager about your recent work, strengths, areas for growth, and future goals. It’s a chance to reflect, receive feedback, and align your efforts with team and organizational priorities.

For People Managers
A performance review is a key touchpoint to evaluate progress, offer feedback, and align expectations. Done well, it reinforces trust, clarifies development areas, and motivates growth. It’s also an opportunity to recognize contributions and course-correct where needed.

For Individual Contributors
It helps you understand how your work is viewed, what you’re doing well, and where you can improve. It’s also a chance to share your perspective, highlight your accomplishments, and discuss your career path.

For People Managers
The purpose is to guide, develop, and support your team members. Reviews create accountability, open up honest dialogue, and enable you to align talent with business goals. They also help inform compensation, promotions, and training decisions.

For Individual Contributors
Many companies are moving away from once-a-year reviews toward more regular check-ins and real-time feedback. This shift means you may get more frequent insights that are easier to act on.

For People Managers
Modern reviews are less about ranking and more about development. Continuous performance management and coaching-style conversations are replacing rigid annual reviews in many organizations.

For Individual Contributors
You may encounter self-assessments, peer reviews, 360-degree feedback, or manager-led reviews. Each offers a different angle on your performance.

For People Managers
You may lead traditional manager reviews, or facilitate 360° reviews, upward feedback, or calibration sessions. Choose the format that best aligns with your team culture and development goals.

For Individual Contributors
At a minimum, expect an annual review. Ideally, you’ll have quarterly or biannual check-ins as well. If your organization supports continuous feedback, you might receive smaller updates more frequently.

For People Managers
Best practice is at least one formal annual review with consistent, informal feedback throughout the year. Consider quarterly touchpoints that allow for agile goal setting and continuous alignment.

For Individual Contributors
Frequent feedback is more actionable and less intimidating. Ask your manager for regular check-ins, even if your company only does annual reviews.

For People Managers
A quarterly cadence with monthly informal feedback strikes a good balance. Annual-only reviews often lead to surprise or disengagement. Continuous performance models help with retention and clarity.

For Individual Contributors
Many companies align reviews with the fiscal or calendar year. Ask your manager about the schedule so you can prepare in advance.

For People Managers
Time reviews to avoid year-end burnout and budget stress. Mid-year or early Q4 reviews give time to adjust before new goals kick in.

For Individual Contributors
Frequent feedback means less guesswork and more chances to grow. It helps you stay on track and feel seen more often.

For People Managers
Ongoing feedback fosters a culture of learning and reduces the pressure of one big annual conversation. It also allows for more dynamic performance management.

For Individual Contributors:

• Reflect on your key accomplishments and challenges over the review period.
• Gather evidence: emails, metrics, or project outcomes that support your impact.
• Review previous feedback and note what you’ve done to act on it.
• Write down career goals, stretch opportunities, and areas you want to grow in.
• Prepare a few questions for your manager (e.g., “What’s one thing I could do more of?”).

For People Managers:
If you’re also receiving a review, follow the above steps. Reflect not only on your performance but also on how you’ve supported your team’s growth and alignment with organizational goals.

For Individual Contributors
SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) help you set clear, actionable objectives.

Example: Instead of “Improve communication,” try “Lead the Q3 project kickoff meeting and send weekly team summaries to stakeholders by each Friday through September.”

For People Managers
When reviewing or helping employees set goals, check that each goal meets the SMART criteria to support fairer evaluations.

• Review the employee’s goals, outcomes, past feedback, and recent work.
• Gather input from collaborators (if applicable) for a well-rounded view.
• Identify specific examples to support both praise and developmental points.
• Anticipate sensitive topics and prepare how you’ll navigate them with care.
• Consider using a feedback framework, such as SBI™ or STAR.

For Individual Contributors:

• Start with achievements—quantify where possible.
• Note any goals that weren’t met and what you learned.
• Reflect on collaboration, adaptability, and initiative.
• Be honest, specific, and forward-looking.

For People Managers:
Use the same guidance, but consider how your leadership influenced outcomes—team performance, morale, retention, and capability building.

For Individual Contributors
Set 2–3 SMART goals. Mix performance goals (e.g., increase client satisfaction scores) with development goals (e.g., improve presentation skills).

For People Managers
Set goals tied to both business results and team development. Example: “Reduce onboarding time for new hires by 25%,” or “Hold monthly 1:1s with every direct report.”

For Individual Contributors: Self-evaluation, performance metrics (KPIs), feedback received, and a list of accomplishments.

For People Managers: Your notes and performance records, peer or client feedback, last review outcomes, and any HR-required forms.

• “What’s one thing I’ve done this year that had the most impact?”
• “What’s one skill I should focus on developing next?”
• “How am I viewed by cross-functional partners or leadership?”
• “Where do you see my next growth opportunity within the team or organization?”
• “What would excellence look like for me over the next 6–12 months?”

• “What accomplishment are you most proud of this cycle?”
• “Where did you feel most challenged, and what did you learn from it?”
• “What’s one area you’d like more support or coaching in?”
• “What motivates you right now in your role?”
• “Is there anything I can do differently to help you succeed?”

Use behavior-based questions that focus on specific actions and outcomes, not general traits.

Instead of: “Are you a team player?”
Try: “Can you walk me through a recent time you collaborated across teams, and what the result was?”

Instead of: “Do you handle pressure well?”
Try: “Tell me about a time when you had to manage multiple deadlines—how did you prioritize?”

For People Managers: Structure the process with clear goals (development vs. evaluation), confidentiality, balanced input, and a framework for analyzing patterns.

Helpful research:

• Although this paper is over 25 years old, it captures many challenges that can arise with 360s.
• This 2024 paper shows a positive link between 360-degree feedback appraisals and innovative behavior.

In the moment, aim to Listen actively, Clarify, Acknowledge, Reflect, and Act.

Consider pairing this with the 4As of receiving feedback. These processes can help build trust and show maturity.

Use a structured approach to ensure clarity and safety. One common model is SBI™ (Situation–Behavior–Impact):

• Situation – “In last week’s client meeting…”
• Behavior – “…you interrupted the client several times…”
• Impact – “…which made it difficult to fully understand their concerns.”

For Individual Contributors
Stay calm. Ask for clarification (“Can you help me understand how you came to that conclusion?”). Then, reflect privately before responding further.

For People Managers
If feedback is challenged, acknowledge their view and offer examples—but don’t escalate defensiveness. Aim for mutual clarity, not a win.

For Individual Contributors
Offer specific upward feedback: “Your openness to ideas has allowed me to feel more confident.”

For People Managers
Avoid vague praise like “great job.” Be specific: “Your attention to detail on the Q2 report helped us avoid costly errors.”

For Individual Contributors
Look for follow-through—did your manager help adjust your goals or support your development requests?

For People Managers
Look for behavioral changes, questions for clarification, or follow-up discussions.

For Individual Contributors: Summarize key points, send a follow-up email confirming next steps, and schedule check-ins.

For People Managers: Document key takeaways, follow up with a written summary, and ensure support resources are in place.

For Individual Contributors: Start with 1–2 SMART goals and ask for training or stretch assignments.

For People Managers: Co-create goals with your direct report and identify what you need to do to support the plan.

For Individual Contributors: Ask for clarification and examples. Avoid reacting defensively. If needed, involve HR as a neutral party.

For People Managers: If your direct report disagrees, listen and consider their viewpoint. Offer clear examples and invite a shared action plan.

For Individual Contributors: Use a simple document to log goals, action steps, and milestones. Share updates in regular 1:1s.

For People Managers: Schedule follow-ups (30/60/90-day check-ins) and track progress in your performance system.

For Individual Contributors: Not preparing, getting defensive, not asking questions, and ignoring the review afterward.

For People Managers: Waiting until review time to give feedback, being vague, focusing only on recent events (recency bias), and failing to check in afterward.

Vague feedback (e.g., “improve communication”) leaves employees guessing, which leads to confusion and stress. Always ask for or provide specific examples.

Use structured tools, prepare using data over time (not just memory), use behavior-based language, and educate yourself on biases like recency bias and narrative fallacy.

For People Managers: Avoid surprises (feedback should be discussed beforehand), personal criticism (focus on behavior), and bias-laden language.

For Individual Contributors
Often—but not always. They can influence decisions, but budget and role availability also play a part. It is okay to ask: “Is compensation tied to this review?”

For People Managers
Be transparent. If pay decisions are separate, say so. If linked, ensure evaluations are grounded in objective data.

• Come prepared with evidence of sustained high performance.
• Understand your org’s process and cycles.
• Be proactive—don’t wait until the review to start the conversation.
• Frame the conversation around growth and impact.

If you can’t make the decision immediately, guide the employee through the process. Avoid vague promises. Say: “Here’s what I’ll need to advocate on your behalf” or “Let’s align on a development path toward that goal.”

In the U.S., typical merit increases range from 3–5%, but high performers or promotions may receive more. Research market benchmarks for your role.

For Individual Contributors
Not entirely, but they are changing. Expect more regular check-ins and coaching throughout the year rather than just one big meeting.

For People Managers
Isolated, annual-only reviews are losing relevance. Forward-thinking orgs are shifting to continuous performance management.

It is a shift from evaluation to development. Instead of judging past performance once a year, managers help guide progress continuously through intentional 1:1s and real-time feedback.

Research suggests hybrid work does not damage performance reviews or promotion rates. However, remote work can limit visibility. Individual contributors should document achievements proactively, and managers must guard against visibility bias.

Tools can help standardize criteria, track goals, and identify bias (e.g., Textio). However, these tools should support—not replace—human conversation.

A typical cycle includes: Goal setting, Ongoing check-ins, Mid-year review, Self-evaluation, Manager evaluation, and the Review conversation.

Structure it with: Key accomplishments (with metrics), Challenges & lessons learned, Collaboration highlights, Areas for improvement, and Goals for the next cycle.

For Individual Contributors: Simple tools like Google Docs, Notion, or Trello works well to track “Wins” and “Feedback.”

For People Managers: Use your org’s software or a maintained spreadsheet for each team member noting feedback given and achievements.

Be your own system. Track your work in a document or journal. Ask for feedback periodically. Consistency matters more than the tool.