Template

Performance review template

A look back at the year and a plan for the next one, with no surprises in it.

60 minutesFor Managers and the people on their teamAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. How the year went, in your words10 min
    • What are you proudest of?
    • What would you do again differently?
  2. What went well, with examples12 min
    • Here are three things I saw you do well. Which mattered most to you?
  3. What to get better at, with examples15 min
    • Here is one thing that would make the biggest difference. Does it ring true?
    • What would help you with it?
  4. Pay, level and what happens next10 min
    • Say the decision plainly, and what it was based on.
  5. Goals for the next six months13 min
    • What do you want to be able to do by then that you cannot do now?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Went well. Took over the billing migration in March and finished it with no lost invoices.

To get better at. Asking for help earlier: the import bug sat for nine days.

Goals. Lead a project with two other people by June; run the Tuesday planning from next month.

Running it well

Ways to change it

Mid-year checkThirty minutes. Skip pay and level; keep what is going well, what to work on and the goals.
Self-review firstThey send their own view of the year two days before, and the meeting starts from where the two views differ.

When to skip it. Do not skip it — but move it if either of you has just had bad news. A review needs both people able to listen.

Questions

How do you run a performance review?

Let them speak first, give examples for everything you say, be clear about pay and level, and end with goals you both wrote down.

How long should a performance review take?

An hour. Less and it becomes a verdict; more and the point gets lost.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

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