1) Use video technology for your performance reviews. I know about zoom fatigue and burnout from too many meetings, yet this is one meeting where you really want to see body language and facial expressions of each other so step it up and plan to use video. Don’t just introduce video for the review, make sure you are using it for some one-on-one meetings prior to the review discussion. And of course, let the employee know you will plan to use video

2) Assess their engagement level during performance reviews. In “The Connection Blueprint: Your leadership guide to a year of one-on-one meetings ” provides an Employee Engagement Checkpoint on page 76. This checkpoint is for you as the leader to consider some questions to assess the engagement level of this employee today.

Questions include:

     A) How would you define the relationship(with this employee) so far?
          How is the openness/trust/transparency?

     B) How is the performance of this employee overall?

Consider what you can do as a leader to impact engagement and what messages you would like them to hear about their engagement. Our reviews should always include both what they have accomplished, and how they have done so, which leads to strategy #3.

3) Highlight 2020 accomplishments and focus on key remote skills demonstrated, providing specific examples of performance while in the performance reviews.  Ideally, you have kept documentation all year on projects completed, customer accolades and challenges addressed, or constructive feedback given and opportunities missed. The review should recap these.

The year 2020 has required skills that were not needed as much in previous years. Consider the employee’s demonstration of resilience, resourcefulness, change management, stress management, prioritization, and overall remote communication skills as you assess their highs and lows of the past year.

Keep in mind that the performance reviews should be a recap of conversations you have had throughout the year so nothing should be a surprise. In “The Connection Blueprint”, Use Session 43: Question 1. What is the most important feedback I have given you this year? to recap previous feedback discussions. Use session 50: What metaphor or analogy would you use to describe this past year? What are you most proud of? When have you had the most fun?

4) Look forward. Employees look to you, their leader for a vision and hope for the future. Make sure you spend a good amount of time discussing their career development. For example in “The Connection Blueprint”, Session 10: To help you do your job, what could you change about either your work environment or the skills you need to develop to get your work done? What soft skills would you like to improve on? Who do you think models these skills at our company?

Start and end the performance review with your key message about their performance this past year. Often we cover a lot of information in the review, and the top performer may hone in on the one mistake they made, while someone who has not performed as well may only hear your accolades. Ask yourself this question and make sure you articulate it clearly several times to the employee. “What key message do I want them to walk away with?”

I worked with a leader who made it a point to really observe the work of his employees and provide them feedback; especially on what they did well but also on opportunities for improvement. He spent a lot of time on performance reviews. When his team was told they were disbanding and assigned roles in other parts of the company, every employee came to him and asked for a performance review before they left, even though it was not the scheduled time. He said,” Really, you want another review?” They all said yes, they valued his insights and feedback so much they wanted one more review from this leader. So he obliged and provided them one last review before they all moved on to new roles.

Employees want to know where they stand and they want a leader who pays attention. Invest in the time in your performance reviews to do them right. Your leadership matters and your connections matter, especially in 2020.

For more information on improving relationships and results through one-on-ones, check out The Connection Blueprint or contact: debbie@nodusinc.com 

Debbie Waggoner, CEO of Nodus Performance Consulting has a solid track record of success with Fortune 500 companies working with individuals, teams, and organizations to improve performance in the areas of leadership, talent development, and teamwork.