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Most of us prefer to go with the flow at work—avoiding the spotlight and keeping things low-key. After all, if you don’t stand out, you won’t face judgment or criticism.
Then comes the annual performance review. Can we skip it? It would certainly make the holidays less stressful for many!
But here’s why performance reviews matter, and how you, as a manager, can make them easier and more effective with the right best practices.
A performance review is that yearly ritual where employees and employers sit down to talk about how well the employee is doing at work. It’s designed to be a constructive conversation, a chance to reflect on your achievements, pinpoint areas for improvement, and set goals for the future.
But while performance reviews are meant to be helpful, they don’t exactly have the best reputation. According to research from Impraise, a whopping 22% of employees have called in sick to avoid the dreaded performance review, 35% have complained to their colleagues about it, and 15% have even cried during or after the meeting.
Even though performance reviews can be a bit daunting, they don’t have to be overwhelming. With the right approach, they can become a powerful tool for growth.
Performance reviews are more than just a formality. They’re an essential part of a feedback culture that drives personal and professional growth. They help you understand where you’re headed, highlight areas that need a little extra attention, and keep you on track for long-term success.
For employers, it’s an opportunity to assess whether the team is aligned with company goals, recognize accomplishments, and offer support where needed. It’s also the perfect time to identify training or development opportunities, ensuring your employees have the skills and resources they need to thrive.
For employees, effective performance reviews provide clarity on how you’re doing and where you can improve. This feedback helps you understand whether you’re meeting expectations, what goals you should focus on, and where you can grow professionally.
Improved Employee Engagement
Clearer Career Development
Better Alignment with Company Goals
Increased Accountability
Improved Communication
Better Trust and Openness
Highlighting Training Opportunities
Recognition of Achievements
Now that we understand the importance of performance reviews, let’s break down the process. While it might seem daunting at first, following a clear and structured approach can make it much easier and more effective. Here’s how to navigate the performance review process step by step:
Review Job Descriptions and Expectations
Manager: Revisit the employee’s job description and responsibilities to ensure alignment with current expectations. Update any outdated information and clarify changes in roles or responsibilities.
Employee: Reflect on your own role and make sure it aligns with your understanding of expectations.
Set Clear Performance Goals for the Year
Schedule the Performance Review Meeting
Self-Assessment
Employee: Prepare a self-assessment by evaluating your own performance. Reflect on successes, challenges, and any areas where you believe improvement is needed.
Manager: Review the self-assessment submitted by the employee. Compare it with your own observations and feedback from other sources.
Collect 360-Degree Feedback
Manager: Gather feedback from multiple sources, including colleagues, direct reports, or customers.
Employee: If possible, request feedback from your peers or direct reports about your performance.
Review Past Performance and Achievements
Manager: Look back over the employee’s work from the previous review cycle. Track their progress on goals, note any major accomplishments, and identify areas that need further attention.
Employee: Review your past achievements, challenges faced, and progress made toward your goals.
Prepare Review Materials and Documentation
Manager: Organize the review feedback, documents, and performance data into a comprehensive performance review form. Ensure the review is balanced, focusing on strengths as well as areas for improvement. Use knowledge management tools like Confluence for easy documentation. In Confluence you can, for example, use free tools like Karma or the macro suite Aura to enhance the design of your documentation. This way, the review seems immediately less frightening.
As a manager, your goal is to make the review process constructive and motivating. Here are some best practices to follow:
An effective performance review shouldn’t be one-sided. It should feel like a shared conversation. Encourage employees to give their thoughts, too.
Sharing the review document beforehand gives employees time to process your comments. This helps them come to the conversation ready with questions or thoughts. With tools like Confluence, you can easily share review templates and allow employees to submit self-assessments ahead of time.
Additionally, you can add Aura’s Interactive Status Macro to track goals or progress in real-time, which you can update seamlessly during the conversation—even in view mode—to reflect the ongoing feedback and discussion. This makes your performance review process more dynamic and transparent, with instant visibility into task or goal statuses.
Today’s work culture values flexibility, and productivity isn’t about the hours worked. Focus on the outcomes employees achieve, not just the time spent working. If an employee delivers great results while working fewer hours, that’s a win! Use Aura’s Progress macro to visually track and highlight the employee’s results in Confluence. Aura helps make the conversation more outcome-oriented, with tangible evidence of progress and impact.
A successful review balances praise and constructive feedback. Acknowledge what the employee is doing well and identify areas where they can improve. Aura’s Panel macro is perfect for structuring these conversations. You can create a separate panel for “Strengths” and another for “Growth Areas,” allowing you to easily reference the points while providing feedback in a well-organized, clear format.
End the review by setting clear goals. Use the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to make sure goals are clear and actionable. But you can also take it a step further by adopting OKRs to align your goals with broader company targets and track progress more effectively.
Once you’ve set these goals, document them in Confluence so they’re always accessible. You can even use Aura’s macro tools to set up progress tracking directly on your Confluence page.
A review shouldn’t be the end of the conversation. Ensure you follow through on any action items discussed. Set regular check-ins to track progress on goals and adjust if necessary. Use Aura’s Countdown macro to set deadlines for these action items and have a visual reminder of upcoming review milestones. This will help you stay on top of follow-up actions and ensure that employees know what’s expected in the future.
Sometimes, performance reviews are the right time to address tougher topics—like burnout, workload, or team conflicts. It’s crucial to give employees a safe space to raise these issues. This helps them move forward with clarity and support.
Use Aura’s Panels to structure conversations around these sensitive topics, making sure the employee feels heard and supported.
As an employee, the performance review is your chance to grow and develop. Here’s how you can make the most of it:
Don’t wait until the last minute to think about your performance. Before the review, take some time to reflect on your achievements, challenges, and areas for improvement.
The review is a time for learning. Be open to hearing what’s working and what isn’t. Don’t take feedback personally—use it as an opportunity to grow.
If you’re facing challenges like stress, burnout, or team conflict, don’t be afraid to bring them up. The review is the perfect time to discuss these issues. Open communication will help you move forward with clarity and support.
If feedback is vague or unclear, ask for specifics. Request examples or suggestions on how to improve.
Performance reviews are a great opportunity to define your career path. Set clear, achievable development goals that align with both your personal aspirations and company objectives. If you’re unsure about the direction, discuss the SMART goal framework with your manager and document them in Confluence for easy tracking and follow-up.
Don’t just say, “I did well.” Use data and concrete examples to demonstrate your success. Show how your work has impacted the team or company, and if possible, quantify your contributions. For example, if you’ve improved efficiency or saved time, share those numbers. If you’ve been using Aura macros to track team progress or sales metrics in Confluence, make sure to reference those!
Proactively asking about career progression shows you’re committed to growth and long-term success.
Let your manager know if there’s anything you need to perform better—whether it’s additional resources, training, or support. Honest conversations about what you need to succeed will help ensure you’re equipped to achieve your goals.
Performance reviews don’t have to be stressful. Using these best practices, they’re an opportunity for growth, clarity, and career progression. Whether you’re a manager or an employee, the right approach can transform reviews into a tool for success.
By using some smart tools like Aura and Karma within Confluence, you can create a more structured and engaging process.
Kick off the new year with a bang! Transform your performance reviews into powerful growth tools using Aura and Karma today.
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