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Why Conduct a Mid Year Performance Review

• Most companies set their objectives at the beginning of the year, but much can change in 6 months time. You must keep objectives in line with business changes.
• The Mid Year Performance Review acts as a formal “check in” with the employee. If you are only formally reviewing performance at the end of the year, you run the risk of surprising the employee with a poor review. A Mid Year Performance Review gives the employee the chance to take corrective action before the formal end of year review.
• It can solidify the actions you need the employee to take for the balance of the year. It is a great chance to clarify and review specific goals and actions to be achieved by the end of the year.

Steps to Conducting a Mid Year Performance Review

1. Employee does a self-assessment. Employees should have as much responsibility in the performance review process as the manager does. The best way to ensure this accountability is shared is to insist that the employee conducts her own self-assessment using the same criteria and format as the manager will to assess performance. The differences between ratings provides a fertile ground for discussion.
2. Supervisor collects performance data and feedback. The supervisor should use data whenever possible, and at the very least list specific behavioral examples. To use vague or non-specific statements when assessing performance is neither professional, nor useful.
3.Review assessment and write review. Review the employee’s self-assessment, and write your own review about the employee’s performance. Include all the data and examples you gathered in step 2, above.
4. Conduct the Mid-Year Performance Review Discussion. After both employee and supervisor have done their preparation, they need to meet to formally discuss performance.

The Mid Year Performance Review Discussion

• This is the most important part of the Mid Year Performance Review.
• Do a quick retention interview along with the performance discussion. For example, you may simply want to ask how the employee perceives her work environment, and how satisfied and challenged they feel working there. All too often, companies wait until the Exit Interview to gather this information.
• The employee should be given the chance to describe their deliverables with respect to each objective and other projects. They should be able to articulate what they’ve accomplished during the first half of the year, and how that contributes to their stated goals and objectives.
• At the Mid Year Performance Review meeting, discuss feedback grounded in multiple perspectives from the organization. In other words, how are the efforts of this employee important to the larger organization.
• Make sure that key priorities are clear, and alignment is obtained on balance of year objectives. This is an chance for both the employee and the manager to discuss changes or “course corrections” to ensure the employee is successful for her end of year review.

Three Things to Remember about Mid Year Performance Reviews

• This should be a listening exercise for the manager. Listen carefully to both the content and context of the message being delivered.
• Be candid and balanced in your feedback. Both parties will get much more from the discussion if they are forthright and honest with each other. Being too polite will not drive performance. Nor will humiliating and berating the employee.
• Clarify how you will support the employee. It is important for the manager to commit to what he will do to enable the success of the employee.

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Learn Even More About Conducting A Mid Year Performance Review

Whether you have just been hired to your first managerial position or you have years of experience up your sleeve and recently went a step up the corporate ladder, it is very important that you spend time thinking about your plan for success. It might not show, but managing people is one of the hardest part of being a manager. So, the efforts that you put as you start your new role will spell the fate of your career.

Management training program creators try this course management system that has a free trial period you can avail of.

How you handle your team should be on the top of your list, aside from doing your regular work. It is important that you first recognize the fact the regardless of the kind of management a strategy you apply, your goal is for you and your team members to learn from each other while in the team. And since you are the manager, it will be your responsibility to establish that give and take relationship.

If you and your team are not looking at the same goal at the end of the day, then there is a huge need to reassess your priorities. There is big chance that you will have employees who are smarter than you and who know their jobs well than you do. However, do not take this negatively, instead think of it as a blessing. At the end of day, your success as a manager will be defined by the quality of work done by your teams.

A lot of supervisors do not realize the importance of learning from their employees. Usually, what they do is give more importance to authority and control over realizing what they can get from a mutual and a continual learning process. By sharing the learning experience, it will be much easier to nurture the relationship build on respect. Work relationships molded from respect lead to improved performance.

That is why, your strategy should focus on the quality of your communications as well as your accessibility as a manager.

One way is to apply and teach effective communication. How good you are as a leader depends on how effective your communication is with your team. It might sound easy, but doing proper communication is difficult. It is more than just the spoken word; it is about expressing and accurate message through tone and body language and to understand the real message that you are getting in return as well. Maintaining the communication lines always open, having the knack to adapt your style with the different types of audiences, and making sure that everyone is one the same page is necessary. If you nurture your communication skills as a manager, everyone will enjoy the consequences.

Interested in communications and management? You will certainly like this blog on tips for new managers.