CHAPTER 14

How to Conduct the Review Conversation

The detailed information you’ve captured in your performance evaluation form is a helpful guide for when you sit down with your individual team members. But simply stating what is on paper won’t convince your employee to change or motivate them to continue their good work. You need to give just as much careful consideration to the discussion itself.

Much like with your ongoing feedback discussions, the logistics around your performance appraisal meeting are just as important as the points you want to communicate. Without establishing the right time, place, and tone, your message may be lost, and your direct report may not understand what to do next.

Even star performers may feel some anxiety at the prospect of a formal review conversation, so do what you can to put your employee at ease. Then, launch into a two-way discussion about performance.

Consider Logistics

Schedule the performance review session well in advance to give both of you the opportunity to prepare, and be thoughtful about choosing a meeting time. Don’t infringe on personal time by proposing a meeting during lunch or after work. Set aside 45 to 60 minutes for your conversation, and make sure that neither of you has a pressing commitment immediately afterward in case the discussion takes longer than expected or your direct report needs some time to work through any emotions brought on by what might be a difficult conversation. You may want to ask when they would prefer to meet—a subtle signal that you value their time.

Choose a location that will make your employee feel comfortable, somewhere private and free from distractions and interruptions. You’ll both be most at ease in a business setting—an empty office, a conference room—rather than in a cafeteria, coffee shop, or restaurant. Try to find a neutral spot, but if you do meet in your office, sit beside the person to establish a sense of partnership and open communication. Sitting behind your desk, especially in the context of delivering a judgment, can convey dominance and distance.

Explain the nature of the meeting ahead of time, even if the two of you have had review sessions in the past. Outline what you plan to discuss, which may include the employee’s input or self-assessment, your completed evaluation, a rating (should your organization require it), a summary of their strengths, and areas for improvement. In most cases, you’ll want to give your direct report a copy of your appraisal about an hour or so before you meet and ask them to note any questions or comments. Allow them some privacy to read the document over carefully. “When people read someone’s assessment of them, they are going to have all sorts of churning emotions,” says performance evaluation expert Dick Grote. “Let them have that on their own time, and give them a chance to think about it.”¹

Some employees may require special arrangements, especially if the discussion has the possibility of escalating to an uncomfortable level. For an individual whose work is unacceptable, for instance, schedule a time to meet near the end of the day, and plan to meet in your office. You may also choose not to provide your employee with their completed evaluation in advance of the meeting. These small changes will place you in a position of authority, indicate the need for improvement, and allow the employee to decompress afterward if they have an emotional reaction to the feedback.

Set the Correct Tone

To mitigate any anxiety and establish rapport, set a tone of partnership right from the start. Welcome your employee, try to put them at ease, and limit distractions. Close the door, and silence any notifications on your phone or computer. You should have already established a relationship of trust through your discussions throughout the review period, but if not, taking clear steps to demonstrate your respect for your direct report in this conversation can help. Active listening is key to making your employee feel truly heard. Resist the temptation to check your watch or your phone during the course of the conversation.

Remind the employee of the meeting’s purpose: to determine how well the individual is doing with respect to assigned goals and to motivate good performance, provide constructive feedback, and understand more about what they need to do to excel in their job. Tell them explicitly that their input is necessary and valuable and that you hope the conversation will be an open dialogue so you can work together on any issues that arise. You should also mention that you’d like to take notes so that you can both remember what you’ve discussed.

Once you’ve clarified the meeting’s purpose and objectives, ask questions to help you understand the employee’s perspective on their performance and to keep you from controlling too much of the conversation early on. If they seem reluctant to speak up, you might probe with questions like, “How do you feel things are going on the job? What’s going well, and what problems are you having?” or “Tell me some of the main points you want me to note from your self-evaluation.” Focus on their point of view rather than agreeing or disagreeing.

As you would in any important conversation, practice active listening. Don’t interrupt. Show that you’re paying close attention by periodically paraphrasing what you’ve heard. You might say, “If I understand you correctly, you feel that you are meeting all goals with respect to the weekly sales reports but that you are struggling to contact all the key customers you’ve been assigned. Do I have that right?” This gives your direct report the opportunity to correct any misunderstandings.

It’s not uncommon for an employee to request a pay increase or inquire about a promotion during appraisal discussions. These topics should not be the focus of your conversation, but if you’re asked directly, be prepared to respond. The sidebar “When an Employee Asks for a Raise or Promotion” explains how to tackle these requests.

Discuss Performance

Managers can feel nervous, even reluctant, about offering constructive feedback in the review session. But everyone, even your best performers, can benefit from hearing ideas for improvement—and missing out on this opportunity to deliver feedback means your time-consuming evaluation won’t be of much use.

Tailor your discussion to each employee you’re meeting with, and don’t rely on your written assessment to dictate the agenda. Adhering to the order of an inflexible form can lock you and your direct report into an item-by-item negotiation instead of a productive discussion. Instead, use your evaluation as a reference so you remember to cover all the important points you planned to mention.

The employee’s performance—not the employee themselves—should be the subject of the conversation. Focus your discussion on how agreed-upon performance goals relate to specific outcomes. For example, “We agreed that you’d bring in 10 new clients this quarter, and you exceeded that goal” or “We agreed that you’d reduce the number of production line errors by 10%, but you’ve only reduced them by 5%.” Emphasize issues that the person can improve in the future. Be selective; you don’t need to go over every shortcoming or failing you’ve noticed, only the most important ones.

As in your written evaluation, don’t make any statements about your direct report’s character, values, or intentions. Doing so can make your employee defensive and is unlikely to lead to fruitful ideas for change or improvement. Instead, use neutral language like, “I’ve noticed you haven’t offered any suggestions at our service improvement meetings. Why is that?” Take care not to express any anger, judgment, or contempt, even with employees whose performance needs significant improvement.

Avoid any use of the stale “sandwich” technique (as discussed in chapter 5), in which you share some praise, then deliver criticism, and end with more positive feedback. It can be tempting to sugarcoat constructive comments, but couching your tough feedback in fluffy compliments will only distort what you’re trying to communicate, making it less likely that your direct report will discern your real message and make needed adjustments. With the sandwich approach, you can unwittingly dishearten your best employees and misguide your poorest ones.

For most of your employees—your good, solid performers and your exceptional ones—you should focus your discussion on their successes. Highlighting what competent contributors are doing well can further motivate them. For marginal performers, you’ll need to take a different approach.

Recognizing strong performance

For those employees whose results and behaviors fully meet or exceed expectations, concentrate on strengths by recognizing and celebrating what they’ve done well. Thank your employee for their contributions. They may not know how much you appreciate their good work. This will grab their attention and also reduce the defensiveness that they might have felt at the prospect of a performance review.

Detail specific examples where their successes and strengths were most apparent: “You’ve increased our social media following by 8%, you did a terrific job in organizing the quarterly marketing meetings, and your contributions at staff meetings are exemplary.” By starting with their most important contributions and most noteworthy strengths, focusing on achievements and pinpointing the behaviors that led to success, you’ll encourage your direct report’s drive and motivation.

For star performers, introduce improvements within the context of their strengths and contributions. Your conscientious employee will likely acknowledge any missed targets or unmet goals and may initiate a discussion of opportunities for improvement. If so, they can take the lead in discussing opportunities for development, which will allow them to be more invested in the conversation and “own” improvement efforts.

If your employee doesn’t volunteer any areas for change, prompt them with questions such as, How do you see the situation? What do you think worked, and what could have gone better? How might you do things differently in the future? By asking questions rather than making statements, you can establish a supportive atmosphere without devaluing any of their accomplishments. By answering your questions, the person can raise issues and explore alternative approaches.

Discussing areas for improvement (however minor) may naturally lead you to talk about development opportunities. You can also delve into achievements, both to keep the person on their successful course and to find out if the employee has learned something that can benefit others. Ask, “How did you manage to do that so well?” Identifying what made the person successful can open the topic of career aspirations and avenues for further development.

Conducting appraisals for marginal performers

Performance evaluations for employees who require serious improvement should be held last. You might be tempted to get a potentially unpleasant conversation out of the way, but your skill at conducting a review session will improve with practice. You’ll gain experience with easier appraisals (with your stars, for example) before you tackle this tough conversation.

If an employee’s performance—their work results, behaviors, or a combination of both—is subpar, the focus of the review session should be on immediate turnaround in order for the individual to remain employed. Open the conversation by reminding the employee of the purpose of the review and acknowledging that this sort of meeting can feel awkward. Then get right to the point: “I need to tell you that your performance is not acceptable. I want to spend our time together talking about the problems I see and hearing your ideas about what you can do to correct this situation.”

After this blunt opening, explain clearly what problems you perceive and make it clear that these issues must be fixed. This three-step approach can be useful:

• State your concern precisely: “Your approach to customer service is of serious concern.”
• Follow with examples: “Some customers have complained about your sarcastic and condescending tone. They’ve noted you seem impatient and have referred to their questions as ‘dumb.’”
• Close by requesting the employee’s reaction to your perception or with a specific request for change: “I need you to change your customer service style. If you’re not willing to do that, then customer service might not be the right career for you.”

This direct confrontation of unacceptable performance will be painful for the employee to hear. Marginal performers may be used to the old sandwich technique, which enabled them to selectively focus on the few positive comments and brush off any discussion of problems. They may be surprised by your negative, one-sided approach, perhaps responding that previous years’ reviews have always been good and that their work this year was no different. You might acknowledge that the employee has been done a disservice by not having the facts presented clearly in previous reviews, but that doesn’t change the fact that their performance this year was not acceptable, and immediate correction must occur if they are to remain employed.

As a manager, you may find this approach uncomfortable; most of us dislike confrontation. But excessive diplomacy can be just as damaging as undue harshness. Employees can’t adjust their behavior in a meaningful way if the criticism they hear is indirect or sugarcoated. Embrace an opportunity to deliver and discuss meaningful criticism. Every employee deserves an honest assessment.

Some poor performers, however, may honestly believe their work has been satisfactory. In this case, frankly correct the misconception, and give the employee an opportunity to improve. The individual’s performance may get substantially better with direction and support. If not, you may determine that the person is better suited to a lower-level position or that they might not be the right fit for the organization.

Get It on the Record

Documenting the details of the review session will benefit both you and your employee in case of disagreement over what you discussed or planned during the review (and in the rarer case of legal disputes). So during your conversation, jot down the main points. Include the following information in your notes:

• The date of the meeting
• Who attended (in some cases, your boss or a human resource representative may attend)
• Key points and phrases the employee used (not necessarily verbatim)
• Any points of disagreement

Take notes with pen and paper; a computer screen can create distraction and distance between the two of you. Type up your notes right after the meeting, while your memory is still fresh.

Your organization may require you to distribute copies of this record to the employee and to HR for the employee’s file. You should keep a copy as well. Some organizations request that both manager and employee sign the performance review report, and sometimes the employee has the right to append their own comments.

It’s helpful to separate the review and development or performance-planning sessions over time. Review conversations and constructive criticism can rouse strong feelings, and it can be difficult to engage an emotional person in creating a plan for future development or in nailing down a new set of goals. If you are able, separate the meetings by a week or so, and let your employee know at the review session that today you’ll discuss performance, and next week you’ll follow up to talk about plans for development or goal setting. This gives them time to process your feedback and mull over ways they can improve and grow.

That said, if any potential goals or development opportunities do arise in your review sessions, you’ll want to note those as well. Write down any performance goals for the coming year, an overview of any development plans you and your direct report talk about, and a summary of agreed-upon next steps, so you’ll have it for any future discussions.

NOTES

1. Quoted in Rebecca Knight, “Delivering an Effective Performance Review,” HBR.org, November 3, 2011, https://hbr.org/2011/11/delivering-an-effective-perfor.

2. Quoted in Rebecca Knight, “What to Do When Your Employee Asks for a Raise Too Soon,” HBR.org, July 15, 2016 (product #H030GB).