A performance review template can help streamline the familiar process of conducting a performance review. Not only does it make the process more comfortable for everyone, but it also ensures consistent results across the organization (because employees are treated to the same experience).

This means that you end up with a more reliable sample of data, from which you can extract insights to turn into strategic initiatives. It can also help ensure that the progression of certain roles is well-defined, or where typical stumbling blocks occur and how employees can craft goals with their supervisors to exceed them.

This guide to performance review offers both an understanding of performance reviews, why they matter, and the concrete steps you can take to make them a pleasure between employees and their managers. Simply download it today, read through, and work toward a process that suits your organization best.

A performance review is an annual or semi-annual meeting between an employee, their manager, and any other relevant parties, to discuss their performance, their successes, any room for improvement, as well as more administrative matters like contract status, salary, or anything else. In sum, it an employee’s performance summed up in a single meeting.

In this performance review template, we offer a guide to handling performance reviews in a productive fashion. Gone are the days of employees and managers alike stressing and not looking forward to sitting down and talking about performance!

You can break down a great performance review in eight distinct phases, these include:

• Creating a productive atmosphere

• Clarifying the goal and purpose of the review itself

• Looking back over the review period together

• Appraise, consult, and formulate a plan of action

• Ask employees specific questions

• Define new target agreements

• Plan the future course of action

• End the review on a positive note

In our performance review template, we break down each phase and explain why they matter, some concrete examples within each, and how you can implement them in your process starting today.

A manager should feel free to ask open questions about issues that affect employee satisfaction, motivation, and performance.

One can start from a positive note, like “what was your best moment in the last quarter/half year/year?” Other questions may include:

• “How satisfied are you with your development opportunities?”

• “Where do you see room for improvement in the way you and your team work together?”

• “How can I support you?”

These and more questions can be found in our free performance review template download found above.

Managers need to help employees craft objectives that are SMART, which means:

• Specific: The objective is clearly defined

• Measurable: Progress towards the objective is quantifiable

• Attractive: The employee feels that the objective is worth working toward

• Realistic: It is feasible

• Time–based: The objective has a deadline

You should consider this guide as a template for whenever you conduct performance reviews within your company. Each time, it can serve as a helpful way to guide the conversation in a productive fashion to result in employee satisfaction.