This document provides guidance on conducting effective performance reviews without financial incentives. It advises reviewees to proactively prepare by identifying goals for skills growth. During the review, reviewees should seek feedback on achievements, areas for improvement, and new challenges. Reviewers are advised to thoroughly prepare by understanding the reviewee's goals, then guide the discussion with open-ended questions while praising achievements and reassuring about support. Both parties should work to document action items that will help reviewees continue developing their skills and advancing their careers. The document stresses that regular check-ins beyond annual reviews best support continuous growth.

1. MAKING GREAT
PERFORMANCE
REVIEWS
Greg Thomas
http://www.rambli.com

2. Objective reviews are programs managed by many organizations that measure a person’s
performance over the current year. I.e., how did they achieve the objectives assigned to
them over x period of time.
Typically this is tied to some form of monetary compensation in the form of a bonus or a
raise.
It’s not about how many people you
manage but how many kick-ass things
that you do.- Anonymous

3. What if
there was
no financial
incentive?

4. How would you change your role as either
the Reviewer or Reviewee, knowing that all
you could offer was growth, leadership,
challenge, support or mentorship?

5. How could these roles
CHANGE?

6. The REVIEWEE

7. WHO IS THE REVIEWEE?
That’s you, that’s always you – this is your chance, your opportunity to
showcase who you really are and what you want to accomplish.
It’s not your manager’s job to decide on your career path and/or what
you want to accomplish this year, they are there to guide and support but
not lead…
… the Leading is up to you.

8. 1. Prepare for your Review

9. PREPAR
E
TRAINING GROWTH SHARPEN
What do I want
to learn this
year?
Where do I need
guidance?
Where do I want
to go this year?
What about
beyond this year?
What do I want
to get better at?
Where is there
still room for
improvement?
Focus your Preparation around what will help guide your career– Train. Grow. Sharpen.

10. SELL YOURSELF
Is there a Standard Template to fill out?
Great, then fill it out, don’t write a line –
“I did this” – write what conveys what
you have done and where you want to
go.
Train. Grow. Sharpen.

11. WAIT all this prep and
you’re still waiting on an
invite?

12. Schedule it yourself.
JANUAR 2016
Take the Lead.

13. 2. The Review

14. LEARN
IMPROVE
ACHIEVEMENTCHALLENGE
Every review should answer 4 Questions for you;
1) What did you do well on? Achievement.
2) What do you need to work on? Improvement.
3) What could you be doing better? Challenge.
4) How can you increase your knowledge? Learn.

15. What I can learn next period? I want more.
What did I do well on?
What did I do that knocked your socks off?
What do I need to improve on?
Did I screw up on something?
Great, how do I get better next time?
What can I be Challenged on next period?
Give me something good, something that
pushes me.
Don’t hold back.
Learn
Achievement
ImprovementChallenge

16. DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL YOU HAVE RECEIVED
ANSWERS TO ALL FOUR.

17. It’s not about getting 100% or SMILEY FACES.

18. It’s about Grow. Sharpen. Train.

19. Finally…
take the critiques
learn how to be better,
build on the praise,
ask for help,
and
Grow.

20. 3. After the Review

21. AFTER THE REVIEW
1) Get it all in writing so you
have it in front of you to
work with.
2) Build a Plan to make it
happen.

22. Now Double it.

23. Why double it?
Trying for something more isn’t going to hurt you, it’s going to
benefit you.
And if you fail, you will still have achieved everything you had
originally set out to.
1 23

24. 4. Change the Model

25. NO FORM
Who said you needed to
form to have a
Review.
Make your own and start
something – checklists
NO MONEY
Want to do Training but
no money in the budget?
Ask for a few days off to
go learn something new
on your own and come
back with a demo.
NO CHOICE
Don’t have a formal
Career Path? Great. Build
your own, start
something, lead.
You can always work
something in.
NO TIME
Too busy with regular
work? Really for yourself?
How’s that latest XBOX
game going?
You have time, now use
it.
NO HELP
Find a peer to support
you and help you with
your objectives.
Maybe even ask for them
to review how you are
doing.
You don’t have to keep doing things the way they are because “that is how
they have always been done”.

26. THE REVIEWER

27. WHO IS THE REVIEWER?
This might be you, it might not. If it is you, you now have an incredible
opportunity before you.
Support and Guide a member of your team in the achievement of their
objectives toward furthering their career.
Your role is not so much a leader as a provider of options and paths that
they can go down, if they falter, you are there to help them up, if they
succeed, be their cheerleader.
But you can’t do it for them.

28. 1. Prepare for your
Review

29. Your Reviewee just spent
a significant amount of
time sending in a great,
well-thought out, detailed
review.

30. What are you going to
do?

31. PREPARE
Read their Review – Twice. Don’t miss anything, take notes, highlight
comments. Read between the lines, what are they really asking for?
What are they really saying.
Come with answers to THEIR Questions that they might
have asked.
Prepare Questions to use during the
Review to have as a reference.
You can’t remember everything.
Schedule it in advance so your Reviewee
has time to prepare. IF you need to
switch times, talk to them and ask if it’s
okay before hand - this isn’t easy for
them.

32. 2. The Review

33. KEY QUESTIONS
How are you?
How are things going within your current role?
What is working for you right now?
What is not working for you?
What could we (i.e., me your manager, your leadership team, this organization, etc) be doing better?
How can I help in the achievement of your career goals?
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2
3
4
5
6

34. YOUR ROLE
PRAISE
Provide praise
where earned.
GUIDE
Help with their
issues.
OUTLINE
Where they need to
go and how you can
help them.
REASSURE
Any worries and
concerns they
might have.
CHALLENGE
Don’t let them
coast, push them.

35. And be silent…

36. … and wait …

37. … give them time to think …

38. … they will thank you for it.

39. 3. After the Review

40. AFTER THE REVIEW
Write it down, write everything down, every aspect of your conversation.
Send it out for confirmation so you don’t miss anything and update where necessary.
And this is why you don’t schedule them back to back to back.
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2
3

41. 4. Change the Model

42. A SUGGESTED
PROCESS
Monthly One-
On-Ones Quarterly Review Mid-Way Review Quarterly Review Year-End
Works best for Teams of 8 - 10
Keep your finger on the pulse
of what is happening
Very Informal, focus on how
they are doing.
More Formal
Focus on Career
objectives and
Growth
Are you on track
towards your goals?
Where can I help you
achieve them?
Time to start thinking
towards next year.
Where do you need to
focus.
Last-minute sprints to the
end.
Less about the Quarter.
More about the Year In
Review
How they Grew, what
they accomplished?

43. NEVER GO 3 MONTHS WITHOUT SITTING DOWN
WITH YOUR TEAM
We all need course corrections and anything
after 3 months is too long to wait.

44. IN SUMMARY

45. Don’t think of your performance reviews as an equivalent to your monetary compensation.
Think of it as an opportunity for you to Grow. Train. Stay Sharp.
Accept it as a privilege to help guide someone in theirs.
It’s not about how many people you
manage but how many kick-ass things
that you do.- Anonymous

46. Your career is up to you.

47. T h e e n d
Greg Thomas
http://www.rambli.com