An employee review is a type of meeting that takes place between a director and employee, normally at the stop of the year. Information technology's a word that covers employee performance and where feedback is openly exchanged past both parties.

Operation reviews are the perfect opportunity to provide effective feedback to your employees, to understand their personal goals and to make a plan to attain them together. In fact, giving and receiving feedback is a pillar to any performance review. It'south too a risk for managers to become better leaders by gaining valuable takeaways from their team.

Detect 42 questions well-nigh employee functioning review on the following categories below:

  • Overall performance and accomplishments
  • Employee strengths
  • Areas of comeback
  • Current role
  • Future outlook
  • Manager-employee relationship
  • Company culture

"Information technology'southward actually important to take some time, whether it'south every six months, or every year, to just zoom out. And every bit a manager, wait at the person'south career and where information technology's going. What went well over the past half-dozen months, and what didn't go well?"

– Interview with Lenny Rachitsky, Former Product Lead at Airbnb

To obtain fifty-fifty more than valuable insights during a performance evaluation, you can ask targeted and specific questions, concerning performance, important goals and aspirations. For that reason, Fellow has outlined performance evaluation questions that every manager should enquire during a review. These questions are going to prove that you value employee engagement, the evolution of your squad, and that employee growth and satisfaction is your priority.

Never forget what was discussed.

Certificate the operation evaluation questions and answers to have access to the evaluation at any time using a collaborative meeting tool like Fellow.

Keep scrolling for essential employee evaluation questions that y'all should exist request your team members:

42 Employee Review Questions

Overall performance and accomplishments

Start functioning reviews by understanding how your squad member feels near their overall performance. This kind of employee feedback is important to see what your team members are proud of and to sympathise how they feel they're performing in general.

As a review process, information technology'southward a practiced thought to ask nigh how the team member did in realizing or not quite realizing their previously set goals. Detect out what motivates them and which kind of working weather permit them to thrive.

What motivates you every bit an employee might non motivate your squad members. Getting downwards to what truly motivates each employee is actually critical if you desire to drive optimal results beyond that unabridged team.

– Sara Varni, Supermanagers Podcast

Hither are some performance review questions for managers to use to offset a conversation most your directly report'due south overall performance:

  • What accomplishments this quarter are yous most proud of?
  • Which goals did you meet?
  • Which goals fell short?
  • What motivates you to become your job washed?
  • What tin I do to brand your task more enjoyable?
  • What are your ideal working conditions to exist the well-nigh productive?
  • What was your greatest accomplishment at piece of work?
  • What practice you hope to accomplish over the coming year?

Employee strengths

It'due south important that y'all focus on your team members strengths and acknowledge what they're doing well in their current function. In request employees about their perceived strengths, y'all're also going to gain additional perspective, because qualities they share with you may be dissimilar than the ones y'all notice. In many cases, there are skills that managers are unaware of, considering the employee hasn't had the opportunity to showcase them notwithstanding.

Learning about employee strengths from your employee is a great performance management opportunity for you to understand how you can manage strengths and apply them for the benefit of the organisation. Ask questions such as:

  • What skills do you have that you believe we could use more effectively?
  • What personal strengths assistance you do your job effectively?
  • What makes you the best fit for your position?
  • What kind of work comes easiest to you?

Areas of improvement

Next, y'all want to focus on areas of improvement. This office of the functioning review process isn't negative by any means – in fact, it'south going to teach you what your employee wants to work on and how you tin can assistance them get there. At that place's always room for comeback, no thing how well an employee is performing, so don't shy away from effective feedback, considering information technology's valuable for any effective employee. In a an commodity by the Harvard Business Review, they highlight:

"Employees want more authentic and aboveboard negative feedback, so it'south a win for all if managers can give it. But managers should be aware of potential implications for their employees' well-being and on retention if evaluations become likewise harsh."

On that notation, make sure you're taking a constructive rather than critical arroyo. Information technology's a good idea to focus on ane or two points, instead of overloading employee feedback that might seem negative, won't exist recalled and that will feel overwhelming. Here are some questions you can ask to outset a chat most your teammate's areas of improvement:

  • What goals/deliverables were you least proud of? Why?
  • How volition you do those differently in the future?
  • What ii-3 things will you lot focus on in the side by side quarter to help you grow and develop?
  • What can I do to help you lot better meet your goals?
  • Where do you feel in that location's room for you to improve?

Current role

When you talk over your squad members' current role, you proceeds an agreement of what they're enjoying about their job and which responsibilities they might not be loving every bit much. This gives you the opportunity to reorganize their daily tasks where you can, to conform them and therefore as well keep them motivated.

Asking about how an employee believes their specific position supports the company'south success will let you know if they feel like they are part of the bigger picture and if they recognize the value they're adding. Don't forget to enquire about what your employee likes about their office. This way, you can ensure that those aspects of the job are nurtured and grown to promote satisfaction in the workplace.

  • Which job responsibilities/tasks do you enjoy most?
  • Which job responsibilities do you least savor?
  • How do you think your part helps the company succeed?
  • What practice you lot like least almost your current role?
  • What would you modify nigh your electric current role?
  • What do you similar almost about working for this company?

Future outlook

When you ask nearly employee aspirations and goals, you begin to empathize what really motivates them. Think about what kinds of tools and resource you can offer to back up professional development and encounter what you can practise to help them achieve their goals for the adjacent quarter.

Because the majority of business concern has been conducted in a remote setting this year, in another article, the Harvard Business Review makes a great point that managers may need to shift the way they look at performance reviews for the future. In their interview with Mark Mortensen, associate professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD they share:

"In this (remote) environment, you may need more frequent, smaller evaluations such as semi-annual or quarterly cheque-ins. This will give you, the director, 'an opportunity to provide real feedback' and gives employees the chance 'to make adjustments and calibrations'…. This period 'represents an opportunity to pivot toward a people-focused management organisation, built around resilience and agility, instead of efficiency and competitiveness at any price'".

Hither are some questions you can enquire to start a conversation about the futurity:

  • What are your most important goals for the adjacent quarter?
  • What practice you lot want your next position at this company to be?
  • How would your responsibilities change?
  • What professional person growth opportunities would y'all like to explore in guild to become at that place?
  • What type of career growth is most important to you?
  • What position at the company practise you want to move to next?

Manager-employee relationship

A performance evaluation serves every bit a neat chance to build relationships with team members. Everyone likes to be managed in unlike ways, and so information technology is really important that yous discuss what kind of management mode works best for your employees.

In discussing how to requite and receive feedback and recognition, you are learning about how to best teach, motivate and support your team. It might be a practiced thought to enquire how ofttimes each employee likes to be checked-in with. Sometimes more than frequent and breezy conversations can be a lot more than constructive. Lasty, ask about if in that location'southward anything you tin can practice to improve back up them in their role.

  • What (if any) concerns do y'all accept when it come up to giving me feedback?
  • How can I alleviate those concerns?
  • How exercise you adopt to receive feedback and/or recognition for your piece of work?
  • What are 2 to iii things could I do differently to better manage you lot?
  • What practice I do that is most/to the lowest degree helpful for you lot when it comes to completing your piece of work?
  • What can we do to improve our relationship?
  • Do yous feel that the team is working well collaboratively?
  • Where has management helped and hindered your work?

Company civilisation

Company culture is a huge office of employee engagement and satisfaction. Information technology's important that when you cheque-in with your team members that you lot get a sense if individuals experience equally if they are really a part of the larger collective.

A major attribute of company culture is adapting and changing concern practices as trends sally. Request your employees if they're comfortable with your corporate culture is hugely helpful to understand how to boost employee productivity and efficiency. Our work environment is extremely influential on productivity so make sure that yous understand how the corporate surroundings impacts employee engagement and where improvements can be fabricated to work life.

  • What are the main drivers of success in the company?
  • Are you comfy with our corporate culture, and are there areas that demand improvement?
  • What'southward your favourite function nearly working in this company?
  • How tin nosotros make our company more inclusive and diverse?
  • When accept you felt the proudest about beingness part of this company?

Summary

Performance reviews help managers gain valuable insights from their teams. If you lot desire to employ this opportunity to understand your team'due south goals and aid them accomplish their optimal performance, make sure to ask about the following vii topics:

  1. Overall functioning and accomplishments
  2. Employee strengths
  3. Areas of improvement
  4. Current role
  5. Future outlook
  6. Director-employee relationship
  7. Company culture