How to Conduct Values-Based Performance Reviews: A Guide to Aligning Metrics, Accountability, and Employee Growth
Some people love them, and others loathe them: annual reviews, so I wanted to share some performance review examples with you. For starters, let’s just get it out in the open that waiting an entire year to give someone one review is never a good idea—even if that person is crushing their goals. The ongoing opportunity to check-in, give guidance, and celebrate wins and then reward people for them creates psychological safety, belonging, and purpose.
The cadence and pace of that process needs to reflect your values and cultural norms. I’m not saying, “The review must be monthly for forty-five minutes at a time with this specific agenda.” Although monthly reviews might be right for your company, bi-monthly or even quarterly ones might be better for another. Or perhaps it’s a quarterly retreat where you have one-on-one time with each person while also team-building with the larger group.
You get to choose.
The key is to make sure that reviews are done with metrics and a frequency where your people won’t be completely surprised if they’re totally on the mark or not even close. Make sure that new team members are just as aware as tenured ones of what to expect. It’s never too early to get clear on your expectations between managers, team members, and the review process so that there’s full agreement among all involved. Remember: Expectations − Agreement = Disappointment.
Get ahead of that and you’ll have a team that looks forward to these opportunities and feels a true sense of accomplishment when they’re rewarded for reaching and exceeding expectations. When rewards like annual bonuses are tied to performance, team members have an opportunity to be seen, recognized, and valued in a way that’s directly connected to their efforts and behavior.
Here are some performance review examples and tips for you.
Deliver ongoing reviews.
Sitting someone down one time a year to review performance is a robotic way of doing business. I recommend that during ongoing one-on-ones, there is at least one conversation per month dedicated to how the team member is doing with their values alignment. This is not something that you want to let go on for months and months without addressing, so why wait for a formal process to have these important conversations? Make it normal and routine—an expectation that your organization and its team members will be held accountable.
Practice values-based metrics.
In the review itself, it’s a proven practice to include metrics around each value so that there is a fair and equitable process on the side of the manager giving the review and the employee receiving it. You can use a scale in which there’s a rubric for scoring whether that person is living the company’s value promises.
It could look like this:
Metrics: Based on frequency of keeping the value promise through behaviors.
3 = Often
2 = Sometimes
1 = Seldom
0 = Never
Value: Curiosity
Value Promise 1: When faced with frustration, we promise to ask thoughtful questions with the intention to gain a better understanding of the matter at hand.
Score: 3
Feedback: I appreciate how much more you’ve been asking questions since it came up in our last one-on-one. I hope it’s been helpful in reducing your stress. Keep it up, and let me know how I can continue to support you.
Value Promise 2: We promise to speak up and follow our curiosity in order to ignite more innovation and personal growth.
Score: 1
Feedback: I am glad you’re asking more questions and encourage you to take that same momentum to speak up more without being prompted. I know there’s a lot of great stuff brewing inside you, and it would benefit us all if we heard more of it. Let me know if another format of communication may be a better starting point. We’ll figure this out!
Value Promise 3: We promise to connect more deeply with ourselves and our team members by asking quality questions and consciously listening.
Score: 2
Feedback: I know how much closer your team has gotten since you went on your retreat recently. Thanks for making the space to be fully present. I’d love to see you continue to make time for that type of connection throughout the week.
Total Points: 6/9
Consider involving both clients and team members in this review too. It doesn’t have to be just one person’s perspective of that colleague.It’s best to get perspective from a variety of angles.
Provide opportunities to realign.
If you have a thoughtful review process like the one just outlined, there’s a real chance for team members to get back in alignment with the company’s core values when they’ve gotten off their intended path. This is where vulnerability, empathy, and empowerment play a significant role. It’s hard to tell someone that they’re not meeting expectations, and it’s hard to be on the receiving end of hearing that statement. This is where your one-on-one coaching techniques from chapter 7 really come into play. Be thoughtful in your approach and delivery, and there will be a much more connecting experience instead of one that leaves people feeling sad, annoyed, pissed off, or wrongfully judged.
Offer values-aligned bonuses and promotions.
Once you go through these review processes, make sure that the promotions and bonuses sync up with that individual’s embodiment of the core values. When a consistent values violator is promoted, people immediately lose trust in the higher-up’s judgment, and they also start to lose interest in being held accountable to the stated values.
How can you hold someone else accountable to something that you’re not doing yourself? OK, so you can do that, but trust me—people don’t respect it, and they will gossip about it. When you do hold yourself to the same standards as those you’re overseeing, it ignites inspiration, trust, and respect for the process. Next time you determine your bonuses and promotions, be sure that it’s through an equitable lens that truly honors the culture you intend to build.
Give permission to be human.
Whether someone is a top performer or not, the review process can be anxiety-inducing for many people. The fear of judgment, criticism, and not-enoughness naturally bubbles up when we’re walking into a situation in which we’re there to be critiqued and potentially paid accordingly. I can remember a time when I was working my butt off, getting loads of positive feedback and accolades all year long, yet when the time came for annual reviews, I didn’t get a promotion that I had assumed was a given. It was painful and made me completely rethink why I was giving my all to an organization that didn’t value it. Recognize that other humans will feel this way, too, and be thoughtful in your approach to sharing your feedback.
Did these performance review examples resonate with you for how you want to manage your teams?
This was an excerpt from MaryBeth’s book – Permission to Be Human: The Conscious Leaders Guide to Creating a Values-Driven Culture.
Learn more from this conscious leadership book.
And let me know which performance review examples made the most sense to you in the comments.
