The Best Questions to Ask On an Performance Review

Performance reviews can vary drastically in their effectiveness, which helps explain why 58% of companies believe they aren’t a good use of time. But employee reviews don’t have to be a waste of time. By asking the right performance review questions, you encourage manager and employee communication, align employees with company goals, praise employee growth, and give the manager a platform to deliver constructive feedback.

Asking the Right Questions – What do You Want to Know?

As you draft your performance review questions, it is important to consider what you want to get out of the review. What do you want or need to know? The needs of you, your department, and your company may not be the same as the needs of another. The more clearly you understand what you want to know from your performance evaluation, the easier it will be to choose the right questions.

In general, you want your questions to do two things – open communication between you and employees so you can get honest, legitimate feedback, and help you discover ways to help your employees do even better in the future. If you can generate honest conversations and identify ways to improve performance and employee engagement, you and those you manage will get a lot more out of the performance review process.

Choosing Performance Review Questions

The “best” review questions have to be personalized to the needs of you and your company values – but that doesn’t mean you need to search blindly in the dark for ideas. You can look at the kinds of questions that have worked for others and pick and choose what will work for your needs, customizing them as you see fit.

1. What is one thing you have accomplished since the last review cycle that you are proud of?

One of the best ways to break the ice with a performance appraisal is to start with positive questions that engage the employee and allow him or her to feel valued. By asking about an accomplishment that happened since the last review, you keep the question focused and encourage the employee to think about recent events.

2. What are you hoping to accomplish over the next quarter, six months and year?

Writing out goals for the coming months and coming year of time can be useful for you and boost employee performance. From the answers, you can gauge what the employee thinks that he or she is capable of, and identify opportunities for coaching and assistance to help reach the goals.

3. Do you have access to all the tools and resources you need to do your job? If you don’t, what are the roadblocks that are keeping you from getting those tools and resources?

Management is not always aware of when employees lack the tools or resources they need to excel in their position. While sometimes there are reasons for the lack of resources (too expensive, for instance), sometimes the problem is simply one of communication.

4. Do you feel like you and your team work well together? If not, what are the problems you are experiencing?

Most employees are part of a larger group that is tasked with accomplishing a goal for the company, which is why team members must work well together. It is essential for management to be aware of problems among co-workers so that he or she can correct those problems and maintain efficiency.

5. What is one area where you feel like you could improve at your job? Is there anything you feel like management could do to help you improve?

Most employees want to do the best job they can do – they just don’t always know-how. Management can significantly benefit from knowing what the employee thinks of their own performance. Once you are aware of the need and desire to grow, you can develop actionable goals that can help the employee get where he or she wants to go.

6. What do you think the goals of our company are? What do you think the goals of your department are?

It can be surprising to discover that employees are not always aware of what the company is trying to do, or even their own department. Whether due to a gap in training, poor communication or some other reason, the overarching purpose of the company can be lost. You can ensure that the confusion is cleared up once you know that it exists.

7. Can you explain how management has helped you in doing your job? Can you also explain how you think management has hindered your job performance?

Employee feedback is of performance evaluation. The chances are that management has both helped and hindered, so it can be useful to have the employee identify both what is working, and what is not.

8. Do you have any concerns that you would like to bring up about your department or the company?

While the employee may have already explained any problems he or she was having in a previous question, it can be useful to ask for feedback on issues directly.

Simple, Frequent Performance Reviews

Choosing to have yearly reviews rather than frequent check-ins can be intimidating. Typically they’re long and complicated because of the length of time in between, and they put significant pressure on employees and management. You can make the performance review process less stressful for everyone by simplifying and conducting reviews more frequently – such as every quarter or after the completion of a project. Additionally, by increasing the frequency of feedback, you quickly resolve issues, foster employee development, and ensure that employees are working towards organization-wide goals.

Modernize Your Review Process with Reviewsnap

By using performance management software, such as Reviewsnap, you can automate the review process using e-signatures, automatic notifications, and job-specific templates. Reviewsnap’s online performance management software keeps you organized by removing endless paperwork and creating a centralized location for all review materials. Your employees will take charge of their development with Reviewsnap’s goal setting and note-taking tools. Make smart business decisions with real-time reporting360-degree feedback, and succession planning.

Reviewsnap is the all-in-one performance management solution helping businesses effectively develop staff. Book your complimentary demo today to learn more about what Reviewsnap can do for you.