How can managers conduct a productive year end review to ensure a highly engaged team and correspondingly high performances?
This process isn’t just a formality for most businesses. It’s a valuable opportunity to reflect, recognize achievements, and identify opportunities and tangible goals that can contribute towards growth for the next year.
What Is A Year End Review?
A year end review is a structured evaluation of an employee’s performance and progress in the previous year. It’s often conducted by a manager or someone in a senior leadership position.
It’s typically focused on goal-setting and performance analysis and allows both managers and employees to have a closer look at where they can help the business to move forward during the year ahead.
What Is The Format Of A Year End Review?
The most common format for an end of year review is a face-to-face meeting which is almost always one-to-one. Choosing an interactive format in a private setting allows for open communication, and immediate feedback.
Some employers also use surveys or self-assessment forms to make these meetings as efficient as possible and gather data for analysis on company-wide performance.
What Are The Benefits of A Year End Review?
Performance Analysis
Managers and employees can establish a view of how performance has contributed to the company’s goals in the previous year and outline where improvements on both sides can be made to better facilitate positive change.
Recognition of Achievements
As well as seeking improvement, the year end review is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate achievements during the year.
The review should always highlight successes to help build morale and a positive working environment. This is incredibly important. A recent study by the University of Warwick suggested that happiness in the workplace can increase productivity by up to 12%.
Goal Setting for Professional Development
Setting clear goals is a key part of the year end review. Establishing objectives for the upcoming year and offering guidance contributes to long-term success. Managers get opportunities to help develop employees with strategic goal setting and ongoing support.
Enhanced Employee-Manager Relationships
The open and transparent nature of a year end review, and the two-way support in developing both the employee and business can help to build stronger relationships between employees and managers. To ensure this works, managers need to be sure they’re offering support and value to employees as well. This helps the business to keep the best employees happy and engaged.
Improved Communication and Feedback Loops
In both large corporations and startups it can be difficult to get consistent feedback from all staff. The structured but open format of year end reviews creates a channel to gather this vital information.
Businesses can develop a better understanding of challenges and opportunities through these conversations.
Talent Retention and Employee Satisfaction
Businesses need to prioritise keeping top talent in what is a very competitive job market. Year end reviews provide the opportunity to highlight development opportunities and future pathways within the business.
Many employees take reviews as opportunities to look at career advice and gauge whether there are opportunities for salary negotiation. It can be a good idea to speak to an external career advisor to understand what opportunities there might be within your industry and weigh up whether these opportunities are available within the current organisation or whether it might be time for a resume review.
Organisational Growth and Succession Planning
Year end reviews can hugely contribute to the overall success of the organisation. They allow managers to identify and reward high-performing individuals and potential leaders. This assists companies in developing strategic succession plans, ensuring continuity and stability as employees are promoted or leave to pursue new opportunities.
Continuous Improvement Culture
A year end review highlights a businesses commitment to consistent and measured improvement. This type of culture is important for attracting ambitious employees who are active contributors to the business’s success.
What Should Be Included In A Year Review?
There are things that definitely should (and should not be included in a year end review. Let’s take a closer look at the structure.
Goal Assessment
It’s always a good idea to begin a year end review by looking at the previous year’s goals and successes. It’s important to set clear goals each year for individual employees and teams. This is the opportunity to see if these goals have been met.
Performance Metrics and KPIs
Similarly, it can be vital to use key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to help measure progress towards these goals. For data-driven businesses, it’s vital to have a way to clearly identify who is over and under performing. You should explore previous KPIs and identify and agree on new ones for the year ahead.
Project Contributions
Explore contributions made towards the company’s goals and identify how these can be made in the year ahead. Look at both quantitative and qualitative contributions.
Personal Development and Training
Employees value personal development and the company’s attitude towards developing skills can speak highly of its culture. Discuss development opportunities with employees and identify areas where personalised development opportunities might be beneficial for both the individual and the business.
Challenges Faced
Listen carefully to challenges faced and gather feedback that can help you to provide additional support and remove pain points for employees. Encourage problem solving and critical thinking when facing challenges and ensure there is a clear channel of communication.
Feedback and Recognition
It can also be valuable and rewarding to include feedback from peers, subordinates, and managers in a year end review. Recognition for a job well done can be vital for morale.
Areas for Improvement
Without being overly critical, try to highlight key areas where there is room for improvement. This should always be done in a supportive way, providing guidance and resources rather than criticising the employee.
Poorly conducted reviews can be demotivating, just as they have the potential to boost morale when done well.
Career Advice & Mentorship
Seek valuable career advice and mentorship on conducting year-end reviews and evaluating performance by engaging with our team of experts. Specifically specialising in careers advice for engineering sectors, our experts bring a wealth of knowledge to guide you through this crucial process.
Get advice to improve performance and open up a world of new opportunities.
About the author
Kazuyoshi Fujimoto, PE
Founder | Engineering Career Coach | Principal Mechanical Engineer
Kazu oversees all of ultmeche’s engineering services. He provides consulting such as resume reviews, rewrites, mock interviews, and all services career related. Additionally, Kazu performs consulting work regarding Oil & Gas, Automotive, and Aerospace & Defense. Kazu is licensed as a professional engineer in the state of California and has 9+ years of experience in Oil & Gas, Automotive, and Aerospace & Defense.