How To Write an End of Year Performance Review

Although it’s becoming something of a lost art, the end of year performance review still offers numerous benefits, even for today’s modern workforce. First of all, these reviews are a great chance to acknowledge the work that your employees do and make them feel appreciated. Not only is this a nice thing to do, it also offers real concrete benefits for you, the business owner. After all, a happy employee is a productive employee.

Of course, not every review is going to be one hundred percent sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. Inevitably, every employee is going to have a few points that could be improved. A year of end review is a nice, objective way of airing these concerns without making anyone feel as if they are being singled out.

So, with all that being said, here is a brief formula that you can use in order to write end of year performance reviews for your employees.

Start positive. This is only natural: you want your employees to read their reports with a positive and open-minded outlook, and starting positive is the best way to facilitate this. Strangely enough, most people enjoy being praised and appreciated!

Offer constructive criticism. Once you have discussed a few of the things that your employee does well, the door is open for a few pieces of constructive criticism. Remember to keep things concrete, and to offer real solutions to the problems you bring up.

Talk about the future. Now that you’ve devoted this time to talking about what your employee has done in the past, it’s a good moment to segue into a mini-pep talk about the future. What does this next year hold for your employee and for the company?

Solicit input. To conclude, invite the employee to share any questions, concerns, or comments that he or she may have.

For more tips on managing people effectively, visit the Precise Payroll blog.