Since you can't or shouldn't monitor your employees minute by minute, good performance reviews should involve other people the employee has worked and collaborated with. This is called 360-degree feedback because it encompasses feedback from other parties involved in the employee's role that you can hear from.
Ask your employee to name two to five colleagues they worked closely with during this review period. These respondents will give you insight into the employee's capabilities and culture from a perspective you can't have.
Tips for designing a performance improvement plan
After learning how to design a performance training directors email lists improvement plan for your employees
Highlight employee successes
Where did your employee impress you during this review cycle? Maybe it was on a larger project or in adopting a new behavior or habit that was noted in a previous review, such as “being more organized” or “is incredibly collaborative when coworkers need help.” In the review, explain:
What is the positive attribute?
Why it is important.
A specific incident where this attribute was evident.
What impact has it had on the company, if any?
What your peers said about this behavior/attribute.
Highlight areas of employee growth and opportunity
We all have areas where we can improve our performance.
It’s important to go into this section with the intention of building up rather than tearing down. It should be an overview of what it takes to take an employee from where they are now to the next step in moving forward in your company. So, be sure to summarize:
What are the areas of opportunity or improvement?
Why they have a negative impact.
Why or how you will help the employee become a better worker or create a culture conducive to improvement.
What both you and your employee will do to improve.
What the employee action plan will help you improve.
Give your employee a final rating for their performance
At this point, you should have a clear idea of how your employee is performing based on your company's performance standards.
End your review with a rating. If you're using a scorecard, you can simply average the numbers you've given for certain criteria.
For your own records, be prepared to know how this rating can translate into action during the in-person performance review. For example, you might go to a review of a low-performing employee with a plan for improvement, and bring a promotion plan for a five-star employee.