Annual Performance Reviews Archives

Creating high-impact performance reviews that drive business results

by Tanya Gray | Jun 6, 2025 | Annual Performance Reviews

Contents

What makes a performance review ‘high-impact’?
The manager’s role in performance success
Designing a performance framework that works
Turning feedback into forward motion
Give your leaders the tools to manage performance effectively

Performance reviews are one of the most underused business levers available to leaders.

When well-designed and well-executed, they improve clarity, drive accountability, and accelerate both individual and team performance.

When treated as a box-ticking formality, they disengage employees, cloud expectations, and waste time at every level of the business.

To be effective, performance management needs to support real, measurable outcomes: improvements in capability, productivity, and alignment with business goals.

What makes a performance review ‘high-impact’?

Not all reviews are useful. High-impact performance reviews are clear, consistent, and focused on helping people perform at their best.

They include:

Specific, measurable performance goals
Regular check-ins with open, two-way feedback
A clear link between individual work and business priorities

When reviews are handled this way, they help teams stay on track, spot issues early, and connect their daily work to what the business needs most. Frequent, focused conversations help teams go beyond reflecting on their performance and make real progress.

The manager’s role in performance success

Even the best-designed process won’t work without the right people leading it. Managers play a central role in how performance is understood, measured, and improved.

Too often, performance slips because managers aren’t clear on how to have effective conversations. They avoid difficult topics, set vague goals, or fail to follow up.

At ConsultingHQ by People Inc, we help managers build these skills:

Essentials for SME Managers: Helps new and emerging leaders build confidence in setting expectations, giving feedback, and managing underperformance.
Empowering Teams: Supports more experienced leaders to develop coaching skills, align KPIs, and lead high-performing teams.

These programmes are practical, outcome-focused, and designed to create immediate impact in real-world leadership settings.

Designing a performance framework that works

To support high performance, a review process needs more than forms and ratings. It needs structure, consistency, and a clear link to goals.

A strong framework includes:

Clear role expectations
SMART goals that support business outcomes
Frequent one-to-one conversations
Agreed KPIs and development plans

It also relies on managers to apply the framework consistently. When performance management is seen as part of the leadership role (not just an HR task or a formality) it becomes a genuine tool for business growth.

Turning feedback into forward motion

Feedback is how people grow. Done well, it builds trust, creates direction, and keeps people motivated to improve.

A good feedback culture starts with leaders. They set the tone by asking for input, listening well, and following through. When feedback is part of how the business runs (not just something that happens once a year) teams become more focused, agile, and engaged.

Reviews aren’t just a chance to talk about performance. They’re a chance to improve it.

Give your leaders the tools to manage performance effectively

Performance management is a leadership skill. It helps organisations build stronger teams, improve clarity, and drive better results.

If you want to build a performance process that works, you need leaders who can lead it.

Explore ConsultingHQ by People Inc’s leadership development programmes:

With the right support, performance reviews stop being a task—and start being a business advantage.

Annual Performance Reviews

by Tanya Gray | Sep 17, 2020 | Annual Performance Reviews, ConsultingHQ Blog, Performance Management

Employers should have conducted annual reviews by now

Annual reviews are usually conducted in September prior to strategic & budget planning for the financial year ahead and for the balance of the current year.

Performance reviews are a requirement for employers – regardless of the situation your business or the national or global economy is faced with.

We recommend that employers follow an established and standard process for conducting performance reviews and this year, more than most, a focus on goals and the achievement of them or progress toward them is required to evaluate performance – obviously taking into account whether or not it was possible for employees to meet expected and agreed goals.

Some employers may even have managed to review goals in place as an interim measure when it became apparent that the year would be non standard.

Having performance review standards in place removes any element of personality related issues from the equation and places the focus entirely upon the performance.

If goals have not been achieved, spend some time drilling into why that may have been and if the goals were in fact reasonable under the circumstances that unfolded. Your employees will be grateful for the opportunity to share their view on how things may have played out differently, share their views in the working from remote and give you valuable insights for your business planning, which inevitably will involve some new situations that have arisen as business challenges recently.

Here are the things that you should cover in your performance reviews:

Review the core competencies required for the specific role and rate the employee on their level and have them rate themselves also to see if you are on the same page.
Review goals and subgoals as they were agreed.
Review progress toward the goals and if they were achieved, not achieved or partially achieved.
Review any roadblocks experienced.
Review any specific training requirements or other ways around the roadblocks to ensure they do not continue to hinder progress.
Get feedback on support provided to the employee when it was required.
Establish new goals and stretch goals for the year ahead.

Your team is your most valuable resource and is also your single greatest outgoing. Ensuring that goal reviews and performance reviews are fair and reasonable will win you respect and loyalty – and may well be the difference between enabling that employee to grow further with your business, or leaving and taking their experience with them.

Another aspect of the annual performance reviews in 2020 may be to review communication processes and assess if you need to put layers in place or introduce new methods of communication for people to be able to function as optimally as possible with away from the office – because the reality of the year ahead is that flexibility will be the new normal.

If you feel you require some assistance with conducting performance reviews this year – or with any aspect of HR, please reach out. Funded options are available through the Regional Business Partner Programme. Our team of HR professionals are available to help you with this and to help with your annual business planning!

Book a complimentary 15 minute consultation now with our Director, Tanya Gray.

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HR skills – How to provide feedback

by Tanya Gray | Jul 3, 2018 | Annual Performance Reviews, ConsultingHQ Blog, Performance Management

Providing performance review feedback

Contents

Performance Reviews are designed to empower people and find out where they are at with their job and their career
One of the many good reasons for conducting regular performance reviews is that you are in continual contact with your employees and will catch any areas for improvement – and any employee concerns early

Performance reviews should be part of your standard quarterly HR calendar.

Performance reviews should not yield surprises for employees – the review should be a brief, positive meeting with a focus on successes and a discussion about providing resources and tools for future avenues of growth and success for the employee in your business.

Performance Reviews are designed to empower people and find out where they are at with their job and their career

On the occasion where negative feedback must be delivered, it is vital that it be couched as an opportunity for improvement – a performance review is not the forum for performance management.

In planning employee reviews, always start with a positive to ensure that your employee feels it is a safe zone and always solicit employee feedback or input before declaring yours.

Almost always when performance is below par, the employee will declare it – allowing you the opportunity to discuss action plans for improvement.

Have a standard list of points to be discussed and have your notes pre-prepared.
Performance reviews should finish on a positive note, sending a motivated employee back to their workstation.

One of the many good reasons for conducting regular performance reviews is that you are in continual contact with your employees and will catch any areas for improvement – and any employee concerns early

New recruits in your business should have continual performance reviews through the induction period.
It is a mistake to leave employee performance reviews to a time where you have negative feedback to give, or where poor work habits and standards may have crept in.
Employees love to have your ear for a few minutes – it engages them with you and your vision and they will enjoy having allocated time to chat with you about their performance once they are confident it’s a safe place. Making the reviews regular and brief keeps everyone on track and relatively transparent – creating the basis for a climate of continual improvement.
For more about the process of driving business growth through continual performance reviews & performance improvement, please contact the ConsultingHQ team. Insert link to contact page.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

The value of key performance indicators and how to establish them

by Tanya Gray | Dec 4, 2016 | Annual Performance Reviews, ConsultingHQ Blog, Performance Management

Key Performance Indicators – and their role in achieving business goals

Contents

Here’s how to ensure you have strong and relevant KPIs in place
Key Performance Indicators are not only for managing the people in your business
The job of establishing and reporting on KPIs rests with department managers. In fact, a KPI for Department Managers should be to manage and measure KPIs of their team members.
How to establish KPIs
Each Key Performance Measure must meet the following:
Also extremely important is that the KPIs are achievable – that robust processes are in place to allow success to take place.

Establishing clear Key Performance Indicators throughout your business is critical to establishing an effective business plan that will drive the results you want – especially as your business grows and more people and business processes are developed.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are your checks and balances to ensure your processes are moving smoothly and that progress is being made in every area of your business toward strategic business goals. Establishing and measuring against KPIs is every bit as important as having a business plan.

Here’s how to ensure you have strong and relevant KPIs in place

Your overall long term business goals establish your strategic business direction. All of your managers and team members need to understand that vision, and be at all times working toward it.

Given that audacious goals are not achieved in a short period of time, almost always, sub goals need to be established – and the path toward each sub goal achievement (business strategy) needs to be mapped (and sometimes remapped due to unforeseen circumstances). Every single person in your organisation contributes to staying on the path toward the goals in their own way.

Establishing KPIs is almost like lighting the path you need them to stay on. Establishing Key Performance Indicators is simply a way of ensuring that each person is clear on what they need to achieve – and measuring them against that achievement. It’s also a way of ensuring that performance is both measured in a rational, non-subjective manner – and rewarded appropriately. A good example of this is where performance management systems allow someone to shine who may not be always putting their hand up for recognition, and pulling in line those who may have a habit of talking about achievement but not actually delivering it.

Every step of your delivery output to your customers’ needs to have measurements placed against it, and those expectations should be shared company wide, as they become your service expectations.
A good example is measuring the time line between orders coming in and going out. Every step in this process needs to have a KPI established to ensure the overall company expectation is achieved.

If your front-line sales team can confidently tell customers your expected standard for time from order to despatch, they will be confident and professional!

Key Performance Indicators are not only for managing the people in your business

In a manufacturing environment, for example, machines can be allocated KPIs. By measuring machine rejects against overall output, you can measure and forecast gross margin much more accurately in the same way as you can compare one packer with another and forecast efficiency. Once you start thinking about outputs you will also start focusing on the potential.

The job of establishing and reporting on KPIs rests with department managers. In fact, a KPI for Department Managers should be to manage and measure KPIs of their team members.

If you do not have department managers, you may want to consider outsourcing this vital function. With clear goals and strong processes, your staff will invariably become more productive, more engaged and more likely to stay with you for longer.
KPI achievement should be measured either monthly or quarterly, depending on the measure. A sales team will generally be measured monthly (if not weekly), Finance KPIs will be reviewed monthly and quarterly, while a production or procurement team may be measured on quarterly KPIs.

How to establish KPIs

The ideal scenario is that the Performance Measure is developed alongside the employee who is to achieve them. In this you are achieving buy in and agreement that the KPI is reasonable and achievable. Seek as much input from team members as you can on any process changes that might be needed and any potential roadblocks to be aware of. Often Department Managers need to meet to re-assess KPIs to ensure the entire organisation is working as one – cogs moving in synergy in one direction.

Each Key Performance Measure must meet the following:

KPIs must be:
• measurable. KPIs are about actions and tangible achievements.
• specific. You need to be able to measure success against KPIs
• time bound – and reviewed against those time lines. People love to talk about their successes.

Also extremely important is that the KPIs are achievable – that robust processes are in place to allow success to take place.

If you can achieve this, you are sure to hit your end goals. Importantly, be clear with your team that KPI achievement is about meeting tangible goals – these are expectations. KPI measurement, performance reviews and remuneration reviews, while obviously linked together – are not the same.

Ensure you establish the expectation that employees are expected to contribute to and work solidly toward KPIs, and that regular KPI checks are a contributing factor to both personal performance reviews and remuneration reviews – each being a vital component of your overall Human Resource programme designed to enhance overall contribution to the business effort and to create the culture you would like to have for your team!

The value of key performance indicators and how to establish them

Happy planning – it’s worth it!!

Also read other recent blogs
Optimising your Business Planning
Performance Reviews

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

Time to formalise an annual pay and performance review process in your business?

by Tanya Gray | Sep 1, 2016 | Annual Performance Reviews, ConsultingHQ Blog, Performance Management

Time to formalise an annual pay and performance review process in your business?

Contents

So, how do I do that?
When reviewing salaries some of the factors we consider are (other than the above):

There is one thing that you can guarantee with an employee and that is that they are passionate about getting paid! You need to ensure you are being fair and reasonable, and also that what you are offering them is actually something that is in line with their expectations and will motivate them.

You need to make your team feel as though they are valued so you as the employer can get more out of what you are spending. Time to formalise an annual pay and performance review process in your business?

So, how do I do that?

You need to think about your HR strategy and company philosophy on how and why you pay people, then have a system in place which is in alignment with this. You must understand what the financial implications are of what you offer and if these are on top of their total remuneration package or included in it.

You should by now have your accounts back for the last financial year and will see how each department and individual has been able to contribute to the businesses overall success.

Metrics should be in place within each department of your business and this is what your team should be measured against-all employees need a clear line in the sand to understand what your expectations are as an employer. If you don’t have these then contact us and we can help set these up.

Typically, HR and the GM (and Department Managers depending on the size of the business) would review team and individual salary levels. Many businesses only look at performance but when we are working with our clients there are a number of areas we discuss that tie in to the annual performance review. These are attendance, attitude, presentation, any major achievements, promotions, etc. You don’t only want a high performing individual- they must tick all of the boxes and fit within your company culture.

This is where the HR team from Consult NZ come in (yes it’s still Tanya and Mike from Recruit NZ except we are under a new brand). We tailor annual performance review documentation to suit the key metrics within your business. These are issued to each of the members of your business (they can be electronic or paper) and they complete them rating themselves on a scale across a variety of areas from presentation, following systems to actual performance. These are the issued to the department manager to review and complete. We assist in running these sessions with the entire team and providing feedback on individuals.

When reviewing salaries some of the factors we consider are (other than the above):

Market rates
Affordability
Supply and demand, skill shortages
The current total fixed remuneration for all employees
CPI index
Cost of living

If we are not already running these within your business and you would like to get a finalised process in place to tie in with your HR strategy, then please contact us and we would be happy to help!

Next step: a FREE 30-minute consultation

If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you formalise an annual pay and performance review process, contact us to request a FREE 30-minute GTM or skype. We’ll discuss your unique situation with the decision makers in your business and recommend a solution that would work for you.

Call 0800 HRHOTLINE (0800 474 685 463) or email info@consultinghq.co.nz – we’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Time to formalise an annual pay and performance review process in your business?

Contact us to find out how we can help your business.

How to give constructive criticism in 9 easy steps

by Tanya Gray | Feb 11, 2016 | Annual Performance Reviews, ConsultingHQ Blog, Performance Management

How to give constructive criticism in 9 easy steps

Contents

So how do you give constructive criticism – but without shooting yourself in the foot?
Summary

Let’s admit it, giving constructive criticism can be a tricky thing to implement. Many business owners find it’s a case of “damned if you do and damned if you don’t”: if you do it wrong, you risk demotivating and alienating the staff member, which affects productivity in a negative way. Or if you don’t do it all, any below-par behaviour continues.

But, if you manage to do it right, giving constructive criticism helps team members (even excellent employees) lift their game and it can really motivate them.

So how do you give constructive criticism – but without shooting yourself in the foot?

How to give constructive criticism in 9 easy steps? Here are 9 easy steps on how to give constructive feedback:

Step 1: Consider the timing

Some constructive feedback is urgent, but other times it’s not so time sensitive.

For example, if an employee is manhandling a machine in a way that’s causing excessive wear and tear – that’s urgent. As is an employee who’s yelling at a customer. Or stealing from you. And you need to address it right away.

But if the feedback is about something like admin practices or communication skills, then it’s something that may be appropriate to bring up at the next one-to-one meeting with your employee.

However, don’t categorise something as non-urgent simply because you don’t want to deal with it right now! For example, if an employee is regularly late to work or flouts the dress code, you need to strike while the iron’s hot – you need to speak to them right now.

Hint: if you’re not running weekly one-to-one meetings with your team, you really must start implementing them – it is in your favour! Employees expect guidance and feedback at one-to-one meetings, which immediately sets the right tone and creates the perfect forum for feedback.

Step 2: Consider the location

Always always always give the feedback in private. There are no exceptions to this rule!

Step 3: State the purpose of your feedback in a constructive manner

So now you’ve got your employee in the office (or other private, appropriate location). The ideal way to get the ball rolling is to get straight to the point: do not use delaying tactics, such as enquiring about the employee’s dog/child/parent/grandparent/medical complaint.

Ideal opening statements include:

“I want to discuss…”
“I have a concern about…”
“I feel I need to let you know…”
“I have some thoughts about…”

This sets the right tone from the outset.

Step 4: Describe what you’ve observed – and be specific about it

When you speak to your employee, you should have a certain event or action in your mind. You need to communicate what happened, where, and who was involved.

Stick to what you personally observed and do not speak for others. (“Betty said that you…” is a no-no.)

Also, avoid talking in vague terms: do not discuss what the employee “always” or “usually” does.

Example: “Yesterday morning, when Fred came to see you about some quality control issues, I heard you raise your voice at him.”

Step 5: Describe the outcome and consequences

The next step is for you to explain the consequences of the event to the employee, so they can see how you and other people were affected. It’s vital that the employee understands the impact of their behaviour on the rest of the team, and the company as a whole.

Example: “Fred looked embarrassed, as did the other people in your office. We are a team in this business, and shouting at work mates is not acceptable behaviour.”

Step 6: Let the other person respond to what you’ve said

Even though you’re the boss, feedback needs to be a two-way street. So once you’ve explained the outcome and consequences, stop talking. Remain silent and look your employee in the eye, so they have a chance to respond.

Most people will respond to this, but if the employee hesitates simply ask them an open-ended question, such as:

“What do you think?”
“What are your thoughts?”
“What is your view of the situation?”

Step 7: Make positive suggestions

If possible, make some positive suggestions on what to do next – and include some practical examples.

This step is important because it demonstrates your leadership: you’ve moved on to thoughts of improving the situation, rather than dwelling on accusations and finger pointing. Remember, constructive feedback is all about staff development and providing coaching. (And even good performers can be coached to be better still!)

Example: “If Fred’s team can’t fix the quality control issue before the next shipment, that’s a major problem we all need to brainstorm together. So if it happens again, come to me right away – and I’ll be sure to let Fred know that, too.”

Step 8: Summarise the action points

Before the employee leaves your office, summarise the action points – but do not mention the employee’s negative behaviour again… remember, you’ve moved on from that.

Also, be sure to end the meeting on a positive note by expressing your confidence in the employee’s ability to improve the situation.

Example: “As I said, getting the quality control issues corrected before the next shipment is vital. And I’m really glad that you’re focused on the customer experience. If you spot hiccups like this again, please let me know directly; I appreciate you taking the initiative.”

Notice how this focuses on the positive, and ends the meeting on a higher note than it started? That is what constructive feedback is all about: it is motivating, and encourages your team to work smarter.

Step 9: Implement the action points

It’s vital that you now follow through with any promises you made, or you will lose your team’s respect. (Conversely, if you follow through immediately, you will go up in their estimation – which is great for motivation and teamwork.)

In the example here, the manager would (a) call Fred into the office for a private one-on-one to discuss the quality control issues; (b) get to the bottom of those quality control issues; and (c) provide feedback to the other employee(s) on progress and actions, seeing as the problem affects a number of individuals and departments.

Summary

Decide whether the feedback is urgent or can wait till the next weekly one-to-one meeting
Give the feedback in private
State the purpose of your feedback in a constructive manner
Describe what you’ve observed – and be specific about it
Describe the outcome and consequences
Let the other person respond to what you’ve said
Make positive suggestions
Summarise the action points
Implement the action points.

Want some more help with constructive criticism?

Recruit NZ can provide you with personalised training and coaching – or if you’re a monthly retainer client, we can take care of the staff feedback sessions for you.

Contact us to find out more: call 09 280 3977 or email info@consultinghq.co.nz

How to give constructive criticism in 9 easy steps