Performance Review Template

Building a High-Performing Culture of Commitment

It goes without saying that most, if not all employees are concerned with advancing within their organization - or at least they should be. Whether it’s a promotion or a raise, or better yet both, good work should be recognized and rewarded. While some organizations still determine promotions based on seniority (we strongly recommend you don’t do this), the true measurement should be performance.

Performance reviews, when done well, can be key to establishing a high-performing culture of commitment. When goals and expectations are laid out clearly from the get-go, employees will have a better chance of succeeding in their roles. Transitioning away from ambiguity and toward transformative communication can single-handedly improve your employee experience––and minimize unnecessary complexities.

Opting for a communicative, collaborative, 2-way performance review experience provides employers and employees documented, measurable alignment ranking in areas important to you such as roles and responsibilities, individual goals (as applicable), and company goals (as applicable).

It’s not complicated to achieve cultural mediocrity, merely expect the status quo from your team and you’re sure to get just that.

—Creating a High Performing Work Place, 2018

The What

Performance reviews––an opportunity for reflection, adjustment, and celebration. Implementing easy-to-understand, measurable performance reviews with company-wide cultural nomenclature is essential.

The Who and Why

All employees––you and your employees deserve a measurable understanding of how your expectations for their roles and their understanding of your expectations align––both the gaps and successes.

The When

Best practice is to provide an overview of the performance review process during onboarding, highlighting your cultural nomenclature for metrics, and then performing the review one to two times per year. At Rebel, the metric rankings are simple: Fix It, On Track, Nailed It. From day one, every employee should not only understand the review metric nomenclature, but it should also become commonplace during conversations and when giving and receiving feedback. Long before annual or, semi-annual reviews take place, employees deserve to have a clear understanding of their ranking, especially if in a Fix-It status. Communicate rankings often.

The How

At Rebel, we break up our performance review into three sections: Role & Responsibilities, Individual Goals, and Team Goals. Sections have a scope of evaluation identified and defined. Identify the scope of the evaluation as general enough for all or most employees, and then detail specifics within the definition section. That way, you are assessing all or most of your employees using the consistent scope of evaluation identifiers and allowing for role specificity within the description.

The Extra

Being creative and intentional when it comes to integrating culture must haves such as core beliefs, mission, and values into performance reviews. Implement stop gaps for goal achievement when employees ignore or violate aspects of your culture experience. I’ve worked in companies where leaders and top performers nailed their goals but compromised the company values—the things printed on mousepads, mugs, onboarding materials, and posted on walls. They compromised values such as integrity, collaboration, encouragement, constructive feedback, and respect. When people nail their goals but lack respect for the company culture, values, or people—it sends a loud message that the company doesn’t truly value these things.

Ready to get started?

Download our free Performance Review Template document to craft something that is unique and specific to your organization’s metrics and overall goals.