The parts of a working system
- Clear goals, set with the person, with results visible to the team. See Clear Goals, Open Results.
- Continuous check-ins, short and regular, rather than one annual conversation. See Continuous Check-ins.
- Specific feedback, close to the event, about behaviour and its effect.
- Fair evaluation, using documented criteria and calibrated across teams.
- Development, a plan that follows from the evaluation.
- A link to rewards that people can understand.
Where it usually goes wrong
- The annual surprise. Feedback arrives once a year, too late to act on.
- Recency bias. The last few weeks outweigh the year.
- Inflated ratings. Most people end up in the top categories, so the rating loses meaning.
- Inconsistent standards. Different managers apply different bars.
- Goals that cannot be measured, or are changed without telling people.
- Evaluation with no development, so the conversation ends with a number.
Calibration
Calibration is the step where managers compare their assessments against shared criteria and evidence. It does not reverse decisions arbitrarily; it tests whether the same standard was applied. Done well, it catches a manager who rates everyone high, one who rates everyone low and patterns that favour some groups.
Giving feedback that helps
- Describe what you saw, not a judgement of the person.
- Say what effect it had.
- Say what you would like to see instead.
- Ask for their view, and listen.
The Academy principle Caring Directness covers how to be both honest and kind.
How to tell whether it is working
- Do people say they know how they are doing, without waiting for the review?
- Is the distribution of ratings believable, and similar across groups?
- Do development actions happen?
- Do promotion decisions follow the evaluation? See promotion fairness.
Frequently asked questions
What is performance management?
It is how an organisation sets goals, gives feedback, evaluates results and develops people, ideally as a continuous process rather than an annual event.
What makes a performance review fair?
Documented criteria, evidence-based evaluation, calibration across managers and checks for bias by group.
What is calibration in performance management?
It is a step in which managers compare their assessments against shared criteria and evidence to make sure the same standard was applied across teams.
How often should managers give feedback?
Often enough that nothing in the review is a surprise: short regular check-ins and feedback close to the event, with a formal review as a summary.
Written by the WCRC Culture Crest Research Desk, part of WCRC Intelligence. General information, not professional advice.
