Quarterly performance reviews are like pit stops in a Formula One race. Done right, they can refuel your team's enthusiasm, change tires of outdated strategies, and shave seconds off the race to your company's objectives.
Done wrong? Let's just say nobody wants to be left in the dust.
So, how do you do it right?
How do you turn these reviews into launchpads for success and not stumbling blocks?
This article will dissect the "whats" and "hows" of effective quarterly reviews. From setting the stage to diving deep into the nitty-gritty, it's all here.
By the end of reading, you will know how to turn quarterly reviews into catalysts of motivation and beacons of growth.
📊 What is a quarterly performance review?
A quarterly performance review is a formal assessment of an employee's performance, conducted every three months within a year.
This type of review is part of an organization's performance management system. It aims to evaluate and support an employee's work, achievements, and challenges over the quarter.
It has a shorter perspective than an annual review, focusing more on specific milestones and achievements during the last 3 months.
While it still counts as a performance review, a quarterly performance review has elements of continuous feedback.
🆚 Check out our article to learn more about the difference between performance reviews and continuous feedback.
What is the purpose of a quarterly review?
Quarterly reviews give multiple opportunities for feedback and improvement as the year progresses. It helps track progress throughout the year and identify the drivers behind performance with more precision than annual reviews.
By having more frequent touchpoints, companies can maintain a consistent dialogue with employees, fostering a more agile and responsive organizational culture and ensuring employees stay aligned with their individual goals and the team and organization's goals.
Regular reviews also help strengthen the manager-employee relationship, motivate employees, and support a healthy team spirit and workplace culture.
🏆 The benefits of quarterly performance reviews (as compared to annual reviews)
There are several reasons organizations are switching from annual to quarterly performance reviews. The major drawback of sticking to annual reviews is delayed feedback.
Naturally, annual performance reviews come with a time lag between the event and the feedback delivery.
For example, suppose you see a drop in a KPI 11 months before an annual performance review. In that case, it can be hard to remember what caused the lower performance.
With quarterly reviews, on the other hand, you'll be able to pinpoint what happened and how you can prevent it from reoccurring.
The benefits of a more frequent review cycle are:
- Timely feedback: The more frequent feedback, the better! If an employee is off track, the sooner you can course-correct, the better. This also goes for positive feedback. You'll want to double down on what's working quickly! (Side note: Check out the concept of feedforward in the next section.)
- Agility: Things are shifting increasingly fast in today's markets. It's important to stay flexible and be able to pivot if needed. With frequent review cycles, you can update your employees and change goals, strategies, or methods if required.
- Employee engagement: As mentioned in the intro, employee engagement is low worldwide. One of the top contributors to motivated employees is regular feedback. Feedback makes employees feel seen and valued.
- Performance boost: Maybe you've heard that a task takes as much time as we allocate to it. That's just how the human mind works. So even the most well-intended employees can slow down if they know they won't get feedback on performance in another 11 months. With quarterly reviews, it feels more relevant to stay on track.
- Alignment with business goals: A business is only as successful as each employee. It's key to align employees with company goals to have them see how their unique contribution matters. A lack of alignment can lead to burnout or potential remaining untapped.
- Alignment with business quarters: The business year consists of Q1-Q4, so viewing an employee's performance through that same lens makes sense, too.
- Focus on performance and development over compensation: Annual reviews often concentrate on compensation, distracting the employee from paying attention to the other elements discussed. During a quarterly review, they're free to focus entirely on feedback.
🧩 What should a quarterly performance review include: 9 Key elements of a successful quarterly review
1. Performance metrics
A quarterly performance review should include an assessment of how well the employee met targets for employee performance metrics. It's also the occasion to evaluate whether the performance metrics are still relevant for the role responsibilities.
We also recommend a self-assessment, where employees are asked to reflect on their performance during the last 3 months.
If you don't collect written self-evaluations, be sure to inform your employee in the meeting invitation, so they have time to collect their thoughts before your quarterly review meeting.
❓ Pick and choose the best employee self-evaluation questions from our list for your next quarterly review.
🌡️ Learn more about improving employee performance in our guide.
2. Future goal alignment
More frequent reviews make it easier to check that employees are on track with goals. If something unexpected happens, such as a loss or the addition of a resource to the team or new clients, the quarterly review is an excellent opportunity to adjust goals accordingly.
3. Review of past goals
How well did the employee meet past goals?
Are these goals still plausible and relevant, considering unexpected changes during the last quarter?
🎯 Check our guide on setting effective goals for employees. We also recommend reviewing our performance goal examples for a little extra inspiration.
4. Feedback and feedforward
Besides checking in with KPIs and goals, quarterly performance reviews should include broader feedback. This can be done in a 360 review fashion where the employee receives feedback from each team member or others they've worked closely with.
Feedback can also be more qualitative and directed at things that cannot be measured by KPIs, such as how timely the employee replies to messages and other forms of communication, teamwork, motivation, and alignment with corporate values.
Most importantly, the quarterly review should be an opportunity for two-way feedback.
Encourage your employees to share feedback regarding their team lead/direct report, colleagues, clients, workload, and professional development. You can look at different employee development areas for inspiration on what to cover.
A similar, more enabling concept that is gaining popularity is feedforward. Feedforward focuses on future potential over past performance. It is given at the moment when the opportunity arises.
Instead of getting the divisive "we vs. them" mentality, it fosters collaboration and collectively solving any issues.
🙌 Check out our guide to discover more feedback methods and techniques.
5. Identifying opportunities for professional development
We mentioned previously that acknowledgment is a critical factor in employee motivation. Another key factor is growth. Employees are no longer satisfied with just a salary – they want to see a clear career path within the company.
During the quarterly review, you can discuss the employee's ambitions, dreams, and satisfaction with their professional development. Also, check what resources or training they need to reach their next level.
Development goals can give purpose and direction for career development. It's like researching the destination before going on a road trip.
Development goals differ from performance goals because the destination is a particular job position or specific competencies. The destination of performance goals is to increase profits.
6. Asking strategic questions & promoting open dialogue
The quality of the answers you get from your employees is directly proportional to the quality of the questions you ask.
Bonus tips: Practice active listening by reflecting back to the employee what they just said. Dig deeper when you feel there's more under the surface.
When you ask deeper questions, often, the first answer is automatic, and what we're used to reply. Asking, "Can you elaborate?" or "Is there something else?" allows us to reach those aha moments.
❓ For inspiration to pick the right strategic questions, check out our curated collection of 70+ questions to ask during a performance review.
Finally, leave room for open dialogue if there's something more the employee has on their mind. Even if you asked for feedback earlier – some people take time to warm up or may be more comfortable sharing openly than giving feedback about a specific person or situation.
7. Setting concrete action items
By now, you have checked performance, exchanged feedback, talked about professional development, asked strategic questions, and had an open dialogue. Last but not least, it's time to go from words to action!
Dr. Ella Washington, CEO of Ellavate Solutions, says: "When I look back at the best and the worst feedback conversations, I feel like the worst ones were the ones that I just didn't know what we were talking about. It felt like a pat on the back, but I wasn't clear about what am I supposed to do with this information in order to not only get better as a professional, but also to achieve more in this organization."
We've all had those conversations. Avoid them by being clear and specific about what you expect from your employees and by when. Make sure to document what you agree upon. If you need to follow up with particular resources or help, write a reminder so you don't forget about it.
💡 How do you prepare for a quarterly performance review: 6 Best practices for managers
Prepare in advance
Managers and employees should both come ready for the review. Set expectations by emailing the agenda of the meeting well beforehand. Inform your employees what they need to do and share any questions they should have reflected upon before.
✍🏻 Learn how to write a performance review in our detailed guide.
Foster an open communication environment
If you need to discuss sensitive topics you don't feel comfortable with, practice before the meeting and think about the different reactions you can get and how to handle them with empathy yet professionalism.
If you look like you want to run away, you probably won't get the profound answers that ideally need to surface.
Balance praise with constructive feedback
How do you strike the right balance between praise and constructive feedback? It depends on the employee in front of you. Some employees are okay with getting constructive feedback. They see it for what it is: professional, not personal. Other people can take the exact same feedback personally and get disheartened.
A good idea in the latter case is to use the sandwich approach: start with praise, share constructive feedback, and end on a positive note. This helps you deliver all feedback but with a more positive emotional imprint.
Set actionable goals for the next quarter
Setting employee performance goals is a science in itself, but a quick note is that they need to follow the SMART rule: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This prevents things from getting lost in translation and inspires the employee to leave the meeting with enthusiasm, ready to dig in!
Beware and avoid recency bias (overly focusing on the last few weeks)
It can be easy to fall into the recency bias trap and only talk about what happened during the last 2 weeks, ignoring the remaining 10 weeks of the evaluation period.
When preparing for the review, look back at critical events, important deadlines, or client acquisitions, and ensure you know how the employee contributed.
Maintain consistency in reviews
To build trust with your employees, try not to move the meeting once you've scheduled it. A review can be nerve-wracking, and you don't want to cancel last minute.
Also, make sure to actually do the following reviews in 3, 6, 9, and 12 months, and so on – even if you're in a hectic period. Remember how crucial frequent feedback is for employee satisfaction and, thus, the future of your business!
💡 For more actionable manager tips, check out our performance review best practices.
📝 Free quarterly performance review template
What if there was a roadmap to turn quarterly performance conversations into powerful catalysts for growth and achievement?
Look no further than our meticulously crafted quarterly performance review template - your go-to tool for transformative feedback session
Our template doesn't just guide you. It walks alongside you in this journey of professional development. It’s segmented into intuitive sections, covering everything from preparation to setting new goals.
It includes:
- Clear steps for pre, during, and post-review phases.
- Spaces for detailed feedback, covering achievements, areas for improvement, and overall performance.
- Goal-setting section grounded in SMART principles for clarity and achievability.
- Dedicated segment for employee feedback, ensuring their voice is heard and valued.
- Guidelines for actionable learning and development opportunities.
- Final notes to document the roadmap ahead, ensuring no commitment or brilliant idea slips through the cracks.
Snatch our free quarterly performance review template!
Feel free to modify it to add relevancy for your organization.
📈 Do you have an annual assessment coming up, or do you want to know what to include in a 360 review? We have a library of performance review templates here!
💬 How to conduct a quarterly one on one performance review
The term "performance review" can sometimes sound daunting. A successful review doesn't necessarily have to be formal!
Quite the contrary – a more relaxed approach can make your employees more comfortable and encourage them to open up.
Opt for a casual setting
Move away from the boardroom or office setting. Conduct reviews in a neutral or more relaxed environment like a coffee shop, park, or during a walk.
Changing the scenery can make the conversation feel less like an evaluation and more like a candid discussion.
Big companies like Spotify have regular "coffee chats," informal reviews between managers and employees over coffee.
🎶 Check out our case study of Spotify's employee performance management and their unique people/band philosophy based on accountability, agility, innovation, and development.
Keep a flexible agenda with employee input
While having key points ready is important, be flexible about the discussion's flow. Let the employee set some agenda items or lead parts of the conversation.
Co-ownership of the agenda will encourage a discussion rather than a reporting session.
Ask open-ended questions and let your people express their thoughts on progress, challenges, and aspirations.
Adopt a conversational tone
Set aside corporate jargon and formalities to help put the employee at ease, encouraging a two-way, honest dialogue.
Open with non-work-related topics, discussing interests or mutual hobbies to break the ice and humanize the interaction.
📅 Check out our curation of the best check-in questions for meetings. These will help managers build stronger connections with their teams.
Emphasize growth and development
Frame the conversation around the employee's development and career path rather than just their past performance.
Discuss their passions, where they see themselves in the future, and how you and the organization can help. Maybe even start drafting up a rough career development plan.
Talk about learning opportunities, not just task completion or project successes.
Reflect on both wins and losses as valuable lessons.
Set up informal regular check-ins
Make the quarterly review part of an ongoing dialogue. Have regular, less structured check-ins or 'catch-ups' to keep track of progress without the pressure of a formal review.
These frequent, informal sessions will make the actual quarterly review feel like a natural, cumulative discussion, reducing anxiety and formality.
Cisco, which repeatedly is voted the best place to work for, has ditched backward-looking annual reviews in favor of informal weekly check-ins.
In addition, they have mid-year career discussions that are focused on professional development.
📡 Learn more about employee performance reviews at Cisco and the rituals and people processes that drive high performance.
➡️ Set up and run quarterly performance reviews in just a few clicks with Zavvy
By now, you have hopefully noticed the relevance of quarterly reviews – and maybe also their complexity. What if there were a quarterly performance review process that would do the hard work for you?
That's what you'll get with Zavvy!
Zavvy offers an integrated solution for performance reviews where you'll have everything in one place. You'll save a lot of time and back-and-forth between Excel sheets and employees sitting on the information you need.
Here are some of the features that will facilitate your quarterly reviews:
- Automated feedback cycles: with reminders and scheduling. Do the setup once you onboard a new employee, then forget about it!
- Analytics for a holistic view: with 9box, skills matrix, and competency profiles on an individual, team, department, and organizational level, you'll have plenty of insights to dive deep into with your people's capacities and potential.
- Customizable templates: with our gallery of templates created by our learning scientists, you can find inspiration and a first draft for diverse reviews (e.g., competency-based, with ratings or without, with multi-raters, anonymous or not).
- Automated feedback summaries: with AI-powered feedback summaries, you can help employees make sense of multiple types of feedback from more reviewers.To make things even better, the AI will automatically consider all the feedback to propose growth areas on the employee's growth dashboard!
- You can also use our functionalities for one-on-one meetings and 360 feedback in your quarterly reviews.
📅 Book your demo with us today to try it out – no strings attached!
❓ FAQs
Is a quarterly review every 3 months?
Yes, a quarterly review is organized by the manager and the employee every 3 months.
What is the difference between a quarterly review and an annual review?
The most obvious difference is the frequency. Besides that, quarterly reviews typically don't focus on compensation. They can be more informal and open up for deeper discussions that annual reviews don't always have room for.
