Why Mid-Year Review is Important and How to Do It

June is just a few days away and this means that the mid-year employee review is about to begin. Companies often hold this type of appraisal in addition to annual appraisal to evaluate how employees have been performing in their job during the first half of the year. Managers can embrace this opportunity to train employees on how to make necessary performance adjustments before their more in-depth year-end review.  

Mid-Year Review: Why?

Annual performance evaluations are only effective for 13% of employees and supervisors, according to this study. This is because a whole year has gone by the time of the annual review, and goals and priorities might change significantly in a year. Research also shows that 55% of employees believe that annual performance appraisals do not help improve their productivity. Not to mention, keeping track of a year's worth of performance for each employee is a difficult task for managers, since they tend to shift more to planning upcoming annual goals rather than evaluating the past year's performance. This is why a mid-year review is needed so that both employers and employees can actually take time to evaluate their performance that has been going on for six months and find out what needs to be improved for the rest of the year.

Benefits of Mid-Year Review

Employees may miss out on crucial professional development opportunities as a result of yearly performance reviews, while managers risk becoming out of touch with their employees' goals, successes, and weaknesses. Mid-year performance evaluations provide an opportunity for managers and employees to reflect on the year to date, reconsider priorities, and modify plans for the rest of the year. This also provides an opportunity to get back on track, reprioritize, and build stronger bonds with your employees.

A mid-year review is a great approach to engaging with employees and learning how they feel about their jobs. Maybe one of your employees silently considers resigning and it will have been too late if you conduct an annual review. Mid-year review, on the other hand, can prevent this from happening, as managers get the chance to listen to employees’ concerns and demands to stay in the company. A study shows that supervisors who conduct more than just annual appraisals are roughly three times more engaged with their employees.

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Typically, a mid-year performance review can be as comprehensive as a year-end review, and it might include a formal evaluation and input from supervisors, as well as 360-degree employee assessments. However, you can also opt for a more informal mid-year review, as opposed to year-end assessments, which are often related to significant implications such as promotions and pay raises. You can also connect with your high-performing employees in this way to increase engagement by acknowledging their accomplishments and brainstorming new ideas, all while making your employees feel valued as an important member of the team.

How to Do It Right

Given the importance of a mid-year review, this cannot be done on the spur of the moment. Managers must be prepared on how to lead these talks effectively, responsibly, and compassionately. Here are some things to consider.

Set up a Schedule

Mid-year is usually one of the busiest periods for many businesses, so you need to make sure that you have secured a schedule for your employees' individual reviews a few weeks in advance. Making time and space for mid-year assessments with your employees shows that you appreciate them and want to help them grow without jeopardizing their ongoing workload. Do not forget to remind them about the review two or three days before the schedule, as this will also allow you to quickly reschedule when needed.

Draft Questions

After agreeing upon a schedule, draft questions that suit your objectives for a mid-year review. In general, your questions should cover these three aspects: what went well, what could be improved, and how you as a manager can offer additional support. Ask open-ended questions and encourage employees to score their experiences on a scale of 1-10. Mid-year scalability helps make qualitative feedback more quantifiable and actionable. It also encourages discussion on what specific activities might be needed to achieve the next level of performance. Here are some examples of basic questions according to Lattice:

• What specific accomplishments are you proud of over the last six months?
• What was a miss, and what did you learn from it? 
• On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your performance?
• How can I better support you? 

You can also ask other questions according to your company’s needs.

Devote Your Energy to ‘Be There’

Employees will not feel engaged if you are only half-there, so you need to devote your energy to actively listening to them during the review session. Take notes of their answers and feedback or keep a confidential recording to revisit later on. Keeping clear records of their answers will help summarize key points of improvements that will be useful for your annual appraisal later.

When done correctly, mid-year performance reviews can be a good, productive, and fulfilling experience for both managers and employees. The key to a successful mid-year review is to be prepared technically and mentally, so you can strike a balance between the professional review and a compassionate employer-employee relationship. Good luck!

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