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Performance Review Meeting Template
Make performance reviews productive, fair, and focused on growth with this structured template.
📋 The Template
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# Performance Review: [Employee Name]
**Review Period:** [Start Date] to [End Date]
**Date:** [Meeting Date]
**Duration:** 60 minutes
## Self-Assessment (Employee completes before meeting)
### Accomplishments
- [Major achievement 1]
- [Major achievement 2]
- [Major achievement 3]
### Challenges
- [Challenge faced and how it was handled]
- [Area for improvement]
### Goals for Next Period
- [Goal 1]
- [Goal 2]
- [Goal 3]
## Manager Assessment
### Performance Against Goals
**Goal 1:** [Original goal]
- Status: [Exceeded/Met/Partially Met/Not Met]
- Notes: [Context and feedback]
**Goal 2:** [Original goal]
- Status: [Exceeded/Met/Partially Met/Not Met]
- Notes: [Context and feedback]
### Strengths
- [Specific strength with example]
- [Specific strength with example]
- [Specific strength with example]
### Areas for Development
- [Area 1] - Suggestion: [How to improve]
- [Area 2] - Suggestion: [How to improve]
### Core Values Alignment
- **[Value 1]:** [How they demonstrated it]
- **[Value 2]:** [How they demonstrated it]
## Discussion Topics (During Meeting)
1. **Review accomplishments** (10 min)
- Celebrate wins
- Discuss impact
2. **Address challenges** (10 min)
- What support is needed?
- How can we help?
3. **Feedback exchange** (20 min)
- Manager feedback
- Employee feedback on management/team
4. **Career development** (15 min)
- Long-term career goals
- Skills to develop
- Growth opportunities
5. **Set goals for next period** (5 min)
- 3-5 SMART goals
- Success criteria
## Goals for Next Review Period
- [ ] **Goal 1:** [Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound]
- [ ] **Goal 2:** [SMART goal]
- [ ] **Goal 3:** [SMART goal]
## Development Plan
- **Skill to develop:** [Skill]
- Action: [How they'll develop it]
- Support needed: [Resources, training, mentorship]
- Timeline: [When]
## Action Items
- [ ] @[Manager]: [Action] - Due: [Date]
- [ ] @[Employee]: [Action] - Due: [Date]
## Next Check-in
- Date: [30/60/90 days out]
- Focus: [What we'll review]💡 How to Conduct Effective Reviews
Before the Meeting
- Share template 1 week ahead - Give time for self-assessment
- Review past goals - Gather evidence and examples
- Prepare specific feedback - Use the SBI model (Situation-Behavior-Impact)
During the Meeting
- Start positive - Acknowledge accomplishments first
- Be specific - Use concrete examples, not generalizations
- Listen actively - This is a two-way conversation
- Focus on growth - Frame feedback as development opportunities
After the Meeting
- Document everything - Share notes within 24 hours
- Follow up on commitments - Check in on development plan
- Schedule next review - Put it on the calendar
✅ Pro Tips
- No surprises - Regular feedback means reviews are just summaries
- Use the 70/30 rule - 70% employee talking, 30% manager
- Set SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound
- Link to compensation - Be clear about how performance affects pay/promotion
🚀 Skip the Note-Taking
Potato joins your review meetings and captures what matters — goals discussed, feedback shared, action items. Focus on the conversation, not your notepad.