Performance Reviews: Focus on Results to Get Results

We love concise prose at Write It Well, but performance reviews are one kind of document where you can’t skimp on the details.

Here’s an example. It shows how you can go beyond merely describing a task by explaining the results of a job well done:

Before:

“Going forward, Fred needs to create presentations with more pictures and fewer words.”

After:

“During the next quarter, Fred needs to make his presentations more engaging and interactive so that the audience learns more and doesn’t drift off. Using pictures, polls, and lots of questions will help.”

The bare description in the first example doesn’t explain why Fred should change how he uses PowerPoint. Seeing the second sentence in a performance review would give him a much clearer reminder of how he can improve his work.

This focus on desired results could also spare Fred’s coworkers and clients some long, sleepy meetings.

For a list of quick tips, check out our free, one-page PDF “Dos and Dont’s for Performance Reviews”!

Click here for an overview of our half-day workshop on performance reviews. Write It Well can customize this training and deliver it for you, or you can deliver it yourself with our facilitator kit.

Go to these links for a one-page workshop overview, a sample agenda, and an extended excerpt from our guide for workshop leaders.

The training uses our stand-alone book Writing Performance Reviews: A Write It Well Guide.