The role of feedback in a mid-year review: Creating a culture of continous improvement

Performance reviews are a tough but necessary part of evaluating progress and aligning goals. However, they often feel akin to a judgment day for employees when the manager announces them.

In this article, we’ll uncover how mid-year reviews create a culture of continuous improvement for both employees and the organization and what role feedback plays in them.

What is a mid-year review?

A mid-year review is an evaluation of the employee’s performance approximately six months into the annual review cycle, usually at the end of the second quarter. They are typically based on the employee’s job responsibilities, goal achievement, quality of work, productivity, teamwork and collaboration, attendance records, initiative they show, skills, and other factors.

Its primary purpose is to assess employees’ performance and progress toward goals in the past period, provide constructive employee feedback, and identify areas for improvement in the future.

They are also focused on individual employee contributions and growth, whereas something like an employee happiness survey can give a better look at the overall culture, for instance. 

Mid-year review vs annual review

Mid-year reviews DO NOT replace an annual review. Think of them more as complementary and not exclusive.

While an annual review gives a holistic view of the employee’s performance, a mid-year review is like a check-in that ensures we stay on track before the final evaluation.

Here are the key differences between mid-year and annual reviews:

	Mid-year Review	Annual review
Purpose	Evaluating progress and providing mid-cycle course correction	Summarizing an employee’s performance for the year
Frequency	Usually every 6 months or mid-year	Once a year, typically at the end of the performance cycle
Focus	Ongoing goals and challenges	Past performance and achievements for the year
Scope	Emphasizes key goals and KPIs and current performance	Broader evaluation of employee’s role and responsibilities
Goal impact	Review progress toward current goals and refine them if needed	Reviews completed and set new goals for the upcoming year
Feedback	Emphasizes actionable feedback	Reflects on what was accomplished in the year
Action plan	Creates a short-term action plan to refine current efforts	Sets long-term strategies for the next performance cycle

Why are mid-year reviews important?

Mid-year reviews are important for the organization as well as the employee. They are a vital checkpoint in the performance management cycle that answers, “Are we on the right path, or do we need to correct course?”

Here are the key reasons why a mid-year review is essential:

1. Fostering feedback culture

Unlike annual reviews, which focus only on past achievements, mid-year reviews provide more actionable and timely feedback on employee performance.

This feedback loop allows employees to adjust and improve throughout the year, thus fostering a culture of continuous improvement and growth.

2. Goal alignment

Mid-year review offers a proactive approach rather than a reactive one, as annual reviews do. This allows managers and employees to have a dialogue, discuss current goals and priorities, and set new targets if needed.

3. Early performance issue detection

By the time an annual review identifies a performance issue, it might already be too late. With mid-year reviews, however, managers can identify potential issues early on and before they grow and multiply like Gremlins.

4. Employee engagement and motivation

A positive performance review gives employees a warm feeling in the stomach called “satisfaction.” Now, do them twice a year, and you’ll see how employee morale goes up as managers acknowledge their hard work and contributions.

But even if the performance review was negative, it can still motivate employees to improve their performance for the next six months.

5. Better employee-manager relations

Finally, these performance reviews can improve and strengthen employee-manager relations through fostering open dialogue. Mid-year reviews are not one-way but allow employees to provide 360-degree feedback and discuss their performance with the supervisor.

Mid-year review best practices

For a mid-year review to succeed, managers and employees need to follow best practices to ensure they are focused, specific, and productive.

Mid-year review best practices for managers

• Prepare the review thoroughly

Never start a performance review unprepared. This signals a lack of organization in the employee’s eyes and can lead to a lack of trust in the manager.

Instead, prepare thoroughly by gathering important data on employee performance, such as feedback, KPIs, metrics, completed goals, etc. Identify specific challenges and achievements you want to highlight, discuss them, and set clear objectives for your conversation with the employee.

• Foster open communication

Mid-year reviews should be more like a dialogue than a one-way conversation. Encourage employees to share their sentiments on the challenges they are facing and their perspectives on goals and performance.

Actively listen and encourage employee engagement to build trust.

• Offer specific feedback

The idea of a mid-year review is to provide feedback to the employee on their performance and progress. However, this feedback needs to be specific and actionable.

This means providing specific examples of achievements and areas for improvement, offering actionable suggestions for the future, and balancing constructive criticism and positive reinforcement, not just one or the other.

• Focus on growth

Only 2% of Fortune 500 CHROs in a recent survey strongly agree that their performance management system inspires employees to improve.

At the end of the day, even if they are really bad, performance reviews shouldn’t destroy the employee’s motivation but push them forward to improve their performance.

If an employee hasn’t been doing well in the last period, try discussing their career aspirations with them and suggesting some courses or training programs they can use to improve their skills or learn new ones. The whole idea is to help them grow and develop.

• Revisit your goals

You’ll probably encounter many challenges you didn’t envision initially, so your goals shouldn’t be set in stone and never change. 

It’s important to review your progress toward your current goals and identify roadblocks and challenges. Next, you need to adjust the goals to accommodate those new challenges and ensure they are now achievable.

Mid-year review best practices for employees

• Come prepared

In the same way that a manager should come prepared for the mid-year review, the employee should also. This shows professionalism and dedication to succeed in their role.

Start by reviewing your job description and goals and any feedback from previous reviews (if you had them). Next, document your accomplishments and challenges over the last six months. Finally, get ready to discuss them and your progress.

• Be transparent

Without open communication and workplace transparency, it’s almost impossible to build trust and ensure that employees’ needs and concerns are heard.

This means not trying to be a solo player but instead sharing your thoughts about the challenges you’ve faced and how you worked to overcome them, asking for help and support where you need it, and offering feedback on your workplace and role to foster growth and improvement.

• Show you want to grow

Showing your commitment to grow and develop demonstrates to your employer that you think long-term with them and aligns you with long-term success.

Make sure to seek feedback on how you can improve your performance and discuss areas where you should improve. Ask for training or mentorship, too. Finally, don’t hesitate to express your interest in leadership roles or other projects.

• Take credit for what you’ve done

Put false modesty aside. Highlight your accomplishments and ensure your hard work is noted. If you don’t do that, you can’t expect to grow in your career or be satisfied with your job for long.

Show confidence and self-awareness by celebrating your success (but not bragging). Share examples of the projects or goals you’ve completed or helped with and use data to back them up, such as deadlines, metrics, or feedback you’ve received.

• What are your next steps?

Finally, discuss the next steps with your manager and establish actionable and SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely) goals.

Simultaneously, ensure your personal career goals align with the organizational goals.

Example questions to ask in mid-year reviews

Ask open-ended questions to understand where employees truly stand on their achievements.

Questions managers should ask in a mid-year review

Here are some examples of questions managers should ask employees in a mid-year review and why:

• How would you rate your progress towards your annual goals on a scale of 1-5? – This question gives insight into the employee’s progress and if they’re on track with their goals. It also reveals the employee’s self-awareness and if there are any gaps between reality and expectations
• How have you adapted to the changes in goals and priorities since our last evaluation? – What this question does is help you assess if and how well an employee can pivot when their goals and priorities shift. It shows the employee’s ability to be flexible and resilient in times of change.
•  How would you rate your time management skills? – By asking this question, you get a better understanding of how well employees handle their time and reveal if they have good work habits or any inefficiencies in their approach.
• What have you specifically contributed to in your role so far? This question allows the employee to “shine” and feel valued for their contribution. By highlighting these, you can find opportunities to leverage their strengths further.

• Where do you feel you need to improve for the rest of the ​​year? This question demonstrates the employee’s openness to feedback and willingness to grow. It also identifies areas for improvement and development opportunities to focus on.

• Based on your progress so far, how would you adjust your goals for the ​​rest of the year? – Answering this question, the employee can demonstrate their strategic planning and critical thinking level. At the same time, revisiting and adjusting your goals will ensure they remain relevant in current circumstances.

With HeartCount’s custom survey feature, creating a mid-year review is fast and effortless. In just a few simple steps, you can tailor questions, choose which employees or teams will receive the review, schedule its delivery, set expiration dates, and access clear, actionable analytics on employee performance. Plus, you can save your Mid-Year Review as a reusable template for future reviews.

Questions employees should ask in a mid-year review

At the same time, mid-year reviews should never be one-sided. This is an opportunity for both sides, manager and employee, to understand how well their goals align.

As such, here are some questions employees should ask their managers and why:

• Are my goals still aligned with business objectives? – Asking this question, the employee shows they’re committed to meaningfully contribute to the organization’s success. It also reveals if there are any deviations in alignment between the employee’s career goals and the organization’s business goals.

• What do I need to work on towards my promotion next year? A question like this reveals the employee’s commitment to growth and ambition and their openness to feedback. It also gives an employee what to focus on and clarifies what the manager expects of them when it comes to career progression.

It’s also a good idea to include the data from performance reviews in the semiannual report to get a deeper insight into employee engagement and job satisfaction.

Take the next step: Elevate your team with better feedback

Companies that focus on employee performance are 4.2  times more likely to outperform their competitors and have, on average, 30% higher revenue growth and 5% lower attrition.

Mid-year reviews are an excellent opportunity to align goals, promote continuous growth, and foster a culture of improvement. By implementing these best practices and asking the right questions, we’ve outlined here how to turn mid-year reviews into a powerful tool for employee engagement, performance improvement, and goal alignment.

Take the product tour and see how HeartCount tools can redefine your review process and make your feedback meaningful and actionable.