Performance & Development
Annual Performance Review
An annual performance review is a structured one-to-one in which a manager and an employee look back over the past year, discuss results and behaviours, and agree on what comes next. It works best as a two-way conversation rather than a verdict. These questions follow the natural flow: the year in review, results, strengths and difficulties, feedback both ways and the year ahead.
17 questions
When to use this template
- Once a year, at a set point in the calendar, after the employee has had time to reflect on the year and, ideally, to complete a self-assessment.
- When pay, bonus or promotion decisions depend on a documented view of the year, so that those decisions rest on a conversation and not a surprise.
- For every employee, not only for those whose performance is a concern, so that good work is recognised as consistently as problems are addressed.
Questions to ask
Looking back on the year
- 01How would you sum up the past year in your role?
- 02Which moment of the year are you most proud of?
- 03What was harder than you expected?
- 04How did your role change over the year, if at all?
Results and objectives
- 05Which of your objectives do you feel you achieved, and how do you know?
- 06Which ones fell short, and what got in the way?
- 07Which results had the most impact on the team or the customers?
Strengths and skills
- 08What do you think you do particularly well?
- 09Which skills did you develop this year?
- 10Where would you like to be stronger?
Feedback in both directions
- 11What feedback have you received this year that stayed with you?
- 12What could I do differently to help you work better?
- 13Is there anything about how the team or the company works that gets in your way?
The year ahead
- 14What should your priorities be for the coming year?
- 15What support or training would help you reach them?
- 16Where would you like your role to be in a year or two?
- 17Is there anything we have not covered that you would like to raise?
Tips for a useful conversation
- Share the format and the questions a few days ahead so the employee can prepare, and invite a short self-assessment.
- Base your feedback on concrete facts and examples from the whole year, not only the last few weeks.
- Spend at least as much time listening as talking: the employee should speak for most of the conversation.
- Write a short summary after the meeting, agree on it together and keep a copy for the next review.
- Separate the discussion of the year from the discussion of pay when you can, so each gets proper attention.
Mistakes to avoid
- Letting recent events weigh far more than the rest of the year.
- Delivering a verdict instead of opening a conversation, so the employee only defends themselves.
- Raising an issue for the first time at the annual review when it could have been discussed months earlier.
- Setting objectives for next year without checking that they are realistic and resourced.
Let Passisto People hold these conversations
The AI agent holds structured voice conversations with your employees and gives managers a clear report. People decide what happens next.