Organizational Effectiveness creates resources for supervisors and staff to help guide performance reviews.
Wednesday, January 31, 2024

As the deadline to complete 2023-24 performance reviews nears, supervisors and staff are encouraged to reflect on the previous year and set goals for the months ahead.

Annual performance reviews at the University of Iowa are meant to be a two-way dialogue between supervisors and employees to help foster healthy working relationships, discuss areas of excellence and improvement, and consider opportunities for growth.

Checking in on an employee's performance should not be limited to performance reviews, however. The Society of Human Resources Management reports that 85% of people who have weekly check-ins with their managers experience higher levels of engagement at work.

"While performance reviews are valuable for the dialogue they create and the actions that come out of them, we encourage supervisors and staff to engage in healthy conversations year-round about what's working and what's not so there are little to no surprises when it comes to the performance review," says Sean Hesler, director of Organizational Effectiveness Operations, a unit of University Human Resources.

Tips for successful performance reviews include:

  • Engage in a year-round dialogue by having conversations even when they aren't required.
  • Be transparent.
  • Create a culture of teamwork and reflection.
  • Create opportunities for growth and development.
  • Solicit feedback about the performance review process.

Organizational Effectiveness has created a variety of resources for supervisors and staff to help foster a positive performance review experience, including:

More information about the performance review process, as well as additional guides and training resources, are on the Organizational Effectiveness website.

To begin your performance review process in Employee Self-Service, visit talent.uiowa.edu/performance.