Ask open-ended questions and encourage employees to rate their experiences on a scale of 1-10, explained Lori Scherwin, executive coach and founder of Strategize That,, an executive coaching company. “Scaling mid-year helps make qualitative comments more quantitative and actionable. It also helps prompt dialogue on what actionable steps would be needed to get to the next level of performance,” said Scherwin.
Here are the key questions you’ll want to cover:
How have you done since our last check-in?
What specific accomplishments are you proud of over the last six months?
What was a miss, and what did you learn from it?
On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your performance?
How can I better support you?
Is there another role you see yourself in at this company? What can we do to get you there?
Give specific feedback. Provide specific examples of the employee’s work or behavior that illustrate your points so that your employees understand context. For instance, saying, “We see you as a high-potential employee in the organization,” will not resonate as deeply as “Your work coordinating the various internal and external stakeholders on a particular project was very impressive, especially the way you held everyone accountable to the expedited timeline. This is a great example of why I see you as a high-potential employee on our team.” Scherwin added, “Feedback in a bubble is not useful for anyone and can lead to resentment and disconnect.”