Performance Review
A performance review is a periodic, documented assessment of how an employee has performed against agreed objectives, usually feeding pay, promotion and development decisions.
Also known as: appraisal, performance appraisal, review cycle
The familiar annual form is only one shape it takes. A review cycle has a period it covers, a set of participants, a rating scale and a decision it produces — and organisations increasingly run shorter cycles because a twelve-month memory is not evidence.
What separates a useful review from a ritual is what it is scored against. A review built on objectives set at the start of the period, or on measures the business already tracks, produces a conversation about facts. One built on a manager's recollection produces a conversation about the manager.
Calibration is the step most often skipped and most often needed. Ratings from different managers are not comparable until they have been compared: one lenient and one severe manager will otherwise decide two people's years differently for the same performance. Calibrating before ratings are published is what makes the outcome defensible.
Feedback from peers and reports — a 360 — widens the evidence beyond the single person who happens to sit above someone in the hierarchy. It is more work and it produces a materially different picture for anyone whose manager sees only a fraction of their work.
Handled in SignHR
Performance Management
Performance management software — KPI scorecards, review cycles with calibration, goals and OKRs, 360 feedback, PIPs and recognition in one HR platform.
See performance managementRelated terms
Probation Period
Probation is an initial period of employment during which both sides assess the fit, usually carrying a shorter notice period and reduced access to some benefits until the employee is confirmed.
CTC (Cost to Company)
CTC is the total annual cost an employer bears for an employee — salary, allowances, employer contributions and benefits combined — not the amount the employee receives.
Notice Period
Notice period is the time an employee must continue working after resigning, or that an employer must give before terminating, as set by the employment contract.
Leave Encashment
Leave encashment is payment for unused paid leave — converting a remaining balance into money, either annually or when an employee leaves.