Manager Tools Podcast Summary
Episode: Preparing Performance Reviews - HOF 2025
Date: November 24, 2025
Hosts/Speakers: Mike (B), Mark (C)
[Skip to: Key Timestamps at end]
Main Theme
This episode dives deep into how managers can effectively prepare for annual performance reviews—one of the most crucial yet often mishandled managerial responsibilities. The hosts lay out a practical, step-by-step process for preparing, writing, and ultimately delivering meaningful performance reviews, focusing on actionable guidance tailored for managers who may not have diligently tracked performance throughout the year.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Importance and Broken Nature of Performance Reviews
- Annual performance reviews are often mismanaged; most companies lack an effective, data-driven process, which undermines credibility.
“This is one of the three or four most broken personnel processes in corporate America and maybe perhaps worldwide.” — Mark [05:56]
- Quality reviews are a huge competitive advantage for disciplined managers.
- The modern state of reviews has become “about writing or about filling out the form rather than about being clear with your subordinates.” — Mark [06:37]
2. The Review Preparation Process: Three Core Steps
a. Collecting Data
- Sources to include:
- Job description and requirements
- Performance/behavioral data (metrics, incidents, feedback)
- Individual background (history, resume)
- Self-appraisal from employee
- Organizational perspective (input from peers or similar roles)
- Immediate Actions:
- Reserve a location for reviews
- Ask employees for their self-appraisal before year-end break
- “Lock down the location... and ask your folks for their input to be given back to you within a couple of weeks.” — Mark [10:42]
- Job Description: Even if imperfect or absent, create or update one to provide an objective standard.
- Performance Data: Metrics (attendance, output, quality), critical incidents, and documented behavior—avoid over-relying on opinion or “recency bias.”
- Self-Appraisal: Have employees complete a review form themselves; note who invests real effort.
- “Somebody who really does a bang up job and gives me a lot of information, I'm going to mention that in the review…” — Mark [33:16]
b. Evaluating Data
- Start with the end in mind:
- What is the core message you want the employee to take away?
“Lay everything you’ve got down and ask yourself, what is the core message that I want to send to this person?” — Mark [41:00]
- Watch for common evaluation errors:
- Halo/Horns Effect: Letting one positive/negative trait color the whole evaluation.
- Similar to Me Effect: Overrating employees similar to yourself.
- Be mindful of demographic or tenure-based biases.
- Distribution Analysis:
- Map all reports to a bell curve, ensuring objectivity and making fair use of available raise pools.
c. Writing the Review
- Choose the information that best supports your “core message.”
- Writing must be concise and clear; avoid complex prose.
- Two Writing Techniques:
- SEER: Summarize, Elaborate, Example, Restate.
- “Bob is my best customer service rep. He consistently exceeds every customer service rep standard in the company. He recently saved a difficult call after three other reps had failed to do so. He's an example we ought to put on training videos.” [SER example, 53:15]
- SUMX: Summarize, Example.
- Shorter, for limited space.
- SEER: Summarize, Elaborate, Example, Restate.
- Take a Strategic Break:
- After drafting, step away, review it fresh later, and proofread, especially for grammar and spelling errors.
3. Handling Systemic Problems in Evaluation
- Inflation in Ratings:
- Most organizations “inflate” ratings, making it hard to distinguish top from average or weaker performers.
- Practical advice:
- Don’t penalize top performers by being the only objective manager in a sea of inflators. Instead, satisfy system requirements but ensure direct feedback with your top and bottom performers about where they truly stand.
- “The last thing I want to do is say to myself, ‘I can't irritate anyone…’ The people I'm most interested in taking care of is my top performers.” — Mark [74:19]
- Spread out your bell curve:
- “The act of doing that has encouraged the poor performers to leave, and it's encouraged the best performers to stay.” — Mike [77:14]
- Quarterly Reviews Recommended:
- Real performance management means quarterly, not just annual reviews; it “catapults” your effectiveness next year.
4. Performance Review Tools and Technology
- Performance Review Software:
- Useful for formatting, not for content.
- Don’t expect tools to fix lack of preparation:
“If you're really well prepared, writing is easy, so I generally don't recommend [software] because people use it as a crutch…” — Mark [62:55]
- The right simple structure (SEER/SUMX) suffices for most managers’ needs.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “You cannot win a game being down by four touchdowns with a great two minute drill. Performance reviews were meant to be the end, an afterthought almost from a performance management system.” — Mark [03:22]
- “The writing is really around the formulaicness... of the form as opposed to it being chock a block with good information.” — Mark [07:41]
- “If you don’t have a job description, if there’s no standard… then all it boils down to is your opinion.” — Mark [19:08]
- “People evaluate how well they've done…based upon the raise they get and the rates they get relative to their peers.” — Mike [49:34]
- “Simple. Pretty simple. Now, again, there are a thousand different ways to do forms, depending upon the form… But the key is, does the preponderance of the information on the form support your core message or key point?” — Mark [51:39]
- “The only way to maintain credibility…in terms of getting your best people promoted, you have to highlight the worst performers as well.” — Mike [78:56]
Practical Takeaways
- Act Now: Reserve a review location & request employee self-appraisals before holidays.
- Data is King: Collect from multiple sources—job description, performance metrics, incidents, self-review, and wider org context.
- Be Structured:
- SER for fuller commentary
- SUMX for brevity
- Beat Bias: Be vigilant against “halo” and “similar to me” effects.
- Bell Curve, Not Peanut Butter: Spread raises/ratings wisely; avoid flat distributions.
- Review, Break, Review: Don’t rush—let reviews sit, then edit with fresh eyes.
- Prioritize Top Talent: Protect and reward your best, and let poor performers feel consequences.
Key Timestamps
- [01:16] — Introduction: Why reviews are so often mismanaged.
- [11:00] — Immediate prep steps to start today.
- [14:14] — The Five Sources of Data for reviews.
- [28:13] — Using email folders & records to track behavioral incidents.
- [41:00] — Evaluating data: Begin with the end in mind.
- [44:06] — Halo/horns and similarity bias.
- [49:34] — Distribution analysis and the pitfalls of “peanut butter” raises.
- [51:39] — Writing techniques (SER & SUMX).
- [62:34] — Performance review software and its limits.
- [67:35] — Balancing objectivity with system inflation.
- [77:14] — Bell curves encourage strong teams & attract talent.
Final Words
“If you do this well this year, it will catapult you next year—you’ll change your relationship subtly with your folks and it will remind you how important it is to gather data throughout the year and do the reviews quarterly.” — Mark [80:17]
By shifting from ad hoc, last-minute efforts to structured, data-driven, and candid reviews, managers can transform a much-maligned annual exercise into a true engine of team development and personal managerial credibility.