Your employees need guidance, encouragement, and feedback to perform at a high level. And as a leader, it’s your job to make sure your team members get those things consistently. One way you can deliver those essentials is through a mid-year review. Done well, the mid-year review is a low-stress meeting that provides clarity, renews motivation, and promotes employee wellness. Here’s how.
The Importance of Employee Wellness
Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of mid-year reviews, let’s examine the importance of employee wellness. Employee wellness is the degree to which employees succeed in various areas of their lives, such as health, career, relationships, and finances. It encompasses both personal and professional well-being.
When employees are well, everyone wins. Workers will be happier, more engaged, more productive, and more likely to stay with the organization. As a result, the company will enjoy less turnover, fewer recruiting expenses, greater output, and a healthier bottom line. It’s therefore in a firm’s best interest to make employee wellness a priority.
How Mid-Year Reviews Can Support Employee Wellness
A mid-year review is an informal meeting to check in with workers, track progress on goals, reestablish expectations, and offer guidance. The discussion shouldn’t take on a disciplinary tone but rather provide encouragement and assistance to increase each team member’s chance of success. It can also help to support employee wellness if it’s used to:
- Clarify expectations. Employees will be less stressed when they know what they’re supposed to be doing.
- Provide support. Your workers will feel more empowered when they know you have their back.
- Connect them with resources. Your team can be more effective (and less frustrated) in their roles when they have the tools they need to get the job done.
- Offer development opportunities. Most of your employees crave the chance to grow and will appreciate your taking an interest in their careers.
- Prioritize results over time worked. Team members will enjoy a better work-life balance and have more time to focus on other important things.
- Encourage the use of employee benefits. Employee wellness will inevitably improve when your workforce takes advantage of every perk your company offers.
- Recognize and reward good work. Your workers will feel valued and appreciated when you acknowledge their efforts and contributions.
- Connect on a personal level. You can forge a meaningful bond with your staff by getting to know a little bit about them outside of the office.
Pro Tip: Think about what your boss could include in a mid-year review to make you better at what you do and happier at work. Then, be sure you feature those elements in the meetings you conduct with your team.
How to Conduct an Effective Mid-Year Review
Follow these steps to conduct an effective mid-year review:
- Set up the meeting in advance. That way, your employee has time to prepare.
- Be clear on the purpose of the meeting so that they don’t worry about being in trouble.
- Review documentation regarding their current goals and performance. Create an agenda for the meeting based on that information before the review occurs.
- Ask your team member for their thoughts on how the year is going to kick off the meeting. Use that insight to shape the conversation.
- Follow the agenda you created to ensure the key points get covered but allow the meeting to flow naturally based on your employee’s responses.
- Adjust goals as needed. Offer resources and support to make their jobs easier.
- Thank your employee for their contributions. Praise and reward them for their accomplishments.
- Summarize the main points of the conversation and thank your team member for their participation.
- Document the highlights of the review and share your notes with your employee promptly.
- Deliver any resources, assistance, or development opportunities you promised during the meeting as soon as possible.
Bonus step: Ask each team member how you can improve the mid-year review experience and incorporate their feedback when you conduct the next meeting.
8 Tips for Successful Mid-Year Reviews
Implement these best practices to ensure your mid-year reviews are successful:
- Hold meetings in a quiet and neutral environment. A small conference room may feel more casual than your office.
- Give your team members ample time to reflect on their performance and goals — before and during the review.
- Keep the sessions as positive as possible. You may have to address some challenging topics, but this meeting shouldn’t feel punitive.
- Encourage employees to ask questions or raise concerns throughout and at the end of the meeting.
- Remind employees that you have an open door and are available to assist them at any time.
- Take an interest in your workers on a personal level, and share a little about yourself. That way, you form a deeper connection with them.
- Ask your employees about their future plans — and how the organization can help them achieve those goals. Follow through with resources to get and keep them on track.
- Demonstrate how each team member’s work impacts the organization and the world, so their efforts feel meaningful.
Bonus tip: Provide ways for your employees to connect with each other to enhance camaraderie and teamwork.
How Informal Check-Ins Enhance Your Performance Management Process
We know we just spent an entire article discussing mid-year reviews. But the truth is that annual performance reviews and mid-year reviews don’t provide enough feedback and support for your employees to thrive. You need to have frequent, casual check-ins with each member of your team in addition to those more official meetings.
Doing so will help you keep your finger on the pulse of how your workforce is doing. Plus, it will help you:
- Build better and faster rapport with your staff
- Catch and address problems sooner
- Foster trust with your team
- Find more opportunities to provide praise, recognition, and training
These check-ins don’t have to be fancy — they just have to happen. Make it a point to stop by each employee’s desk (or inbox if they’re working remotely) weekly and ask how things are going and how you can help.
How Omnia Can Help
Coaching your employees to achieve their full potential is essential for their well-being — and your company’s success. But, connecting with them on a deep enough level to do that can often seem daunting. That’s where we come in.
Our fast and easy behavioral assessment provides insights into each team member’s approach to work, communication style, preferences, and more. You’ll walk away with information you can use to personalize mid-year reviews and casual check-in conversations to each employee. Then, your chance of truly reaching them will skyrocket.
Plus, you can take the assessment yourself to better understand your leadership style. That way, you can ensure how you manage your team is in line with promoting their wellness — and peak performance.
Final Thoughts
When you prioritize employee wellness, your entire company will benefit. Conducting effective mid-year reviews and casual check-ins can help your firm promote both personal and professional well-being within your workplace.
Curious to see how Omnia can enhance your mid-year reviews, check-ins, and overall employee wellness? Try a complimentary assessment!
