Questions to ask at annual review

Performance review questions help you gain holistic insights into employee performance and learn valuable information about members of your workforce.

In this article, we’ve listed the best performance review questions to supercharge your performance reviews and help you gain valuable feedback!

Here are the different areas to evaluate the performance of your employees. Feel free to check out the employee review questions that are relevant to you:

Here are the best performance review questions to ask your employees:

Performance review questions: About the employee’s overall performance

1. What accomplishments this quarter are you most proud of?
2. What are the ideal working conditions to be the most productive?
3. Which goals did you meet?
4. What motivates you to get your work done?
5. What can we do to make your job more enjoyable?
6. Which goals feel short?
7. What was your greatest accomplishment at work?
8. What do you hope to accomplish over the coming year?

Performance review questions: About the employee’s strengths

1. What skills do you have that you believe we could use more effectively?
2. Tell us about your personal strengths that help you do your job effectively.
3. What makes you the best fit for your position?
4. What kind of work comes easiest to you?
5. Describe the kind of work that inspires you the most.
6. What skills or knowledge do people on your team rely on you to provide?

Performance review questions: About possible areas of improvement

1. What goals/deliverables were you least proud of? Why?
2. How will you do those differently in the future?
3. What 2-3 things will you focus on in the next quarter to help you grow and develop?
4. What can we do to better meet your goals?
5. Where do you feel there’s room for you to improve?

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Performance review questions: About the employee’s current role

1. Which job responsibilities/tasks do you enjoy most?
2. Which job responsibilities do you least enjoy?
3. What do you like least about your current role?
4. What would you change about your current role?
5. How do you think your role helps the company succeed?
6. What do you like most about working for our company?

Performance review questions: About future growth and outlook

1. What are your most important goals for the next quarter?
2. What do you see as your biggest challenge next year? How are you preparing for it?
3. Do you assume your personal goals align with the organizational goals? If not, then why?
4. What do you want your next position at this company to be?
5. What professional growth opportunities would you like to explore to get there?
6. How would your responsibilities change?
7. What type of career growth is most important to you?
8. What position at the company do you want to move to next?

Questions about relationships with managers or other employees

1. What (if any) concerns do you have when it comes to giving me feedback?
2. How can I alleviate those concerns?
3. How do you prefer to receive feedback and/or recognition for your work?
4. Were you given enough valuable feedback this quarter?
5. What are two to three things I could do differently to manage you better?
6. What do I do that is most/least helpful for you when it comes to completing your work?
7. How have I helped you achieve your goals during the past few months?
8. What can we do to improve our relationship?
9. What would you do differently if you were a manager?
10. Do you feel that the team is working well collaboratively?
11. Where has management helped and hindered your work?
12. What would colleagues or clients say about their recent interactions with you?

Questions about the company culture and values

1. What are the main drivers of success in the company?
2. Which of our company values did you live best in the last few months?
3. Are you comfortable with our corporate culture, and are there areas that need improvement?
4. What’s your favorite part about working in our company?
5. How can we make our company more inclusive and diverse?
6. When have you felt the proudest about being a part of our company?

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9 best performance review questions for managers

Here are the best appraisal questions to ask your managers:

1. What role does [name] have on the team, and what impact have they had?
2. Describe a meaningful contribution that [name] has made this quarter
3. Which company value have you seen [name] emulating well in the last few months
4. Describe how you have impacted [name]’s ability to succeed and grow in their position
5. What types of projects does [name] excel at?
6. How has [name] done with creating and meeting goals in the last few months?
7. What are some areas of focus/projects that could benefit [name]?
8. In what ways did [name] contribute to the company’s current goals of [closing more deals, launching new campaigns, etc.]
9. What are some positive interactions you’ve noticed between [name] and others?

Final thoughts

Performance review questions help you get feedback that delivers new insights into your employee’s performance and how you can effectively motivate and engage your workforce.

When done right, employee review questions can really help them see how well they are meeting expectations and how they can make improvements and build on their strengths. We hope this article will help you effectively evaluate the performance of your employees.

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Conversational surveys typically tend to boost survey responses and create pleasant experiences. Most of your employees will complete your survey as they would be pleased to take surveys that are conversational in nature.

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Have you got any questions about conducting employee reviews? Got any interesting tips or hacks for creating an effective performance review? Let us know in the comment section below.

If you’re wondering whether SurveySparrow is the right fit for you and would rather have someone walk you through our platform, reach out to us for a free, personalized demo!

Pragadeesh

I'm a developer turned marketer, working as a Product Marketer at SurveySparrow — A survey tool that lets anyone create beautiful, conversational surveys people love to answer.

What questions should I ask during my annual review?

Questions for performance reviews and sample answers.

Is there room for growth within our department?.

What goals should I work toward?.

How can I help our team succeed?.

What would make me a candidate for a promotion?.

Am I meeting your expectations?.

How are you measuring my progress?.

What are the 3 core questions of performance reviews?

3 Types of Employee Review Questions.

Did you encounter a major challenge in your profession this year? ... .

What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment with the greatest results this year?.

Do your own personal goals align with the company's goals?.

What not to say in your annual review?

Never discuss personality traits—especially negative ones. You can say, “You have a fabulous attitude.” But saying, “Your attitude isn't great” focuses on personality, not performance. Maybe your employee does have a bad attitude.

What are the best questions to ask for feedback?

Research has shown that people are better at giving feedback when you ask them for something specific. If your goal is general, you can try a variation of this popular three-question approach: What one thing from this project should I do more of? What one thing from this project should I do less of?