In 2020, three out of 10 companies changed their review cycle because of the pandemic. 5% decided to cancel them entirely. Now that we get used to the new normal and slowly but steadily claw back to the offline work life, things have taken an exciting turn - that annual performance reviews are happening again, and this time their frequency has changed because the dynamics have changed. 

Performance reviews are the way forward for an employer to help understand the employee’s work performance management, identify core competencies, provide feedback, keep up employee motivation, and pave the way for tomorrow. So, while a lot of it has to do with the employer, it is key to understand that the employee’s role is not only to receive feedback but to play a key role in the conversation and to make the most out of the opportunity.

There are a lot of feedback questions to ask managers for the employees to help what they are doing right, things to work on if the work they do is in alignment with the overall company culture and objectives, and what the employer expects from them. 

This article lists the top 10 feedback questions to ask managers to ensure you get the most out of your performance review exercise. 

Tips for driving the 1:1 conversation with your manager 

While it is vital for employees to focus on feedback questions to ask managers during their performance review, it is equally essential to time it right. For this, they have to ensure that they are paying attention while receiving the evaluation, take a breath before voicing their opinions or questions, and ask whenever they are not sure about one or more aspects of the feedback.

Now that you have heard your manager’s side, it is time for you to go ahead and find ways to engage in a one-on-one conversation with them. 

Here are some tips to help you drive conversations with your managers with ease - 

• Start by setting up a goal that aligns your needs with the organisational one. It would allow you to find meaningful topics for improving engagement.
• Do not stick to a particular theme throughout the conversation. Make sure it is a mix of the following to augment engagement:

1. Career growth and development
2. Areas that require work
3. Engagement challenges
4. Peer feedback
5. Key messages from top leadership

• Do not forget about things you want to talk about. Focus on targeted questions for maximum impact.
• Try and understand the thought process of your manager. Think about how they would like you to phrase your questions.
• You do not always have to talk about formal topics related to your workplace. You can also discuss your hobbies and other issues with a shared interest to prevent the conversation from becoming dull.

Top questions to ask your boss during your performance review

While the primary reason for conducting performance reviews is to understand the performance of team members and help them improve, it often fails to achieve the target in the truest sense. 

Why? The key reasons can be employers ending up asking the wrong questions or employees failing to deduce the right feedback questions to ask managers that would help them summarize their performance better. 

So, here are the top 10 employee feedback questions to ask managers during your performance review: 

1. What are the goals that I should work towards?
2. Am I meeting the organizational expectations?
3. What are my strengths and weaknesses?
4. What are the upcoming organizational changes that you can foresee?
5. What are the challenges that we, as an organization, are facing currently?
6. How are you measuring my performance?
7. What should I do to be eligible for a promotion?
8. Are there any technical skills that I should work on?
9. Can I get a raise?
10. How can I contribute towards supporting my team members better?

1. What are the goals that I should work towards?

It is one of the vital questions if you wish to continue your association with the organization for the long-term. It helps you tailor your goals, ensure holistic growth, and be valuable to the company. 

Expectations from the manager - If the employer considers you valuable, they will provide you with certain goals to work on that are specific to your role. 

2. Am I meeting the organizational expectations?

While work-life balance is vital, your association with the organization should be about meeting their expectations. So when in a performance review, you can ask your manager to understand the areas which require work and how you can become a better employee. 

Expectations from the manager - The answer can either be a yes or a no. You can still discuss things that require fine-tuning if it is the former. If it is a no, you should seek a detailed explanation. 

3. What are my strengths and weaknesses?

While it is easy to talk about your strengths in a performance review, you will also have to discuss weaknesses to ensure you remain motivated to improve. 

Expectations from the manager - Most managers are reluctant to talk about weaknesses explicitly but would be kind enough to give you hints to make you feel comfortable and yet understand your shortcomings. 

4. What are the upcoming organizational changes that you can foresee?

While the primary focus in a performance review remains on the individual and how they are performing, it is also vital for the employee to understand where the organization is headed and know if they want to continue their association or look for newer opportunities. 

Expectations from the manager - The manager can talk about the change in challenges or how they wish their employees to operate as high performing professionals to achieve the bigger goals. 

5. What are the challenges that we, as an organization, are facing currently?

Asking such a question would help you understand your next moves and how to tweak your work to contribute better to the organization’s growth. 

Expectations from the manager - The expectation from the manager effectively would be to discuss the bottlenecks hindering the growth and also a roadmap on how they wish to resolve them. They can also discuss how they perceive you to help them get out of the rut. 

6. How are you measuring my performance?

It would help you understand the underlying metrics and benchmarks used by the employer to measure your performance and progress. It would also enable you to reinforce your focus on those areas and always keep them on top of your mind. 

Expectations from the manager - In most cases, you can expect a technical answer, including graphs, reports, or other data points, to deduce your performance. In other cases, it can also revolve around the experience they have garnered and provide critical insights to ensure employees feel secure and understand how they are being judged. 

7. What should I do to be eligible for a promotion?

If you want to continue at the same workplace, a performance review is an ideal situation to discuss your promotion and what you should do to be eligible for the promotion. It would also convey your willingness to continue to the manager. 

Expectations from the manager - Expect the leadership team to break down the steps and skills required for you to get to the next position. They can also suggest some workshops and other activities that can propel your growth.

8. Are there any technical skills that I should work on?

In a performance review, an employee can ask their leadership team to let them know if they have a specific skill they need to work on. Then, they can help them find the right technical skills that they need to improve their on-job performance.

Expectations from the manager - If your manager thinks that you are valuable, they will encourage you to improve your skill set and also suggest technical skills that can help you facilitate your growth. 

9. Can I get a raise?

Even though performance reviews primarily discuss employee performance, it can also be a perfect opportunity for them to discuss their compensation and ask for a raise. Look for the right opportunity and gauge if the employer is willing. 

Expectations from the manager - In most cases, pay raises and promotions are planned, but there can be specific issues or other clerical aspects that have made your wait for a raise longer. Discussing the same with the manager can help you remind them and solve problems hindering your pay increase.

10. How can I contribute towards supporting my team members better?

Organizational success depends heavily on collective performance and execution. While collaboration remains the key, individuals are often unsure of the level of collaboration and how it can ‌ improve the overall performance. 

Expectations from the manager - You can expect them to carefully analzse your strengths and weaknesses and give collaboration suggestions based on the outcome. 

Bonus: Icebreaker questions 

As the name suggests, icebreaker questions help you get into a meaningful conversation by eliminating the initial uneasiness. These are especially helpful if you are new in the organization and are not in regular contact with your manager. 

Here are some icebreaker questions to get your conversation going - 

• What kind of holidays do you prefer?
• What is your favorite Marvel character?
• Would you choose singing over dancing?
• What is the best holiday destination you have travelled to?
• Where do you go for lunch usually and why?

Wrap up 

While the time between performance reviews is decreasing, it allows the high-performance employees to ensure that they are continually working on achieving organizational and self goals without losing focus. As for performance reviews, they are essentially an opportunity to establish robust communication and ensure greater work-life satisfaction. 

At Mesh, we understand that employee engagement and expectation needs can be varied but require equal focus to ensure optimum satisfaction. So we have created a goal-based initiative that helps employers scale holistically and improve employee satisfaction with ease. 

Click here to request a free Mesh.ai demo today.