Do your best people know they are your best people?

Questions I would ask

• What does good look like in each role, and has anyone written it down?
• Would two managers rate the same person the same way?
• Who gives feedback at your company, other than you?
• Could your leads run a review without you in the room?
• Who writes the review, who checks it, and who makes the call?
• What happens to the feedback from March by the time December comes?

I have been trained at every level of a large organization's performance system: the person writing, the person reviewing, the person deciding. So I would ask what your review rests on. What is a form worth without notes logged as things happen?

All of this may be more than you need. For a small team, a short rhythm your leads can carry may do it, and I will say so.

What you get

• A competency framework: what good looks like, role by role.
• Feedback notes, logged as things happen, so the review is not a memory test.
• A review cycle on the calendar, with dates people can plan around.
• Who writes, who reviews, who decides, written down.
• A short form and a conversation guide your leads can use without you, and training on how to give a review, including the hard ones.

How it ends: Your leads run the reviews. You read the summary and make the calls that are yours.