Performance reviews are designed to help employees understand how they are performing, how they can improve, and how their work contributes to organisational goals. However, traditional annual review cycles often fail to deliver meaningful feedback or support career development.
This overview explains common problems with performance reviews and outlines proven approaches organisations can use to create more effective, fair, and engaging performance conversations.
Why traditional performance reviews fall short
Many organisations rely on annual or semi-annual reviews as their primary method of assessing performance. This approach can create several challenges:
Feedback arrives too late to influence behaviour or outcomes
Employees lack clarity on expectations between review cycles
Career development conversations are postponed or overlooked
Reviews focus on past performance rather than future growth
Employees increasingly expect regular feedback and guidance. When this does not happen, they may feel disengaged, undervalued, or uncertain about their future with the organisation.
Common issues in performance management
Infrequent conversations
Limiting feedback to once or twice a year can leave employees uncertain about their standing. Issues may go unaddressed for months, making them more difficult to resolve and more stressful to both managers and employees.
Unclear or subjective ratings
Numerical scales or abstract ratings such as “potential” or “strategic thinking” can be difficult to assess consistently. Without clear criteria, ratings may reflect personal bias rather than actual performance.
Bias and inconsistency
Performance reviews can be affected by unconscious bias, proximity bias, and recency bias. These issues are more likely when managers rely on memory rather than documented goals and evidence.
Overloading the review conversation
Performance reviews are often expected to cover feedback, career development, engagement, and compensation all at once. This can dilute the value of the conversation and reduce the amount of feedback employees absorb.
What effective performance reviews look like
Organisations with stronger performance management practices typically focus on ongoing conversations, not single events.
Effective approaches include:
Regular check ins focused on progress and development
Clear, measurable goals agreed at the start of a review period
Adjusting goals when business priorities or circumstances change
Separating performance discussions from pay and bonus decisions
Encouraging two-way feedback between employees and managers
These practices help employees understand expectations, see how their work matters, and take ownership of their development.
Using data without losing trust
Data and metrics can support fairer performance discussions when used carefully.
Examples include:
Progress against agreed goals
Timeliness and quality of work outputs
Sales or service benchmarks where appropriate
However, not all aspects of performance can be measured quantitatively. Behaviours such as integrity, collaboration, and coachability may require informed judgement and open discussion.
Combining clear data with regular conversations helps reduce bias while keeping feedback human and meaningful.
Supporting managers to have better conversations
Managers play a critical role in performance management, but many are not trained to deliver feedback confidently or consistently.
Organisations can support managers by:
Simplifying review processes and documentation
Providing training on giving constructive feedback
Encouraging frequent, informal check ins
Setting clear expectations for performance conversations
When managers feel equipped, they are more likely to address issues early and support employee growth.
Moving beyond annual reviews
Many organisations are shifting away from annual reviews in favour of more frequent check ins, such as quarterly or monthly discussions. These conversations focus on:
What is going well?
What could be improved?
What support is needed?
How goals may need to change?
This approach helps performance management become an ongoing partnership rather than a once-a-year assessment.
Why effective performance reviews matter for frontline workforces
Frontline workforces operate in fast-paced, people-critical environments where performance directly affects safety, service quality, and compliance. In industries such as healthcare, aged care, and childcare, effective performance conversations are not just about productivity; they support better outcomes for patients, children, families, and communities.
Traditional annual reviews are particularly ineffective for frontline teams because:
Work is highly dynamic, with changing rosters, locations, and demands
Managers often oversee large teams with limited overlap in shifts
Performance issues or strengths need to be addressed quickly, not months later
Employees may feel disconnected from leadership if feedback is infrequent
Regular, structured performance conversations help frontline employees feel seen, supported, and confident in their roles.
Healthcare and aged care
In healthcare and aged care environments, performance feedback supports:
Safe and consistent care delivery
Compliance with clinical, regulatory, and documentation standards
Early identification of training or support needs
Emotional wellbeing in high-pressure roles
Ongoing check ins allow managers to address concerns such as workload, fatigue, or skill gaps before they impact patient care. They also give employees space to discuss career pathways, such as progression into specialist roles or leadership positions, which can improve retention in a competitive labour market.
Childcare and early learning
In childcare settings, employee performance has a direct impact on children’s safety, development, and learning outcomes.
Effective performance reviews help organisations:
Reinforce expectations around compliance, ratios, and quality frameworks
Support educators with feedback on communication, planning, and engagement
Identify professional development opportunities aligned to accreditation requirements
Build confidence and consistency across rooms and centres
More frequent conversations help educators understand how their daily work contributes to centre goals and regulatory standards, rather than relying on retrospective annual feedback.
Reducing disengagement and turnover in frontline roles
Frontline employees are more likely to disengage or leave when they feel undervalued or unsure about their performance. Regular feedback helps:
Reduce uncertainty about expectations
Recognise effort and improvement, not just outcomes
Address issues early, before they escalate
Strengthen trust between employees and managers
For shift-based workers who may have limited face-to-face time with managers, scheduled performance conversations create intentional space for connection and support.
Supporting fairness across shifts and locations
Frontline teams often work across different shifts, sites, or departments. Without structured performance management, feedback can become inconsistent or biased towards employees who are more visible.
Clear goals, documented check ins, and shared standards help ensure:
Employees are assessed fairly, regardless of shift or location
Managers rely on evidence rather than memory or proximity
Performance decisions are easier to explain and justify
This is especially important in regulated industries, where fairness and transparency are critical.
Additional information
Performance conversations should be documented to support consistency and internal mobility.
Input from peers or other stakeholders can provide broader insight when used thoughtfully.
Review processes should account for remote and hybrid work to avoid proximity bias.
Separating pay discussions from feedback conversations helps employees focus on development.