Annual performance reviews often strike fear into the hearts of both the employees being evaluated and the managers evaluating them. Much of the problem, experts tell Bloomberg BNA, is that the review process is often made to seem adversarial when in fact it should be collaborative. The supervisor praises and reinforces employee successes, while working with the employee to develop a plan for improvement where necessary. The best reviews are forward-looking, providing a shared understanding of the goals in the year ahead.

While comprehensive reviews are generally given on an annual basis, the formal appraisal would be better thought of as the culmination of mini reviews and coaching interactions, both scheduled and impromptu, that take place throughout the year. Instead of combative process between managers and employees, both parties are judging each other on meeting corporate goals and other meaningful performance metrics.

This issue of Workforce Strategies examines the performance review process as part of an overall corporate strategy and provides practical advice from experts in the field on how managers can use the evaluation process to motivate employees and to better integrate their individual activities with overall departmental and corporate goals. A case study of the performance management system developed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts gives a specific example of how this advice can be put into practice.