Performance reviews in the holiday season

While every organisation handles performance reviews differently, managers usually schedule them and “get them out of the way” before the holiday season. 

But at the end of the year, everyone is stretched thin. Employees are on the brink of burnout and reviews as a box ticker and at times, empty and meaningless. Yet, a salary increase and performance review are often tied together making them an important conversation for some employees at the end of the year.

They’re also an important way to fuel employee motivation, growth, and performance leading into the new year.

Research from the workplace and consulting company Gallup shows that 80% of employees who receive meaningful feedback are more engaged with managers. But most employees only receive feedback once or twice a year. 

Reviews are seen as an opportunity to make a change, often coupled with a title change or salary adjustment. So they can be seen as a way to build a bridge and help employees ascent in the new year, or they’re used as a way to cut the rope and manage employees expectations leading into the new year.

So, should you conduct a performance review before the holiday break? 

When to hold a performance review 

Suppose the feedback is positive, and you anticipate the review to go well. Then a review can help keep productivity high, provide employees with timely feedback, boost morale and give them a sense of closure, allowing them to close out the year and prepare to return in 2025 with fresh energy. 

However, a performance review can have the opposite effect and cause stress before the holidays. So sometimes, waiting until the new year is a good idea, especially if you’re delivering bad news.

But with budget reviews and the reality of running a business, it’s not always feasible to conduct positive reviews before the end of the year and negative ones after the new year, so managers need to decide which will have the most significant organisational benefit.

But the research and sentiment from employees is clear:

The way feedback is given makes the most difference, regardless of what the feedback is.

So what’s the best way to conduct and give a performance review? 

How to hold a performance review

There are two approaches: narrative and numerical. Narrative involves giving detailed, personal comments that describe specific behaviours or performance, offering context, examples, and constructive advice for improvement. Numerical feedback uses ratings or scores to assess performance, which provides a more objective, standardised measure.

A recent Harvard Business study found that employees viewed narrative feedback as fairer and therefore has more potential to boost morale, especially for employees with room to improve in the new year. 

While numerical feedback has advantages, HR teams and managers can integrate quantitative information into narrative feedback without having to rest their hat entirely on that approach.

The narrative approach 

Performance reviews can feel like navigating a maze of numbers and checkboxes. 

The narrative approach offers detailed, context-rich feedback with examples, explanations, and encouragement. Employees walk away with more precise insights into their strengths and growth areas, feeling genuinely understood and supported. 

Narrative feedback puts humans back in human resources, ensuring performance reviews don’t just measure effort but help people thrive.

Employees feel more certain about what they need to do to step up. They get a complete picture of their contributions throughout a period, which highlights their strengths and explains what they need to do to improve, instead of leaving them with a mysterious grade on a test they didn’t know they were taking.

So, instead of employees leaving a review feeling judged, they walk away feeling seen. Employees respond better when they can relate to what’s being said. Because it communicates to them that you understand and appreciate their efforts and respect their potential.

Regardless of where or when you complete a performance review, here’s some general advice you can take and share with managers.

Some general tips

Start the conversation early—be clear about what is expected in job descriptions and interviews.

Measure expectations—define clear performance metrics for employees.

Keep expectations realistic—set reasonable expectations to avoid burnout.

Personality over action—focus on nurturing the right person rather than facilitating the correct action because actions can be changed, but not personality. 

Use real-time feedback—use the strength of your HRIS to inform performance reviews.

Train managers—ensure managers know how to plan, document information, and deliver constructive feedback. 

Remove manager bias—avoid the “recency effect”, a cognitive bias describing when performance is rated based on the most recent achievements. Instead, managers should base their review on an employee's performance throughout the year.