You need to understand why mid-year reviews matter to get the most out of your employees. These check-ins do more than just track progress—they boost performance, keep employees engaged, and retain them by having real conversations about growth and development.
Conduct mid-year reviews to ensure constructive feedback and open discussion, which are crucial for enhancing employee performance and engagement.
The problem? Many companies still ignore performance reviews, and it’s costing them. In fact, 83% of HR professionals admit they struggle with employee retention. Learning to do mid-year reviews right can prevent this and create a more engaged and motivated workforce.
But before we begin the process, let’s clarify a mid-year review.
What is a mid-year review?
A mid-year review is a structured conversation between a manager and an employee, twice a year, to review performance, discuss progress, and set goals for the months ahead.
When done right, conducting mid-year reviews balances positive reinforcement and constructive feedback that keeps employees on track and growing in their roles.
A well-prepared mid-year review meeting is key to making this process meaningful. It encourages employees to reflect on their performance and ensures the conversation stays productive and solution-focused.
Why should you do a mid-year review?
Doing mid-year reviews goes beyond ramping up goals for the year. There are more reasons to do it. Here are some of them:
Mid-year reviews are important because they enhance employee engagement, identify performance issues early, and align goals.
These reviews fit into the broader review cycle as checkpoints to review progress, evaluate an employee’s performance, set new goals, and ensure continuous employee engagement and goal tracking.
1. Opportunity to give feedback
Feedback helps monitor and improve employees' performance by giving them insights into how well they’re doing at their job. If there are areas they need to improve, your feedback can help them make the changes to improve their skills and job performance.
2. Improve employee experience
Mid-year reviews allow you to help employees identify areas where they can improve by evaluating their performance. For example, performance review data can motivate employees to achieve more goals at work.
Unlike annual performance reviews, which can feel burdensome and lead to disengagement, mid-year reviews provide more frequent development-focused evaluations that enhance ongoing communication and feedback.
This makes mid-year reviews important for manager-employee communication, timely feedback, and performance recognition. They are key to employee engagement, addressing performance issues early, and ensuring employees have clear, actionable improvement steps.
3. Employees have achievable goals
Mid-year reviews give your company the framework for goal setting. Instead of letting employees become complacent, performance reviews can help them understand the company's overall long-term goals and how to be successful.
4. Review employee performance
It allows you to check in with your employees, review their performance, and gather information about their job experience. Reviewing past performance is important as it helps evaluate an employee's performance and identify areas for improvement.
This information can help you get insight into employee engagement and ideas to help them grow professionally.
Mid-year vs year-end reviews
Reviews are important for professional development. They give employees structured feedback and organisations visibility of progress towards goals. Evaluating an employee’s performance is a key part of these reviews, but not all reviews serve the same purpose.
Mid-year and year-end reviews are part of an effective performance management strategy, but they have different timing, focus, and outcomes.
Mid-year reviews: a check in
A mid-year review occurs roughly halfway through the year and is a checkpoint, not a final evaluation. It helps managers and employees review progress towards annual goals, evaluate an employee’s performance, address challenges, and make any necessary adjustments before the year-end review.
Unlike the final review summarises achievements, mid-year reviews are about growth, realignment, and ensuring employees have the resources and guidance to succeed.
Another key aspect of mid-year reviews is that employees can adjust their approach based on direct feedback. Employees behind on a goal still have time to correct and improve their performance before the final review.
This makes mid-year reviews a tool for continuous improvement rather than just a formality.
Year-end reviews: the final score
A mid-year review template is for mid-course corrections. A year-end review takes a broader view, examining consistency, overall contribution, and goal completion.
Since this review impacts big career decisions, it tends to be more formal and detailed.
A mid-year performance review template can be useful before the final review, recording past discussions and improvements.
Employees who take feedback from their mid-year review and apply it often perform better in their year-end review. Many companies treat the two reviews as one rather than two separate events.
A mid-year review isn’t just about an employee’s performance – it’s also an opportunity for employees and managers to align on goals, expectations, and areas for improvement.
One way to guide these conversations is to use employee review software with structured feedback tools and track progress over time. Many companies also use an okr management tool to ensure individual goals align with overall business objectives. But beyond the tools, the key to a successful review is asking the right questions.
Here are 6 questions to ask in your performance review that will lead to productive discussions:
- What are you most proud of this year? – Helps employees reflect on their contributions and recognize their strengths.
- What challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them? – Allows managers to understand roadblocks in a mid-year review template and offer support where needed.
- What skills or resources would help you perform better? – Ensure employees get the tools or training they need to be successful.
- How can the leadership team better support your professional growth? - This question fits within the best 360 leadership assessment tools as it holds leadership accountable.
- What feedback have you received from peers or clients that stood out to you? – Reinforces a feedback culture, especially using a 360 performance review template.
- What are your top priorities for the next six months? – Aligns future performance goals with company objectives, makes it easier to fill out an employee evaluation form or use a performance review template for follow-ups.
By asking thoughtful questions and using structured templates, mid-year reviews become more than just an evaluation – they become a tool for growth and motivation.
How to do a mid-year review
When done right, evaluating an employee’s performance during mid-year reviews asks the right questions, produces meaningful feedback, and strengthens employee relationships. Here are the best tips to help you do a mid-year review. It’s critical to do mid-year reviews as a process to improve employee performance and engagement.
Performance review, 360 feedback, 90-day review, monthly check-in, etc.
1. Create an agenda
You must create an agenda to evaluate an employee’s performance to get the most out of mid-year performance evaluations. A well-prepared agenda provides structure in the mid-year performance review template and can keep you and your employees focused during the review process.
So what should you include in your mid-year review?
Here are some must-haves in your agenda:
- An outline of what you want to cover
- Recap of the review from the last six months
- Discussion of how employees have met or exceeded their goals
- Employee’s perspective on the company’s values and management
- Framework for setting new short and long-term goals
2. Define performance criteria
During mid-year and yearly performance reviews, outline specific metrics to evaluate an employee’s performance based on the employee’s job roles and responsibilities.
To put this into context, let’s see some examples:
- A customer service rep should answer 20 calls a day
- Sales associates should make $150,000 in sales
3. Gather all the information
Collect quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate an employee’s performance and direct the review process. Use past employee reviews, such as 360 and peer reviews, as reference points to help you set standards.
4. Prepare constructive feedback
Evaluating an employee’s performance should help employees identify areas for improvement. Avoid vague statements in a mid-year review template that won’t be helpful to the employee. For example, instead of telling a sales associate to do better at their job, you can offer specific and constructive feedback like this: “We noticed you were 20% lower in sales in the last review period. Try to increase your sales by 25% by expanding your territory.”
5. Choose the right mid-year review questions
The right questions can help evaluate an employee’s performance so they can reflect on their progress and identify ways to make their year successful.
Here are the questions to ask during mid-year performance reviews. Relying only on an annual review can lead to employee dissatisfaction and missed development opportunities, whereas having mid-year reviews can significantly boost employee engagement and performance.
Mid-year review questions
- How would you rate your employee’s performance on a scale of 0-5 and why?
- What are you most proud of in the past year?
- What can the company do to support your skill development?
- What are your expectations for this role moving forward?
- What are your top development goals?
- What are the top three obstacles hindering your success?
6. Book the meeting in advance
It’s essential to book the review process in advance to evaluate an employee’s performance so they have time to prepare. Also, send them discussion points to reflect on before the review meeting starts. This way, the employee knows what to expect and won’t be surprised by your questions.
7. Make it a two-way conversation
The best mid-year reviews feel more like a two-way conversation and less like an interrogation, focusing on evaluating an employee’s performance. In other words, focus on connecting with your employees by letting them share their thoughts and concerns. This will help you understand how they feel about their job.
8. Create a development plan
What happens after evaluating an employee’s performance and providing feedback? You must create a development plan that outlines how your team members can apply the changes in their jobs and careers.
A development plan should cover:
- Skill development within the current role
- Skill development for career advancement
Mid-year reviews use open-ended questions, constructive feedback, and well-prepared development plans to help employees reach their full potential.
Common issues and solutions
Evaluating an employee’s performance during mid-year reviews can be suitable for employee development and engagement but can also be tough to do well. Here are the common issues and solutions to help you overcome them:
1. Factors that lead to ineffective mid-year reviews
Ineffective reviews can be caused by:
- Lack of clear expectations and goals: Employees will feel lost and uncertain without clear objectives.
- Insufficient preparation and feedback: Rushed or poorly prepared reviews can leave employees feeling undervalued and confused about their mid-year performance review.
- Limited follow-up and action planning: Reviews that end without a clear improvement plan can lead to stagnation and disengagement.
- Biased or incomplete data: Relying on partial or subjective information can result in unfair evaluations.
- Inadequate communication and feedback: Poor communication can create misunderstandings and hinder the review process.
- Inadequate evaluation of an employee’s performance: Providing feedback and setting development goals is challenging without a thorough assessment.
You must have clear expectations and goals, regular feedback and coaching, and a fair, transparent, and actionable review process to overcome these issues. Fixing these will make your mid-year performance review template more effective and meaningful.
2. Fixing a broken process to improve review effectiveness
If your mid-year review process is not giving you the desired results in evaluating an employee’s performance, it may be time to reassess and revamp the process. Here are the steps to help you fix a broken process:
- Identify the root causes of the problem: Conduct a thorough analysis to understand why the current process is not working.
- Get feedback from employees and managers: Ask all stakeholders for input to get a comprehensive view of the issues.
- Develop a new review process that is fair, transparent, and actionable: Create a structured process that includes clear criteria, regular feedback, and actionable steps.
- Train and support managers and employees: Ensure everyone involved understands the new process and has the tools to succeed.
- Monitor and evaluate the new process: Continuously assess the new process to identify areas for improvement and ensure it meets your goals.
These will create a more effective and efficient employee development and engagement process.
3. Removing stress from the review process
Mid-year reviews, including evaluations of employees’ performance, can be stressful for employees and managers. Here are some tips to remove stress from the review process:* Communicate clearly and transparently about the review process: Ensure employees know what to expect and understand the purpose of the review.
- Provide feedback and coaching throughout the year: Continuous feedback helps employees stay on track and reduces stress.
- Encourage open and honest communication during the review: Create a supportive environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns.
- Focus on development and growth, not criticism or punishment: Emphasize positive and constructive feedback to help employees improve.
- Provide support and resources to help employees achieve their goals: Offer the tools and resources to help employees succeed.
These will create a more positive and productive process for managers and employees.
Next steps after the review
After the mid-year review, you must summarize it and provide a clear action plan based on evaluating an employee’s performance to ensure employees are on track to meet their goals. Here are the next steps:
Summarize the review and provide a clear action plan
- Summarize the key points discussed during the review meeting. Recap the main takeaways to ensure both parties are on the same page when evaluating the employee’s performance.
- Provide a clear action plan with specific goals and objectives: Outline what employees need to do to meet their goals.
- Set a timeline for the goals and objectives: Set realistic deadlines to keep employees motivated and focused.
- Schedule regular check-ins to monitor progress and provide feedback: Regular follow-ups will keep the employee on track and provide more feedback.
Doing these can make your mid-year review process effective, efficient, and supportive of employee development and engagement. This will help employees grow and strengthen your organization’s performance management system.
