Individual Performance Plan and Review Template - Employee Instructions - Preparing, Meeting and Follow-up

Aug 31, 2026

Template and guidance for running effective individual performance planning and review conversations. Emphasizes continuous, two-way communication beyond annual “tick-box” cycles, with regular check-ins and timely feedback. Provides managers’ and employees’ preparation steps, including clarifying purpose, sharing documents in advance, gathering evidence, scheduling adequate time, and maintaining a safe, inclusive meeting environment. Includes employee instructions covering review-period indicators, ratings, strengths and improvements, job satisfaction, skills and attitudes, training needs, and next-six-month objectives, plus signing after finalization.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryForms

FormatDOCX

Pages8

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Performance review guidance

Before the meeting

During the meeting

After the meeting

Individual Performance Plan and Review Template

Instructions for employees

Preparing for your review meeting

At the review meeting

After the review meeting

Individual Performance Plan and Review Template Performance reviews are a great time to exchange important information with employees. But to be effective, this must be a genuine exchange and not an annual “tick the box” exercise. If you want to cultivate employee success, consider branching beyond the traditional, annual review. So much can change in your organisation or with your employees in one year. It’s important to stay aligned and to keep communication going during those changes. You may want to conduct quarterly or monthly performance conversations, paired with a more comprehensive year-end review of general themes, notes, progress and next steps. This allows managers and employees to stay on the same page about goals, progress and performance. It also helps: Employees understand exactly where they stand and what to do to improve Managers provide real-time coaching and support to overcome obstacles Organisations benefit from a constant flow of data on individual and team performance. Many organisations are turned off by a quarterly or monthly performance review schedule because it feels like a hefty time commitment. However, if you’re having frequent conversations, they don’t need to be long or comprehensive to be effective. Any performance issues should be addressed immediately, and successes should be celebrated timely. For a performance review, each side needs to be prepared to have a say and to listen to the other. Before review time rolls around, talk with each employee about your expectations of the process, and find out their expectations of the process as well, so you both can be prepared to make it effective. Understanding your employee and catering the performance review to each individual employee is also important to make the meeting successful. For someone well practiced at engaging in performance reviews, the thought of one may not cause any worry, but this is not the case for all employees. Consider the specific needs of the employee and where there is flexibility in the process, offer them choices. Performance reviews can cause anxiety for some employees, especially for those who may struggle with the thought of not meeting the expectations of someone in a position of authority. Employees who are neurodiverse may find a one-on-one conversation facing each other intense, and may prefer a walk and talk style review process, or sitting side by side. Team members who find literacy and language a challenge might prefer being able to talk through the questions together before the meeting so that they can prepare. There are many options to make the process of performance review inclusive and useful for all parties – the key is in checking in and genuinely being open to different ways of fulfilling the process. Here are some general tips for managers conducting a performance review. Before the meeting Clarify the purpose of a performance review – it is vital that employees see this as a positive process, not a meeting where they will be intentionally tripped up or given surprising (negative) feedback Provide the performance review document to the employee a few days in advance of the actual performance review date, and ask them if they have any questions about the process Ask the employee if they have any specific questions for the management team. Those questions can then be sent to management so the employee can receive timely feedback (anonymous if they wish) Gather employee data and examples before the meeting Schedule enough time for the review so it isn’t rushed Make it as relaxed as possible and be flexible in how you conduct the performance review (e.g. consider going for a walk and talk) as long as it is a comfortable and safe space that is not likely to be interrupted by other people and noise Consider offering the option of having an independent advocate in the meeting who can speak up on the employee’s behalf if needed. During the meeting Reflect on the past but mainly focus on the future Focus on

FAQs

How should managers approach performance reviews to avoid a “tick the box” outcome?

Keep the review a genuine two-way exchange focused on strengths and future growth, with active listening and open questions rather than one-way critique.

What should employees prepare before the review meeting?

Complete indicators for the review period, self-rate performance, document strengths and improvement opportunities, assess skills and attitudes, answer job satisfaction questions, and bring training/support needs and next-6-month objectives.

What happens after the meeting according to the template?

The manager finalizes the form and gives it for the employee to sign within a week of the meeting, and employees can record disagreement in the signatures section.

Aug 31, 2026

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