Performance management

Most review systems are an expensive annual ritual that surprises nobody and improves nothing. The work happens in the ordinary week; the cycle should record it, not discover it.

Performance documentation carries legal weight, particularly around termination, discrimination and accommodation. Employment law varies by jurisdiction — involve qualified counsel before acting on sustained underperformance.

Expectations before assessment

Nobody can be fairly assessed against a standard they were not given. Expectations need to be specific to the level, written down, and shared before the period rather than produced during review as justification.

Separate two axes deliberately, because conflating them is the most common structural flaw:

• Outcomes — what was delivered, which is partly situational.
• Behaviors — how it was done, which is more within the person's control.