How to Conduct New Employee Performance Reviews That Set the Path to Success

Employee performance reviews are crucial for new employees. They provide a structured way to get feedback, realign expectations, and set goals for the future. A fair review promotes trust and morale among new hires, ensuring they feel valued and assessed correctly.

Learn how to conduct thorough and fair performance reviews for new employees to foster their growth and ensure alignment with organizational goals.

What to measure in a new-hire performance review

Your first new hire performance review should answer some strategic questions:

1. Did we make the right hire?
2. Have there been any red flags?
3. Or any (positively) surprising achievements?
4. Is the employee progressing at the expected pace? [Focus: performance]
5. Does this person have the skills to succeed? [Focus: performance]
6. Does this person fit in on the team? [Focus: culture fit]
7. Is this person addressing the problem you hired them to solve? [Focus: living up to role expectations]
8. Did the onboarding process enable the employee to succeed? [Focus: improving internal processes]

For new hires, performance reviews can be especially beneficial as they help realign expectations and identify unaddressed training needs.

There are a few key things that you will want to measure in a new-hire evaluation:

• How well individual employees have performed the tasks and responsibilities outlined in their job descriptions
• Their attendance and punctuality
• Interactions with other employees and customers
• Whether they are helping your organizational goals
• Feedback from the new hire’s colleagues and supervisors

Tools for measuring new employee performance

It is crucial to have a repeatable system to monitor employee job performance. Here are a few tools that can help with that.

Performance reviews

Performance reviews help identify areas where the employee may need more training and those where they excel. Plus, they establish expectations for future performance. By setting clear goals and sharing feedback, a performance review for your new hires can help them understand what you expect from them and how they can improve.

Self-evaluations

Self-evaluations force your employees to step back and examine their accomplishments and challenges since starting employment. Self-reflection can be a helpful exercise in identifying areas where they need improvement and setting goals for the future.

360-degree appraisals

360-degree appraisals are a type of performance review that solicits input from the employee’s colleagues, subordinates, and superiors. Multiple insights offer a well-rounded view of your new hire’s strengths and weaknesses.

For example, are they trying to find solutions to their issues, or do they go straight to their peers to ask for minor things?

If a peer asks for follow-ups, do they provide timely information? Or do they need additional reminders?

When should organizations conduct new employee performance reviews

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The timing of your performance review will depend on several factors, including the company’s policy, the employee’s job duties, and your managerial style.

Some companies may have a formal policy that dictates when performance reviews should be conducted, e.g., 60 days after the start date.

Tip: Conduct 30-, 60-, and 90-day performance check-ins to spot problems early on and systemically monitor progress. This approach will integrate seamlessly with the 30-60-90 day onboarding framework.

30-day review

The 30-day review allows you to assess whether your employee:

1. Is having a positive onboarding experience, equipping them with the knowledge they need to become fully productive
2. Has started settling in
3. Fully understood the expectations for their role
4. Is clear on how their tasks contribute to the company’s overall strategic goals
5. Is making progress towards any immediate goals or objectives

Tip: Use the 30-day performance review to provide feedback on any areas the employee may need to improve or clarify questions.

60-day review

At this point, the employee will have had more time to settle into their role and become familiar with your company’s processes and procedures. During the 60-day review, focus on:

1. The new hire’s progress towards any longer-term goals or objectives
2. The first measures of their overall performance in their role
3. Whether the employee has encountered any specific challenges or obstacles and their answer to them
4. If challenges persist, adjust their onboarding plan to include additional support

90-day review

By the 90-day mark, the employee should understand their role and be well into their work.

The 90-day review is a perfect opportunity to look at:

1. The employee’s overall performance
2. Their contributions to the team and the company
3. Opportunities for growth or development, which can include creating a development plan
4. Setting new goals for the employee to work towards

Tips for productive and efficient new hire reviews

Follow these tips for fair and motivating new hire reviews.

Evaluate based on clear and objective goals

It is vital to evaluate new hires based on clear and objective goals. Without them, your review may be biased or inaccurate.

To set clear goals:

1. Create a list of specific tasks or objectives for employees to complete during their first 90 days.
2. Include deadlines and detailed explanations of your performance expectations.
3. Review their progress against these goals at the end of the 90 days.

Tip: Obviously, you must set goals at the beginning of the onboarding phase. If your onboarding does not include a goal-setting element, it’s time to return to the drawing board.

Document the process

Documentation is key to ensuring the review is productive and efficient. Your new hires need to know:

• The performance evaluation criteria you will use (e.g., specific OKRs)
• Who will be giving feedback (e.g., only the manager or the manager and peers)
• The timeline for the review (Are there multiple steps involved in the process? e.g., writing a self-review before meeting for the performance review)

Documenting your review process will ensure everyone is on the same page and help hold everyone accountable for their role. It can also serve as a reference for future reviews, especially if the new hire is in a probationary period.

Ensure the reviews are based on a two-way conversation

Performance reviews should not be a one-way street. Instead, you should encourage your recruits to give feedback. So, make the performance review a two-way conversation.

Being open to hearing the employee’s perspective allows you to gain valuable insights into their work, motivations, goals, and areas for improvement.

On the other hand, employees can use the review as an opportunity to share their ideas for improving their workplace.

Questions to ask during a new employee performance review

Here are some examples of questions that can help start the conversation.

Questions to determine if anything impeded total productivity:

• What could you have accomplished if you had more time?
• What obstacles did you encounter that got in the way of your work?
• Do we have an effective onboarding program that teaches new hires everything they need?

Questions about role clarity and expectations:

• Do you understand your role and responsibilities?
• Are there any areas where you need more direction or clarification?
• Have all of your goals and objectives been clearly defined?

You can include these questions in an onboarding survey. Ensure you send the survey before the performance review and discuss the results during the meeting.

Adopt a constructive approach

A constructive approach means looking for ways to help employees improve and grow rather than just finding fault. Providing constructive feedback helps new employees understand areas of improvement while maintaining motivation.

Building trust and respect between you and the employee is also essential. Show that you’re willing to work with them to help them improve and that you value their contribution.

Follow-up

Finally, ensure to follow up after the review. Consider what resources the new hire needs to be successful and provide them.

1. Set new goals and have an action plan to guide them
2. The action plan can take the form of a growth plan
3. Regular feedback and follow-up are essential to keeping new hires on track

Accelerate new hire performance with Deel Engage

Set your new hires for success from day one with Deel Engage. Use our tools to:

1. Clarify role and level-specific expectations and showcase career growth opportunities from day one
2. Set goals and assign them to relevant teams and hires
3. Assign company and department-specific onboarding and training journeys
4. See the progress of an employee’s onboarding from day one
5. Collect detailed, objective evaluations of new hires’ performance, including progress against specific goals, a final assessment of productivity, and areas of improvement to track progress over time
6. Automate probation period reviews (e.g., schedule the first probation review 60 days after the hire date and then a final one at the end of the probation)

Additionally, Deel HR, our truly global HRIS solution, is always included for free.

Book a demo to see how our solutions will help set your new hires for success from day one.