What Are Performance Reviews

What are performance reviews? A periodic, structured conversation assessing how someone has performed against expectations, usually combined with development planning for the period ahead. No Australian law requires them.

What causes trouble is confusing a review with two other processes that look similar and work differently.

• A performance review is periodic and applies to everyone. It looks backwards at a period of work and forwards at development. It is not a warning.
• A performance improvement plan is triggered, not scheduled. It applies when performance falls below the required standard, sets specific measurable expectations and a timeframe, and carries consequences if it is not met.
• A disciplinary process deals with conduct rather than capability. Being unable to do something and choosing not to follow a rule are different problems with different answers.

Running a review and treating it afterwards as a warning is where employers come unstuck. If performance is genuinely below standard, say so explicitly, in a process the person understands as formal, with a real opportunity to improve.

The Fair Work Ombudsman sets out what is considered in unfair dismissal matters. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s performance review software, performance improvement plans and performance management training.