Earlier this year, we did a blog post about the 10 questions every employee should ask during an annual review because for employers, we have our tried and true question routine. For employees, it can be a bit more daunting.
However, there are some out-of-the-box questions that can unlock hidden potential in your employees and give you insight into the way they feel about work, how they could be more productive, and most importantly how their work could be more fulfilling to them while moving the company forward.
Here are ten questions you can incorporate into your annual review to do just that.
Tell me about a point this year when you felt proud of a contribution you made.
Pinpointing moments of pride may be different for everyone. Sometimes, it’s about how the team the person was on was able to get something over the finish line. Other times, it’s about a small contribution you as a manager may not have noticed, but came through in such a way that it set the company up for bigger success.
By asking this question, you’ll get some insight into what your team member loves to work on the most and where they feel most accomplished. This is the perfect kick-off to finding challenges in your workplace that fit their natural skill sets.
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What skills do you have that you think were not utilized this year?
Blunt questions like this lead to breakthroughs. There have been times in our careers where we’ve all felt underutilized. It may be that we never communicated our full strengths, or it could be that the projects we were on didn’t lend to them. Either way, asking an employee this question gives us as managers the tools we need to help our team move forward.
When I know the strengths my team members didn’t use this year, I also have an idea of where they could be helpful when it comes to achieving our company’s goals for the next year, versus where I assume they would be helpful based on past performance.
What are areas that you think you can grow and improve in throughout next year? Where do you think the company could grow and improve?
This is a different way to ask the generic “what are your weaknesses?” Nobody wants to talk about the negative sides of themselves. Framing the question this way makes that conversation easier and puts a focus on growth.
Plus, when you combine it with the company’s growth and improvement, you’re likely to get answers you’ve never thought of. Often, the best ideas come from those who are in the most tactical positions because they’re so close to the client, the work and the results. When we give them the floor, amazing suggestions could happen that lead to major company growth.
If you could create a role that would bring out your very best contributions, what would that role look like?
At Kin, we believe that every position is merely a suggestion of what that employee’s contributions should be. Of course, there are jobs that need to be done within the role that the person was hired for, but after that’s completed, there is often places that an employee will naturally gravitate towards.
We have folks who really enjoy putting out fires in other disciplines because they’re just far enough removed that the solution comes easier for them than those in the thick of it. We have others that love to walk through problems with others and be a listening ear while they figure it out on their own.
Whatever those talents are, it’s important that we as managers nurture them – even if they aren’t part of that employee’s job description.
What do I do that is most and least helpful for you when it comes to completing your work?
As a manager, you have the power to help your employees do their best work by removing obstacles for them daily. You also, unfortunately, have the power to make their lives harder by not realizing where they do and don’t need help. Questions like this allow you to gain some insight as to where you’re needed and where you’re not.
It’s extremely important to listen well and implement that feedback you hear from this question. Not only will it help your employees produce better work, it’ll grow the relationship between yourself and your team and effectively create more engagement over time.
What do you love most about our culture?
As much as we’d like to say we can create culture at work, it’s ultimately up to the people we curate to truly create it. Small businesses can lay out the groundwork with our values, our mission statements and our visions, but the carry through of it all is what really creates the culture.
Cultural fits are easy to identify, and sometimes finding out what they love about the culture so much helps you better identify future cultural fits when hiring comes around. Keep these answers in your back pocket when you start interviewing again.
Is there a part of your job you would do differently?
Kat Cole, COO of Focus Brands, calls this the “hot shot” rule. Think of something in your job you’d do differently: maybe it’s a 10-minute process, maybe it’s a whole half of your day. Now, think, if someone that was a hot shot got hired into my role tomorrow, how would they do it differently?
Chances are, your employees have mulled this over and over in their heads well before the annual review and will be quick to gives an answer about an inefficiency or issue they see but have yet to address. By setting the stage with this question, you’ll likely find a few ways to make things hum a little better around the office.
What’s one thing you feel like the company’s mission or vision is missing?
As leaders, we build visions and missions that a team can work toward and the company as a whole can prosper from.
However, we aren’t always as keyed into details as those on the front lines are. It’s important to do a check each year (or even more often than that!) as to how the team whose executing the mission and vision are feeling. Is there something glaringly obvious that you aren’t seeing as a leader in charge of the big picture? Is there an exciting new opportunity or challenge that is coming up, and they caught it first?
Staying in tune with your front line is key when it comes to your company being successful, and this question is a great place to start.
How has the feedback you’ve received this year helped you?
Feedback is a tool that we can use to help our employees do their best work. Often though, we don’t provide it fast enough, or often enough, for it to truly be effective. If you’re reading this and your company only does an annual review, check out why we don’t believe that’s a good idea here.
The feedback being effective also hinges on the ability to take it and do something that creates better work from it. Giving employees a chance to provide feedback on their feedback will help you hone in on giving it better.
If you feel a bit uncomfortable asking this, you’re not alone. In fact, nearly 79% of managers are uncomfortable giving feedback.
What’s one thing you wished I asked you during this annual review, but didn’t?
We’ve covered a lot of ground through these ten questions for an annual review, but there’s always something an employee is waiting to be asked that may unlock a ton of productivity, growth and happiness in the workplace. The key is giving them the opportunity to say it.