Doing Employee Performance Reviews Now, and Not in December, Could Benefit Your Business. Here's Why

Performance reviews have long been a mainstay in the world of businesses large and small. And while some human resource professionals might argue that they're nothing more than a waste of time, it's also easy to see why these exercises offer value. 

For one thing, a performance review can help employees build on their strengths and work on their weaknesses. These reviews also tend to encourage employees to set goals -- goals that have the potential to not only further their careers, but make your company more money. 

As of August 2021, 63% of U.S. employers were still in the habit of conducting formal annual performance reviews, according to data from XpertHR. So if you're still upholding that practice, you're in good company. 

But if you normally wait until the very end of the year to do your performance reviews, you may want to rethink that practice. A much better bet could be to conduct those reviews ASAP.

Why you don't want to wait until December

December is a popular time to conduct performance reviews. But it's also a month when a lot of employees tend to be distracted and mentally checked out due to the holidays. So if you do your reviews then, they may not be so effective. Your employees may not be in the best place to absorb the information you're giving them when they're mentally focusing on finishing their Christmas shopping.

Also, people tend to travel at the end of the year, which can disrupt their work schedules and make it difficult to act on solid advice. But if you give your performance reviews now, they might be more effective. Your employees may be more focused on their jobs now than in the days leading up to Christmas, and they may be more eager to act on your suggestions for improvement. 

Also, if you give those reviews now, there's time to act on your advice before the end of the year. That could result in a near-term uptick in productivity and efficiency -- and actually improve your company's bank account balance before 2023 comes to a close.

Finally, if your policy is to give out raises on the basis of merit and not just inflation, then you're better off having your reviews now. That way, if a given employee learns they won't be getting a raise at the end of the year, it won't come as a shock, and you'll likely have less pushback. (Also, you wouldn't want an employee to potentially be banking on a raise that isn't coming their way.)

It pays to get moving on performance reviews

All told, there are plenty of benefits to conducting employee performance reviews now, and not waiting until the end of the year. Plus, think about it this way. If the news you have to share isn't all positive, do you really want to ruin your employees' holidays by stressing them out over their performance? Probably not. 

Do yourself a favor and schedule those performance reviews now. If anything, you might feel good about getting one time-consuming task over with.