Check-ins
Our approach to performance reviews
Gridium does employee reviews and feedback a bit differently than the traditional approach, for the simple reason that the traditional approach is widely acknowledged to be bad. Structured and thoughtful feedback between employees and managers -- in both directions -- is important, and we have tried to come up with an approach that captures the benefits and mostly avoids the pitfalls.
A quick rundown of how we do check-ins:
They occur quarterly.
They are separate from compensation discussions or decisions. We do annual compensation reviews and performance is of course a consideration, but check-ins are meant to be an opportunity for open feedback. It's hard to have an open conversation when salary is in the mix.
We don't fill out point scales or rank people or anything like that.
Each check-in has a theme (more on that below), and we ask employees to come prepared by considering a few questions in advance.
Employees should be getting feeedback regularly, so nothing that comes up in a check-in should be a surprise. Feel free to raise any issue on your mind at any time.
The themes we explore in check-ins are:
Career goals. What are your near- and long-term goals, and how can we help you make progress toward them?
Love/hate. What do you like best about your job? What do you like least? How can we shift more time from the latter to the former?
Improving the workplace. How is morale? Which policies or processes could be working better?
General performance. What has gone well over the past six months? What could have gone better?
The questions for employees to consider ahead of each check-in are spelled out in more detail below. Before each check-in, we ask that employees spend about half an hour reviewing the questions and thinking about the answers.
Career goals
This discussion is an opportunity for you to think about your goals and, more importantly, identify steps you can take to achieve them. Gridium expects that employees will manage their own career trajectories, and we want to support employees in their goals. It is up to you to decide what your goals are and to take advantage of that support.
Your goals can be work-related (e.g., acquiring new skills), personal (running a marathon), long-term (starting your own company) or near-term (assuming ownership of a project). Ideally the conversation will lead to concrete actions, in one or more of the following forms:
Opportunities, such as new projects, responsibilities, or training.
Feedback on strengths and weaknesses in the context of your goals.
Advice, whether from someone internal to Gridium or with an outside mentor.
In preparation for the check-in, spend a few minutes thinking about the following questions:
Where do you hope to be in your career in three years?
Where do you hope to be in ten years?
What are some experiences or skills you need to get closer to your aspirations?
What are the things holding you back?
These questions are hard. You might start by asking yourself the following:
What is the best career decision or best piece of career advice you ever received? What was good about it?
Whose career path would you like to follow if you could? Why?
What are your non-negotiables, the things that, even if you were to switch industries entirely, you would need in a job or career to remain satisfied?
Love/hate
The love and hate session is a practical look at the aspects of your job that you like most and the least, with the goal of coming up with concrete ideas for shifting two hours of work a week from the hate to the love column.
Of course, some aspects of work are always going to be more enjoyable than others, and some unpleasant tasks also happen to be pretty important. But by taking a hard look at our day-to-day activities, we can shake off the complacency of our daily routines. How can we do more of what we love? Less of what we don’t? Can we change the nature of unpleasant tasks to make them less burdensome?
Our goal is to find concrete measures to improve day-to-day job satisfaction. Here’s how to prepare for the check-in:
In the week leading up to the feedback session, throughout the day jot down any activities you find particularly enjoyable and any you find unpleasant.
Spend ten minutes brainstorming additional activities from the past few months to add to both lists.
Before coming to the meeting, organize the lists by how strongly you feel about each item.
Improving the workplace
This check-in is focused on improving the workplace. Please come prepared to discuss any issues that are on your mind. In particular, let us know how we can do better on our goal of making Gridium a productive, collaborative, and enjoyable place to do great work.
Some questions to consider ahead of the check-in:
How is your team’s morale? How is yours? What is stopping it from being better?
What is your impression of the quality of work of your team as a whole? Is it getting better over time?
How is communication within and between teams? Do you have the information you need to get your work done? Does Gridium have an open environment where people can freely share opinions and questions?
Are Gridium policies and processes meeting their goals? How can they be improved to make a better work environment?
These questions are just meant to get you thinking, and you might have entirely other areas of concern. Anything is fair game for improvement.
General performance
This check-in is an opportunity to assess the past six months and see what went well, what could have gone better, and what Gridium can do make the next six months more successful.
Be prepared to discuss things that you felt went well over the previous six months. What are you most proud of?
Be prepared to discuss at least one thing that could have gone better.
How frequently do you feel like you stretch yourself? How often are you proud of the work you do? Have your answers changed over time?
Do you understand how your work fits into and supports Gridium’s broader goals?