Aligning and Developing Your Team with Quarterly Reviews

I’ve written about the importance of quarterly reviews in the past; they give you an effective way to keep your finger on the pulse of your business and stay in touch with your team on a deeper level. However, they also serve another purpose: quarterly reviews offer you regular opportunities to develop each member of your team and get intentional about aligning your team with your mission.

Many small business owners don’t take the time to do regular reviews, whether quarterly, twice a year, or annually. It’s actually not uncommon for employees to state that they’ve never had a review! I get it – business owners are beyond busy – but honestly, skipping reviews with your team results in a lot of missed opportunities.

With the right planning and systems in place, quarterly reviews can fit into your schedule and be a huge benefit both to you and to your team. I’d love to share how!

Developing Your Team

I have as much on my plate as any other small business owner, but quarterly reviews are something that are consistently on my calendar. My Executive Assistant blocks off time once a quarter and emails a special Calendly link to my team (biz hack alert!) to pick the times that work best for them.

Before we meet, I let my team members know the questions I’ll be asking so they have time to think through their answers. I don’t consider reviews to be a performative process – I consider them a time to really dig in with my team.

I want to know what they love about their jobs, and I want to know what they’d change if they could. I want to hear about their plans, their goals, and their aspirations. I also want to know if there is anything about my company culture that may need to be refined.

That’s what these reviews give me the opportunity to find out so I can not only head problems off before they start, but I can put a game plan together to develop each member of my team. A large part of the “why” behind starting my business in the first place was to make a positive impact in the lives of others, including my team.

Because I have a solid system in place for our quarterly reviews, I’m able to focus on what really matters and use them as a valuable tool to develop my team!

Allowing Your Team to Innovate

Because I approach quarterly reviews as a way to develop my team, it’s a positive experience for everyone involved. When I involve my team in the process, we also achieve something else: with each review, they become more and more empowered to take ownership of their role and innovate ways to drive the business forward.

You see, I don’t want employees who will just clock in and out for the paycheck. I want team members who will work beside me and bring their strengths to the table. I want to surround myself with people who I can offer great opportunities to, people who are so aligned with my purpose that coming to work gets them up in the morning. I want to fill my team with people who have incredible ideas and are excited to share them.

This is what our quarterly reviews allow me to do. While I’m getting valuable feedback from my team members, they’re thinking through and proposing new ways they can help the business grow – ideas that will help them find even more satisfaction in their jobs.

This is something that I want for every member of my team. It also helps me build a team that is more likely to stay with me – and in today’s job market, this is essential!

If we can help you develop a process for quarterly reviews or help you build a more aligned, productive culture in your business, please don’t hesitate to reach out. My team and I are here to help you and your team thrive!