Employee review is one of the crucial tasks to ensure your team is productive. This is where a 90 day review comes to play. It gives you insights into people’s results, motivation levels and individual growth after the first three months at work.
Did you know that 74% of employees receive performance reviews only once per year, or even less? Plus, only 2 out of 10 reports these reviews to be handled in a way that actually motivates people.
Let’s learn more about conducting an effective 90-day performance review to recognize your employees and boost their productivity.
How to prepare for a 90-days performance review?

When it comes to preparing for a 90-day performance review, several key aspects must be considered. In a nutshell, take into account these eight essential factors:
- Know what is expected of an employee, which means reviewing the list of job requirements.
- Make sure the feedback you give or receive will be constructive.
- Ensure the meeting is not too brief enough to help the reviewee and the reviewer go over all the aspects on the list.
- The review must be conducted with particular goals and objectives to ensure the process follows some logical thread.
- Before reviewing, decide how you will document and share the information received.
- If you are not sure how to prepare or don’t have sufficient experience, find another manager who has the experience and ask for an advice
- Rely on the best employee feedback tools like Effy.ai to help you conduct the review
- As a final point, prepare how you will thank the participants and inform people involved about the potential follow-up.
Employee review is key to ensuring better employee engagement. Covering these distinct factors makes you prepared for the 90-day performance review. Make sure to cover all the bases to conduct a top-notch 90-day performance review that benefits employees and the company.
Best practices for conducting a 90-day review performance
Knowing how to conduct a 90-day performance review is just the beginning. The key thing is to know how to do that effectively. That is why we developed several main steps for conducting a 90-day performance review to tap into what the method offers.
- Step 1: Get a clear vision of what you want to accomplish. There is a difference between conducting a performance review to boost employee satisfaction and productivity. As a tip, you might find it beneficial to check previous 30-day and 60-day performance appraisals. In such a case, you get an overall picture of what to accomplish during a 90-day performance review.
- Step 2: Schedule a specific review time and notify an employee under review in advance. It is vital not to avoid catching a person being reviewed off-guard. In turn, scheduling the review and stressing its importance provide a sense of the significance of what you are doing.
- Step 3: Prepare a one-pager for a performance review. Before the meeting starts, design and complete a short one-page review to give an employee a general idea of how they perform and what you expect to discuss during the 90-day review.
- Step 4: Ask the right questions and prepare a follow-up. If you are planning to provide constructive criticism, make sure you make it in a positive light. Besides, if you have a list of questions prepared, don’t deviate from them mid-review. Finally, show an employee that there will be a follow-up and this review was only a part of the entire sequence.
- Step 5: Look for help when needed. If you feel overwhelmed, it is always better to appeal to professionals. There are various performance management software options available. They usually offer a 90 day review template you can easily customize and use for your review.
Following the five steps above ensures the 90-day performance review’s success. Putting all the above insights gives you an excellent chance to conduct a proper review to help employees grow and boost their job satisfaction. At this point, conducting a 90-day review is not the end, so we need to discuss the follow-up process more.
How to follow up after a review?
For the follow-up, you need to gather more information on the employee’s other reviews and previous accomplishments. Besides, you might want to talk to other managers and employees’ coworkers to get a broader perspective on the person under review.
Moreover, each given review should be concluded with feedback and follow-up with the same feedback. When you provide constructive feedback, ensure you follow all the aspects presented and show the employee that your feedback is not abstract but rooted in practical experience.
Conclusion
In the right hands, a 90-day performance review can be a game changer. However, to get the most out of the tool, it is vital to know how to prepare it, conduct it, and follow it up. Keep the insights above in mind, and you’ll have a good chance to conduct a near-perfect 90-day performance review. In all other cases, you can look for professionals to help you.