151: How to Conduct a Midyear Employee Check Up for Your Design Team

Leadership
Written By Michele Williams
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151: How to Conduct a Midyear Employee Check Up for Your Design Team

with Michele Williams

Years ago, employee reviews were done yearly, and they were so very formal that most people entered with some form of fear. Even those who were high performers. Why? Because you never knew how they were going to go – and the sentiment was that the reviews were always done in favor of the company. 

Listen in as I break down how to do a mid-year review with each of your team members, why this is important, and how to balance the scales between what the company needs and what the employee needs. 

Topics Mentioned: 

  • Plan 

  • Ask questions 

  • Actively listen 

  • Close feedback loop  

Listen to the Episode

I am a firm believer in taking care of our people. If we care honestly for our employees, they will care for our clients. They just will. As we dive into doing reviews of any type, whether mid-year or end of year, let’s do it with the focus of coaching, leading and educating our employees so that they grow and thrive which ultimately benefits our clients. This focus will create great advantage for the company as a whole. 

Ok, let’s get started.  

First, have a plan. Never go into a formal meeting without an agenda and a plan. Be clear with yourself and your team on the importance and role of the mid-year review. Is it for feedback and educational plans? Is it for merit increases? Or is it about something else?  Whatever you choose to cover and accomplish in these meetings, be up front about it in advance so that both sides can be prepared for the meeting. Our goal here is a win-win. 

If these meetings are new to you, consider what you do for the yearly review. You can either do a subset of the same or choose to focus on something slightly different. I always like to look at ways to improve any behavior or process that might lead to a poor or less than stellar yearly review. This gives the employee time to change direction or add in education. I believe it is also important to get feedback on how the company is doing from a team member perspective. My hope is that you are doing more frequent 15–20-minute check-ins monthly, so neither of you should be shocked in this meeting. 

Secondly, create questions to gather the information you need and send to the employee in advance so that they can give it their time and attention. No one likes a deep question sprung on them while being expected to answer thoroughly and thoughtfully. Encourage your employees to create their own set of questions and to share with you in advance so you can also be prepared. Here are some questions you may consider asking: 

  • How do you feel you are doing in the job you have?  

  • What is missing for you to do your job or what do you think you might need to do it better? 

  • Are there any processes that are holding you back or that you think can be improved upon? How? 

  • How do you think the team is functioning as a whole? Are there areas to improve? 

  • What are your goals in your role and in this company? 

  • What is the next thing you are hoping to learn or master in this industry/your role? 

  • Where do you see opportunities for our firm that we are not currently taking? 

  • How is communication in the firm and with our clients? Do you see areas where we can improve? 

  • What help do you need to improve? 

 

Thirdly, actively listen. I know that each of us form opinions of people and processes and situations. We are made to do that. But when you come into these meetings, try to put yourself in the shoes of your employee and see things from their position. I often liken it to watching a football game. You may be at midfield on the 50-yard line watching and someone else could be in the end zone or on the opposing side at the 50-yard line. I promise you this – you may be watching the same game, but you will see it differently. Try to “sit” where your employee is sitting -and invite them, as appropriate to “sit” where you are. This is a form of active listening with empathy.  

Answer constructively. Don’t point fingers but do give examples as necessary. The more detail provided the easier to see the area that needs to be enhanced or to see the areas that are being celebrated. This is not a time to gloss over constructive feedback. This is exactly why any areas of concern need to be noted and detailed so that active listening on each side can occur. 

Fourthly, create an action plan from the meeting. If goals need to be reset, reset them. If processes are broken, create a timeline and an action item to dissect the problem and correct it. No matter what the outcome is, create a plan of attack. Share this plan with the team member and hold each other accountable to getting it done. As always, these meetings are confidential between you and the team member you are addressing.  

We are holding these meetings for the betterment of the company. Sometimes, you may find that there are interpersonal issues between team members. Be careful in addressing this and take the time to hear all sides.  

Lastly, close the communication loop. This means follow up on the items that you set in step 4 and bring them to completion. Or at least, let everyone know where the action items are in the process. It is not conducive to creating a healthy team if these meetings take place, action items are identified, documented, and then ignored. This breeds distrust in the workplace, and then makes everyone feel like their thoughts are ignored. This breakdown in trust leads to a breakdown in communication and in the team which leads to a breakdown in work and then in profits. Do what you say you are going to do. Be a trustworthy leader for your team.  

Mid-year reviews are as much about you as the leader as they are about your team members. If lines of communication are open, you may very well learn some of your own shortcomings and areas of future improvement. Be open to this. Assuming everyone is professional and sharing – this is what you want. When we are open to identifying ways to improve, we have a growth mindset. This mindset will allow us to change and pivot as needed for future gain. 

If you have done a company SWOT analysis, having a mid-year team meeting after these reviews could be helpful to gather and look at the SWOT with new ideas and options to move forward. Update the SWOT as needed. If you are unfamiliar with a SWOT, check out episode 118: 4 Year-End Steps to Prepare Your Interior Design Business. 

This mid-year team meeting may also be a bit more formal than your normal weekly meetings. Perhaps have it offsite and do some additional planning. We will look more at mid-year goals in our next podcast this month. But for now, take time to know your employees, keep in direct communication, let them know they are important to you and to the business. Solicit their feedback and then do something with it.  

Be the leader your team needs. This takes time and it takes great intention – especially when there is a lot of work coming in. But time and energy spent building up those that make your business run successfully is an investment worth making.  

I invite you to download my 7-figure case study where we focused on making more money while taking less work and building up the people on the team. You can find it on my website at www.scarletthreadconsulting.com under the resources tab. Building people builds profits. And profit doesn’t happen by accident. 

Key Thoughts:

  • As we dive into doing reviews of any type, whether mid-year or end of year, let’s do it with the focus of coaching, leading and educating our employees so that they grow and thrive which ultimately benefits our clients. This focus will create great advantage for the company as a whole. Michele (0:50) 

     

  • Be clear with yourself and your team on the importance and role of the mid-year review. Michele (1:58) 

     

  • Create questions to gather the information you need and send to the employee in advance so that they can give it their time and attention. Michele (3:15) 

     

  • Actively listen. I know that each of us form opinions of people and processes and situations. We are made to do that. But when you come into these meetings, try to put yourself in the shoes of your employee and see things from their position. Michele (5:28) 

     

  • Create an action plan from the meeting. If goals need to be reset, reset them. If processes are broken, create a timeline and an action item to dissect the problem and correct it. Michele (7:26) 

Contact Michele:

References and Resources:

Michele Williams
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