Early performance reviews are necessary to help new employees succeed. But here’s a mistake too many managers make:

Too often, reviews leave promising employees feeling like they’ve done everything they need to do. Take this example:

An employee meets a predetermined goal of boosting production by 10%. Her manager writes in her review: “Your production was lifted by 10% and you’ve met your goal.”

While that’s true, wording it that way makes it sound like she’s reached the end of the line. Instead, the manager should say: “You lifted production by 10%, which is a great accomplishment. You should continue the progress and try to reach 15% — or even higher — next year.”

That congratulates the employee on a job well done, while reinforcing the fact that there’s always room to move forward.

Tags: manager mistakes, new employees, performance reviews, productivity