We had started working with a client who wanted to improve their performance process. They were closing out the year — naturally, their calendars were full, budget pressure was high, and everyone was trying to keep up.
When we sat down for a brief meeting with one of the managers, his opening line was: "İlhan bey, can we just run through the evaluations quickly this year? People already know what they're getting." That sentence struck me like a warning signal. Because "they already know" usually means "we never actually talked about it."
Interestingly, when I examined the process, the company's performance system wasn't bad on paper. There were goals, a year-end evaluation form, a calibration meeting. But as I assessed the process, I noticed something: no one had discussed throughout the year whether goals were about "output or impact." No one had collected evidence — behavioral or results-based — over the course of the year.
That day, we didn't add another form to the table. On the contrary, we simplified the form. Because the biggest misconception about performance is thinking it's managed at the "evaluation" moment. In reality, performance management is a rhythm, not a moment. Without that rhythm, the year-end conversation turns into an "accountability hearing." With the rhythm in place, the year-end becomes simply "a photograph of what we've already discussed."
Establishing the Rhythm
When building the rhythm, we focused on three things.
First, we reduced goals to three. We acknowledged that "too many goals" in most organizations actually means "too many non-priorities."
Second, we translated each goal into a single sentence: "By this date, in this metric, from this baseline to here."
Third, we set a standard of one 30-minute check-in per month for every manager.
The Turning Point
The turning point in the field came at the end of the third month. One of the managers said: "Thanks to these check-ins, I realized that half my team is waiting for instructions from me, and I take on the work to be fast. Then I complain about low performance." The hidden gift of a performance system is that it forces the manager to look in the mirror too.
According to Gallup's global data, employee engagement dropped to 21% in 2024 — meaning only one in five employees is "truly engaged" in their work. In such a landscape, if you set up performance management purely as a scoring system, you're using your tool in the wrong place.
Measurement
At the end of the third month, we measured. We didn't try to convince anyone that "performance improved." We simply asked these questions:
- Did the check-ins happen?
- Did goals become measurable?
- Can people answer "what is expected of me" more clearly?
When these three are fixed, the performance score naturally becomes fairer, more understandable, and more defensible as an outcome.
The Result
By year-end, the same manager came back. This time, his words were different: "No need to rush through it this year. Everyone already knew where they stood throughout the year." That "already knew" was true for the first time. Because this time, the knowledge wasn't hearsay — it was a reality produced through rhythm.
In summary, small touches can make a challenging process easier for everyone. Simplify and find the rhythm.