Your company’s mission is much more than just an end-of-year performance review. In an effort to keep employees engaged in the mission, their work and help them grow into leaders within the company, invest in them! And then, they’ll invest in you!

1. Set goals

The key to actively developing employees is to set goals. Make the results of those goals easy to see. Monthly goals are the quickest, easiest way for employees to derive meaning from what they do every day. Revisiting these goals will highlight which ones need to be updated, and ensure that they are still applicable.

2. Offer opportunities for individual growth

Employees want training. People, in general, want to progress in their lives! On average, 63 percent of employees believe learning new skills or receiving special training is most important to advancing their career. Which is true! Providing coaching and development activities throughout the year is an employer’s best bet to create a culture of growth within the workplace. To ensure continuous growth and improve productivity, equip employees with the tools they need to function at peak performance.

3. Hold review meetings

Opt for frequent, informal meetings. Meetings shouldn’t be to only evaluate employees, as that is the aspect of performance reviews that causes the most anxiety. Rather, it should focus on developing employees. Focus on improvement: “What skills would you most like to improve on?” or “What can I do to help you?”

4. Automate the review process

The biggest advantage of implementing technology into the review process is making it so much easier for employees and their managers to track and measure performance year-round.