It is a known fact that when you own a business, employees that go above and beyond should be valued at all times. These same employees that put in that extra effort are the same ones who are the key to the business being successful.

You want to insure that you keep them. So what do you do? The answer is to make sure your employees feel valued by you. The question that remains is, how do you make them feel valuable? A great way is through performance reviews.

Do not review your employees' performances the old traditional way of only you, the manager, talking–repeating the same boring information about what you expect and criticizing their work. Make them feel like they are a part of the performance review by making it a conversation. Here are some ways:

#1: Ask Your Employee For Their Expectations

At the beginning of the meeting, ask the employee what they expect to achieve from the meeting. Make sure to touch on what the employee says. For instance, if the employee states that he or she wants to review different ways he or she can meet the sales quota, insure that somewhere in the meeting, you two discuss that specific topic. Your goal during the performance review is to make the employee feel like you care about what he or she expects also.

#2: Discuss Ideas For Improvement

In the traditional performance reviews, managers only address areas in which they want the employee to improve. This is not only boring, but it also gives the employee the impression that you do not want their input in anything. they sitting there like a statue. It is even possible that the words you are saying is going in one ear and out the other. It is better to engage the employee in conversation.

Talk about how he or she wants to see the company improve, ways you can improve as a manager, and how you can continue to develop interpersonal skills. Getting your employees' ideas on improvement may even open up a new door in you becoming a more effective manager. This two-way conversation can also possibly begin a list of how the company can increase sales. You never know!

#3: Talk About What Each Of You Can Contribute To The Company

"Alan, I am not pleased with your sales tactics!" "Melissa, you are not meeting your sales quota!" These are both examples of what the traditional performance review sounds like. Saying these statements will only make your employees more nervous about a performance review.

Make the meeting professional but informal. This will most likely lead to a calm and engaged employee. Say things like, "Our sales have decreased. Do you have any ideas on how we all can contribute to increasing our sales as a team?" This way, the employee will not feel as if the company going down the drain is not all his or her fault.

#4: Finalize Conversation With Employee Recognition

Every employee loves this topic–what they are doing excellent as an individual. Every employee welcomes this because recognition is an overall human need. It makes the individual feel valued. You can verbally recognize by saying, "Good job in doing that!" The other way is through employee recognition awards, which employees like better. This shows that you appreciate what the employee did for the company.

Kim Harrison, author of Why employee recognition is so important, explains that one of the benefits of employee recognition is that they get satisfaction and enjoyment of work due to it. They spend more time focusing on the job and less time complaining (2005-2013).

Performance reviews can be extremely nerve-wrecking. That is why implementing a new performance review strategy by having a conversation with the employee has its advantages. Employees will be more engaged in the meeting, offering ideas for the company to be more successful. In the meantime, employees will feel valued and like that their opinions matter. Therefore, let’s get rid of the traditional way of performance reviews and put into effect a more beneficial conversational performance review!