It’s Performance Review Season! Giving Feedback to Gen-Z Employees

Welcome to Intergenerating, where every two weeks we will explore the intersection of intergenerational relationships, Gen Z professionals, and mental health in the workplace.

Created by Julie Lee, Ph.D.—a Gen Z work consultant, mental health strategist, and a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and Fast Company. Julie helps leaders and organizations create work climates that encourage all generations, including Gen Z leaders, to thrive at work.

It’s Performance Review Season! Giving Feedback to Gen-Z Employees

It’s that time of year again! No, I’m not talking about the holidays– it’s performance review season, and that means the time is coming for that long-awaited (for some, dreaded) annual meeting; and for some employees, that may mean a raise or a promotion is just around the corner. But what happens when the expectations of a Gen-Z employee don’t quite align with those of an intergenerational manager? And how can we approach performance reviews in a way that is both reasonable and productive for everyone involved?

Ensuring a Good Performance Review

Performance reviews are an important level in engaging and motivating employees, especially younger professionals like Gen Z. Unfortunately, research shows that just one in five employees agree that their organization’s performance review practices motivates them. If leaders want to capture the other 80%, they must rethink the intent and procedure behind performance reviews and shift how they are conducted. 

Harvard Business School lecturer @Frank Cespedes recommends this five-step framework to steer a performance review in the right direction:

Conveying your positive intent.  

• Before offering any feedback, it’s important to share the purpose of the conversation: to help your employee’s professional development and to increase your their effectiveness. (If you don’t really have this intent, he notes— for instance, if you believe that issues of motivation or ability are affecting your employee’s potential contribution, then you’re having a different conversation!)

Describing what you’ve observed.

• Being specific and descriptive in your feedback, and describing specific incidents is crucial to providing specific feedback. Doing so ensures that the reviews are received as objective and credible. Cespedes shares that providing overly general feedback can increase your employee’s feelings of defensiveness. 

State the impact of the behavior or action.

• Many employees are not aware of the impact their behavior may have on the team and their colleagues. It’s a manager’s job to share cause-and-effect linkages between an employee’s behavior and related outcomes.

Ask the other person to respond.

• A great performance review is about dialogue – not only to ensure understanding, but also to test your employee’s assumptions and reasoning.

Schedule regular follow-ups.

• Following the review, it’s up to the manager to determine what the next step is. Setting a time for a follow-up meeting can help provide the employee with a timeline for the goals that have been set. 

By entering the conversation with the clear intention to be productive and communicate openly, we’re already off on the right foot. Ambiguity is never helpful, so negative performance feedback  should be as specific as possible, and always given with the intent to support the employee’s growth rather than to criticize.  

Let’s look at how we can apply these steps in a specific scenario. Say your Gen-Z employee asks you for a promotion—one you know they aren’t quite ready for. Turning them down without a discussion wouldn’t be very productive, but there are other ways to share your feedback while still motivating them to strive for goals. This is where conveyance of positive intent can make a significant impact. Rather than dismissing their desire for more responsibility or higher pay, turn it into a collaborative discussion.

Work with your employee to set specific milestones, both large and small, to keep track of their growth. Make sure to ask how you can help them reach these milestones. It’s wise to set clear expectations for promotions and raises, and provide your employee with clear areas of improvement to prioritize, and to let your employee know which aspects of their performance need attention.

Collaboration is Key

There really is no “I” in team, and the backbone of any good team is collaboration. When managing a team of intergenerational professionals, it’s essential to ensure that your Gen-Z employees feel like their voices are heard.

Remember, not every employee will respond the same way to the same management style. Collaboration between generations requires listening to the wants and needs of both parties and working together to find common ground. In this article, Harvard Business Review Associate Editor Emma Waldman shares why open communication is especially important when managing a multigenerational team.

“Managers of multiple generations can set the example by helping their team members find ways to clearly communicate with each other. If you have direct reports who are both older and younger than you, ask your employees what kind of interactions feel most comfortable to them.”

Harmful stereotypes are driving Gen-Z away from certain work environments, so it’s more important than ever to treat Gen-Z with the same respect you would have for any professional. Rather than perpetuating an “us versus them” dynamic in the workplace, leaders should work to change the narrative. Don’t be afraid to ask your employees for their feedback about you, and the team as well! Making these discussions collaborative is a crucial component of ensuring a productive performance review and fostering a workplace culture of intergenerational respect.

Have Regular Check-Ins

Your Gen-Z employees are not afraid to leave a job they don’t see a future in. 73% of Gen Z employees say they’ll resign if they don’t get regular feedback from their manager. This is a staggering number! Having regular check-ins and offering informative feedback to your employees can move the needle when it comes to boosting employee retention and engagement. 

Your Gen-Z employees have little interest in a work environment where they’re left to flounder without support, and it’s important that managers have regular discussions with their employees about their performance and how they can improve their performance, even beyond the standard annual review. Aim to create a system in which employees receive feedback, but don’t feel like they’re being micromanaged. 

How Often Should You Give Performance Reviews? 

There is no universally-correct answer to be found for how often you should conduct reviews with your team. One key factor is the ratio of managers to employees in your workplace. If you have fewer employees to manage, you may have more time to devote to your review process; if you’re leading dozens of employees, frequent reviews may not be feasible. 

In this regard, certain organizations will benefit from semi- or bi-annual reviews, while others may benefit more from quarterly reviews, which can serve as an excellent opportunity to set short term goals and address smaller areas of focus. Either way, it’s clear that Gen-Z needs more than just one annual review.

Communication between generations isn’t always easy, performance reviews are a high stake milestone both of employees and their managers. Conducting an effective performance review with Gen Z professionals are not easy, as most managers had a very difference style of feedback from their own supervisors.

It’s important to show Gen-Z that they are just as valued in the workplace, and this means taking their goals and aspirations seriously. An investment in the growth and success of Gen-Z employees helps to ensure a healthy and productive work environment for future generations.

I offer workshops and training for leaders and managers to help create effective performance reviews and feedback processes. A great annual performance review can be a game changer for your business. Reach out to me on LinkedIn or email me at info@julieleephd.com to learn more! 

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