{"id":140003,"date":"2022-03-27T12:09:25","date_gmt":"2022-03-27T17:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=140003"},"modified":"2024-07-05T13:27:30","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T18:27:30","slug":"performance-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/performance-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"The Content Marketer\u2019s Guide to Performance Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"intro-txt\">Employee performance reviews have been used in companies for decades. For employees, these reviews are an opportunity to get feedback on their work and even a raise.&nbsp;For managers, reviews are an important management and leadership tool.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem is nobody really likes performance reviews. They\u2019re stressful, awkward, and ineffective (according to some). Yet it seems they are necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how should managers go about performance reviews in their content marketing teams? Read on to learn some basic theories and see the insights that some marketing managers shared with&nbsp;us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019re going to&nbsp;cover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#1-performance-review\">What is a performance review?&nbsp;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#2-importance\">Why are performance reviews important?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#3-types\">Types of performance reviews<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#4-results\">Results of our survey<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#5-five-tips\">Five tips to ensure effective performance reviews<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"What is a performance review?\" data-section=\"1-performance-review\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.a7xreyiylkqs\">What is a performance review?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u200b\u200bA performance review (also called performance evaluation or appraisal)&nbsp;is a process where managers assess an employee\u2019s work performance to identify their strengths and weaknesses, offer feedback, and assist with goal setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Why are performance reviews important in marketing?\" data-section=\"2-importance\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.ic2wu852jma5\">Why are performance reviews important in marketing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A common misconception about performance reviews is that they are meant to benefit only the businesses or managers and not the employees. However, properly conducted reviews (in any form) can offer an immediate lift for all \u201csides.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For businesses (and managers conducting the reviews), performance reviews are a tool for optimizing the performance of staff, strengthening leadership, creating a better alignment with the strategy, and understanding the perspectives of employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For employees, reviews are a way to get an overview of their strengths and weaknesses and progress. During reviews, employees can also voice criticisms, discuss career opportunities with managers, or get a&nbsp;raise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Types of performance reviews\" data-section=\"3-types\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.p4wh00tle5b8\">Types of performance reviews<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A performance review, in general, is a multi-layered&nbsp;phenomenon, such as the obvious business performance side of things, different management theories, company policies, HR and, of course, the psychological aspect of giving and receiving a performance review in a modern workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past, when businesses tried to prioritize some aspects over others or balance them, new types of performance reviews emerged. These days, it seems there is no consensus for a single, right way to do a performance review. Each way has its advantages and disadvantages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re interested in how performance reviews evolved, see <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2016\/10\/the-performance-management-revolution#:~:text=TIMELINE-,Talent%20Management,-The%20tug%2Dof\">this timeline.<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among all of the alternatives, here are the types of performance reviews that seem to be most relevant to evaluating <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/\">the work of content marketers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Rating scale<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;Probably the most traditional type. The reviewer evaluates the reviewee by assigning ratings to variables (e.g., creativity, teamwork) arranged in a&nbsp;table.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Self-assessment<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;As the name suggests, the employee performs a self-assessment based on goals, KPIs, or<a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-okrs\/\"> OKRs<\/a>&nbsp;defined either by the manager or by the employee themself. Then the employee discusses the results with the manager; for example, both sides can compare results of the same appraisal form.<\/li>\n<li><strong>360 feedback<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 Practically, the entire professional surrounding of the employee takes part in the evaluation process: managers, co-workers, customers and, sometimes, even the employee themself. This method usually utilizes a questionnaire handed out to the participants.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Management by objectives (MOB)<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 Performance is reviewed based on how well an employee meets their goals. In content marketing, the goals can be something like the number of articles written, traffic growth, generated leads, etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Continuous, real-time feedback<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 In this method, the employee receives ongoing feedback by openly discussing how tasks and projects are progressing. Often used in agile management. Typically, it does not utilize any form of scorecards or formal appraisals set in longer intervals; it\u2019s sort of an antithesis of the traditional way of doing performance reviews.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Within those types, with the exception of real-time feedback, there are three commonly used techniques for gathering and passing information: checklist (aka forced choice), scorecard, and free form (aka an essay). Let\u2019s take a quick look at some simple examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Example 1. A scorecard technique used in the rating scale method. Here, the manager marks the score of an employee for a given period of time, e.g., the last three months. In the end, all of the points can be summed up to constitute a general score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-122\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-122 tablepress-responsive tablepress-ahrefs-width-720px\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1 odd\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Performance level\/ Work dimension<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">1 - Poor<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">2 - Fairly poor<\/th><th class=\"column-4\">3 - Fairly good<\/th><th class=\"column-5\">4 - Good<\/th><th class=\"column-6\">5 - Excellent<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Creativity<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><\/td><td class=\"column-3\"><\/td><td class=\"column-4\"><\/td><td class=\"column-5\"><\/td><td class=\"column-6\">X<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Efficiency<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><\/td><td class=\"column-3\"><\/td><td class=\"column-4\"><\/td><td class=\"column-5\"><\/td><td class=\"column-6\">X<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">Teamwork<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><\/td><td class=\"column-3\"><\/td><td class=\"column-4\">X<\/td><td class=\"column-5\"><\/td><td class=\"column-6\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Example 2. A checklist technique used in the self-assessment method. The employee is handed a questionnaire with forced-choice questions. There is no scale here, only \u201cblack\u201d and \u201cwhite.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<table id=\"tablepress-123\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-123 tablepress-responsive tablepress-ahrefs-width-720px\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1 odd\">\n\t<th class=\"column-1\">Statement<\/th><th class=\"column-2\">Yes<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">No<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody class=\"row-hover\">\n<tr class=\"row-2 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">I am creative at&nbsp;work.&nbsp;<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">X<\/td><td class=\"column-3\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3 odd\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">I fulfill the quota of written articles.&nbsp;<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">X<\/td><td class=\"column-3\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4 even\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">I help other team members achieve their goals when needed.&nbsp;<\/td><td class=\"column-2\"><\/td><td class=\"column-3\">X<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n<p>Example 3. A free-form essay technique. This can be used as a standalone technique or as a supplement to the other techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"small\"><div class=\"quote-content\">\n<p>Employee XYZ is a skilled writer with a head full of ideas. She puts her full creative effort into each written article, resulting in great, original content. In addition to that, her articles are always on&nbsp;time.<\/p>\n<p>However, XYZ could work on her teamwork skills. They\u2019re not horrible, but neither are they great. Other team members could learn much from her. But she rarely shares her perspective, and I rarely see her offering assistance to co-workers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>With some basic theory out of the way, let\u2019s look at the practical side of things. Let\u2019s see how some of the marketers we asked conduct performance reviews for content marketers and how they feel about the idea in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Results of our survey\" data-section=\"4-results\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.ae6jv6q5a811\">Results of our survey<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the methods listed in the section above are decades-old, some have been transplanted from other fields (e.g., military), and some were designed for corporations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means that what we have just discussed may potentially be outdated and\/or not suitable for startups and SMBs. After all, marketers may have adopted different methods over the years that work well, especially in the area of content marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So in our search for the answer to doing performance reviews for content marketers, we decided to go further than just understanding the theories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s more, we also wanted to learn what particular metrics are being used to assess the performance of content marketers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we asked marketing managers to answer these two questions in a quick survey on social media:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Two questions to marketing managers:<br><br>1\/ How do you measure the performance of your content marketers? <br><br>2\/ How often do you have performance reviews?<\/p>\n\u2014 Tim Soulo \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@timsoulo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/timsoulo\/status\/1492039392390639620?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 11,&nbsp;2022<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n<p>In some cases, we\u2019ve added an additional question: How do you determine if a content marketer deserves a&nbsp;raise?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two disclaimers to note here. First, marketing is a broad field with various specializations. Hence, we decided to limit the scope of the survey to just content marketing. Second, the survey was conducted on social media in an open forum. So we chose not to rule out the possibility of respondents being influenced by existing responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All in all, we\u2019ve got 20 responses to questions #1 and #2 and 10 responses to the additional question #3,&nbsp;plus some comments. Here\u2019s what we&nbsp;found:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Marketers use different types of metrics to measure the performance of content marketers:&nbsp;<ol>\n<li>55% use only quantitative metrics.<\/li>\n<li>20% don\u2019t use any metrics.<\/li>\n<li>15% use both qualitative and quantitative metrics.<\/li>\n<li>10% use only qualitative metrics.&nbsp;<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/performance-review-metrics.jpg\" alt=\"Performance-review-metrics\"><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Among the quantitative metrics, the most popular are traffic and MQLs. Some others mentioned are social media shares, influence on MRR, <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-rank-higher-on-google\/\">keyword rankings<\/a>, engagement rate, referrals to shop, and <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/glossary\/dwell-time\" data-ahr=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/dwell-time\/\">dwell time<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Among qualitative metrics, marketers mentioned feedback from readers, quality of product placement, internal feedback, managers\u2019 personal opinions.<\/li>\n<li>Half of the surveyed managers&nbsp;(50%) use a quarterly interval for conducting performance reviews. However, managers often mix those with monthly, weekly, and even real-time feedback.<\/li>\n<li>For reasons to give a raise, the clearest pattern among the responses is that managers utilize the same metrics used for measuring performance. However, some managers mentioned they consider additional factors like work ethic, a regular annual raise, employee being underpaid, or wanting to keep the employee.&nbsp;<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/when-content-marketers-should-get-a-raise.jpg\" alt=\"When-content-marketers-should-get-a-raise\"><\/figure>\n<\/li>\n<li>A minority of marketers don\u2019t perform performance reviews. Notably, most answers came from Twitter. Here are a couple of those answers that explain the reasons for this approach:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">To be honest we don\u2019t - we just focus on writing the best content possible for our users\u2026<br><br>We do use ahrefs to track search volume and ranking but we don\u2019t set specific goals to reach for this&nbsp;part.<\/p>\u2014 Guillaume Moubeche (@GuillaumeMbh) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GuillaumeMbh\/status\/1492042964230713344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 11,&nbsp;2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I got to agree with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GuillaumeMbh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GuillaumeMbh<\/a>  there are more than a few things that measuring will just get on the way, specially when it comes to having a conversation and creating valuable content.<\/p>\u2014 Marcos Bravo C. (@MBravoCaradeuc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MBravoCaradeuc\/status\/1492162351923138568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 11,&nbsp;2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>I think every reader will make their own conclusions after studying the survey results. Some will treat it as a sign that the \u201ctraditional way\u201d of doing performance reviews is still the way to&nbsp;go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Others may flinch at the mere sight of any kind of scorecard, and they may treat the small but significant percentage of managers who don\u2019t use any metrics or do performance reviews as the most important group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s my take on the subject. It\u2019s based on the data from the survey, the research I did for this article, and my personal experience as a marketing manager a couple of years back. I tried to distill them, and this brings us to the following tips\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Five tips to ensure effective performance reviews in the context of content marketing\" data-section=\"5-five-tips\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.rqebyg259an\">Five&nbsp;tips to ensure effective performance reviews in the context of content marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Finding one definitive answer to the problem of performance reviews seems impossible until you try it out on your own turf. Whatever you do, you may want to consider these&nbsp;tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.gvymiq8tjjb8\">1. Try different methods and techniques to find what&nbsp;works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One undeniable conclusion from our survey is that managers assess the performance of content marketers differently. There sure are patterns and commonalities but no unanimity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reason? Very prosaic: People are different, and organizations are different. What could work in a 500+ corporation may fail miserably in a startup. While some content marketers like to have strict guidelines and follow exactly what is expected of them, others perform best if they are left with a lot of room to&nbsp;move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then we have different styles, strategies, and <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/types-of-content-marketing\/\">types of content marketing<\/a>. One team may focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/seo-content\" data-ahr=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-content\/\">writing SEO content<\/a>; another may focus on social media, sales enablement, or <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/category\/video-marketing\/\">video marketing<\/a>. They won\u2019t have the same process, challenges, and objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In all of those differences and complexities, I think nailing the right performance review method boils down to one thing: How can you as a manager help your team members achieve their&nbsp;goals?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, nobody needs (and trusts) a manager who only judges people. Your performance reviews should be constructive and ideally benefit both \u201csides.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So don\u2019t just blindly copy what someone else is doing. Instead, take any advice for a \u201ctest drive\u201d and see what happens. Observe your team, get feedback, and look at the impact of your decisions on the performance and quality of content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.eosmn16mljk7\">2. Be careful with the \u201ccarrot and&nbsp;stick\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What often concludes a performance review is the possibility of a raise for the reviewee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to reward employees by giving them a raise, you probably can\u2019t go wrong with the answers our respondents gave. But if raises are a part of an incentive plan in a creative field like content marketing, things become a bit tricky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Incentive plans are essentially \u201ccarrot and stick\u201d systems: rewards and punishments used to induce a certain behavior or a certain level of work performance. Using direct punishments (pay decrease, demotions, etc.) is probably rare. But in a workplace, a lack of reward practically equals punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A number of studies&nbsp;(e.g., <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/1993\/09\/why-incentive-plans-cannot-work\">here <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shrm.org\/hr-today\/news\/hr-magazine\/summer2019\/pages\/does-incentive-pay-work.aspx\">here<\/a>) have shown&nbsp;that incentive plans may do more harm than good. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Any pay-for-performance system tends to make people less enthusiastic about their work. They become less committed to excellence and less creative. This isn\u2019t great for content marketing, an area that requires more open-ended thinking and, thus, is more cognitively demanding.<\/li>\n<li>If people are forced to compete for rewards\u2014especially if they are ranked against each other\u2014it\u2019s the end of teamwide cooperation.<\/li>\n<li>When people work for a reward, they may be more tempted to conceal problems, take on easier tasks, and minimize the challenge (i.e., avoid risk-taking and innovation).<\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019re looking to induce a long-term change in an employee\u2019s behavior, don\u2019t bother. Rewards result in temporary compliance only.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s make things clear here. Rewarding content marketers with raises and bonuses for great work is nothing short of doing justice to their inputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it doesn\u2019t work the other way around. Introducing a reward system to improve the quantity and quality of content is probably a bad idea for the reasons mentioned above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may want to do this instead: provide training, give useful feedback, and leave room for self-determination. Other than that, you may want to review your recruitment process, which brings us to the next&nbsp;tip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.flisub1m8zsg\">3. Performance reviews won\u2019t fix a broken recruitment process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>From my experience, if you hire the right people, all you need to do in terms of performance reviews is to regularly talk to them. No awkward pressure, no formalities, no scores. In fact, casual chats work&nbsp;best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason for this is the right person for the job will have the intrinsic motivation to excel at their role. They will <em>want <\/em>to do the job as best as possible. They may even be more concerned about their performance than the manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if they understand that you, as a manager, are there to help them achieve their goals, remove roadblocks when needed, remove yourself from a given process when needed, or even step in when needed, you will gain their&nbsp;trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Otherwise, you will become another dark cloud in their blue sky. Another problem to solve and obstacle to avoid. You won\u2019t earn their trust. And without trust, you won\u2019t see their true potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your recruitment process is broken and you end up hiring people who don\u2019t really fit the role or the company culture, you will likely struggle with performance reviews as a result. This means you will have to devise some complex system of assessment instead of simply having regular chats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.6f47kcwlvm52\">4. Let your employees track their own performance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A good idea may be to ask your employees to prepare their own performance reports. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Makes assessment standards more transparent<\/li>\n<li>Leaves less room for unfair assessments from managers<\/li>\n<li>Gives employees an increased sense of ownership of their&nbsp;work<\/li>\n<li>Makes it easier for managers to collect information (especially in bigger organizations)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if your strategy is based on content designed to rank on search engines, content marketers on your team can use an SEO tool like <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/\">Ahrefs<\/a>&nbsp;to track things such as keyword rankings, search visibility, backlinks, or organic traffic growth. This data can then be aggregated for any period of time and discussed with a manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/3-tagging-keywords-in-rank-tracker.png\" alt=\"3-tagging-keywords-in-rank-tracker\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/rank-tracker\">Rank Tracker<\/a>,&nbsp;tags can help to filter articles by author. This way, all writers can easily monitor the performance of their&nbsp;work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.3da577xe5abq\">5. Don\u2019t forget the small things<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Last but not least, let\u2019s take note of the small details that can make or break your performance reviews. Without further ado, here\u2019s a short list of things worth remembering:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Make performance standards clear<\/strong> \u2013&nbsp;Don\u2019t make your team members guess what effects you\u2019re after. Also, don\u2019t make it a weird psychological game of \u201cimpress me.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Find the right time and place<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 A room full of people at 7 a.m. won\u2019t be a time and place where thoughts and words will flow. Reviews are a sensitive matter. Try to keep it private and non-intimidating. Typically, the best time is close to the end of the day but leave enough time for discussions. If you\u2019re doing the review remotely, don\u2019t sit in a place where the whole company can hear you (or the reviewee).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Give your employee a copy of the review<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 If you\u2019re using some kind of a scorecard or checklist, it\u2019s a good idea to share it with your employee. Otherwise, your performance standards are not&nbsp;clear.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prepare notes and agenda<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 Don\u2019t come to the performance review meeting unprepared. Take time to gather your thoughts and write them down. You can even send the meeting agenda to your employee beforehand.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ensure a two-way conversation<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2013 This is true for all review methods. If you don\u2019t let the reviewee express their opinions, you\u2019ll make them frustrated. Nothing good can come out of&nbsp;that.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h.txrvtllpov45\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Our initial plan for this article was to include a template for performance reviews. A one-size-fits-all solution all content marketing managers and heads of content departments can use to measure the performance of content marketers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m glad we didn\u2019t go in that direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we did, we would lose all that diversity in opinions on the topic and different practices of conducting performance reviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So to reiterate the question from the introduction: How should managers conduct performance reviews of their content marketing teams? Well, it seems that they should find their own way because no one will answer this question for&nbsp;them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure, there are methods and techniques, but they don\u2019t come with any promises. Furthermore, asking other managers won\u2019t result in a simple answer either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to performance reviews, you need to consider the consequences of choosing one method over the other. They should be tested within one\u2019s specific work environment, as they can enhance just as many things as they can undermine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Got questions or comments? Ping me <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/m_makosiewicz\">on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; The problem is nobody really likes performance reviews. They\u2019re stressful, awkward, and ineffective (according to some). Yet it seems they are necessary. So how should managers go about performance reviews in their content marketing teams? Read on to learn<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":159,"featured_media":140048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"coauthors":[412],"class_list":["post-140003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-content-marketing","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Content Marketer\u2019s Guide to Performance Reviews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Insights on how to conduct performance reviews for content marketers - basic theory, results from our survey, and some tips based on our experience.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/performance-reviews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Content Marketer\u2019s Guide to Performance Reviews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hated but necessary (or are they?)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/performance-reviews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SEO Blog by Ahrefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ahrefs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-27T17:09:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-05T18:27:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/fb-performance_reviews-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mateusz Makosiewicz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@m_makosiewicz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ahrefs\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/performance-reviews\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/performance-reviews\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mateusz Makosiewicz\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c7e64c851ecc4eabb77eaefae90a440c\"},\"headline\":\"The Content Marketer\u2019s Guide to Performance Reviews\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-27T17:09:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-05T18:27:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/performance-reviews\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2928,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/performance-reviews\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/03\\\/fb-performance_reviews-1.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Content Marketing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/performance-reviews\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/performance-reviews\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Content Marketer\u2019s Guide to Performance Reviews\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/performance-reviews\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/performance-reviews\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/03\\\/fb-performance_reviews-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-27T17:09:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-05T18:27:30+00:00\",\"description\":\"Insights on how to conduct performance reviews for content marketers - 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