Controversy always surrounds performance reviews -- to do them at all? how to do them? 360? top-down? self evaluation comparison? What does the form look like? and it goes on and on and on.
One thing I think is universal is that no review should be a surprise - your employees should have a good sense of how they're doing, what needs to be worked on, where they are excelling and how they can keep improving in that area (does a coach ever say - great job, no need to work out today over and over again?), and how their overall presence is perceived.
They should know this because we should all be having a constant stream of feedback, positive and constructive, throughout our day-to-day work lives.
The challenge is that everyday feedback is not necessarily heard - the positive or the negative. I'm struggling with why this is true, but I know that it IS true. (Hell, one of the reasons we started Double Forte with a 10-year experience minimum was to remove ourselves from the constant barrage of social-promotion-conditioned inexperienced people who thought that they should all advance regardless of performance just because the calendar turned over.)
I don't believe we should stop providing feedback ALL THE TIME -- and hello, no feedback should mean that you're doing good. But I do think we need to take the time to make sure the feedback is felt as seriously as it's intended. I'm not happy about it, but I know we need to shift something so that everything is HEARD in the way it is intended.
Feedback must not be given to tear down, but to help someone improve. Really. If you don't want your staff to improve, go sit in a closet with a phone and a computer. At the same time, we all need to LISTEN and ABSORB what we're told.
Everything is feedback. Everything counts. And if you're listening, nothing should be a surprise.