Performance reviews

    The review form is ready. Are your managers?

    Your managers are about to have the conversations that shape next year. Here is a free kit to prepare them, and a safe place to rehearse before the real thing.

    60 free minutes for your team · No credit card · See pricing

    Free kit, no form. Hosted in Europe.

    Every review has one moment where it can go either way.

    Your managers will meet at least one of these this season.

    1
    “I don't agree with my rating.”The review turns into a negotiation.
    2
    The top performer who wants a raise you can't give.Honesty or a vague promise.
    3
    The underperformer who doesn't see it.The gap has never been said clearly.
    4
    Tears, or anger.The plan for the hour disappears.
    5
    The silent one.One-word answers, and a manager who fills every silence.
    6
    Great results, problem behaviour.The numbers are excellent; the team is paying for it.
    7
    The person you've managed for three months.You only saw part of their year.
    8
    The remote review.Camera off, and no way to read the room.

    Seven ways a good year turns into a bad review.

    01The surprise

    Anything an employee hears for the first time in the annual review is a failure of the year, not of the employee.

    Instead: If it is new, say it is new, and own the delay.

    02Recency bias

    The last six weeks quietly overwrite the other forty-six.

    Instead: Go through the year month by month before you write a word.

    03The rating takes over

    Once a score is on the table, nobody hears anything else.

    Instead: Talk about the year first and the rating last, within your company's process.

    04The halo

    One big win, or one big miss, colours every other objective.

    Instead: Judge each objective on its own evidence.

    05The monologue

    The manager talks 80% of the time and calls it a dialogue.

    Instead: They speak first. Aim to talk less than half the time.

    06Vague feedback

    “Be more proactive” has never changed anyone's behaviour.

    Instead: One situation, one behaviour, one impact.

    07The promise you can't keep

    Pay, promotion, budget: things said under pressure to end an awkward moment.

    Instead: Say what you will check, with whom, and when you will come back.

    The year-end review kit. Free, and made to be forwarded.

    11 pages your managers can read in 20 minutes. A 30-minute preparation checklist, a 60-minute conversation structure, the 8 situations with what to avoid and what to say, and a summary email template for the 48 hours after.

    • 7 traps
    • 1 structure
    • 8 situations
    • SBI, DESC and GROW explained simply
    • A summary email template
    ↓ Download the kit (PDF)

    No form. Send it to all your managers.

    Knowing what to say is not the same as being able to say it.

    A kit prepares the head. The review happens out loud, in real time, with a person who reacts. The moment someone says “that's unfair”, most managers forget the method they read the day before. That moment can be rehearsed.

    Try the 3 review moments →
    After each rehearsal
    “I don't agree with my rating.”
    • Let them explain first✓
    • Facts, not impressions (SBI)✓
    • No promise under pressure~
    • Talk share46%

    You defended the rating before asking which part they saw differently. Next time, open with their view.

    A workspace for your company, ready before review season.

    1. 1
      Create your workspace.Free to start. Your managers can rehearse their first review the same day.
    2. 2
      Make it yours.Upload your review guide or competency framework, and the scenarios adapt to your process and vocabulary.
    3. 3
      Invite your managers.They rehearse alone before a review, or live during a manager workshop.
    • ✓Hosted in Europe.
    • ✓Audio is not stored. Transcripts can be deleted at any time.
    • ✓Your data is never used to train models.
    • ✓Coaching against SBI, DESC and GROW, or against your own internal model.

    Questions HR teams ask

    Our managers have no time.+

    One scenario takes 5 to 10 minutes, the length of a coffee before a review.

    We already train managers on reviews.+

    Keep doing it. Harco is where they practise what they learned, at the moment they need it, alone or in your workshop.

    Will managers actually use it?+

    They use it for the review they're worried about. That's usually enough to start.

    Does it follow our process?+

    Upload your guide or framework. The scenarios and the feedback use your criteria.

    Who hears the conversations?+

    Nobody. Audio isn't stored, and the manager controls their transcripts.

    What does it cost after the trial?+

    Creating your workspace and your first 60 minutes are free, no credit card. After that, Harco doesn't charge per user: you pay for the practice time your managers actually use, from 99 a month for the whole team.

    Every important conversation deserves to be rehearsed.

    Create your company's workspace today and invite your managers before the first review.

    60 free minutes for your team · No credit card · See pricing

    © 2026 Harco. Practice the conversations that matter.