15 questions for an ultra-efficient monthly interview framework

What questions should I ask at the monthly employee interview?

As a manager, you know what a special moment this is. It's a golden opportunity to take stock of your staff's objectives, to recognize the work they've done and to discuss any problems they've encountered.

But to run this meeting effectively, you need to rely on a well-structured framework, including operational questions, performance reviews and feedback.

Look no further! This article provides you with an example of a monthly performance review outline, plus 7 smart tips to make it a success.

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What is a monthly performance review?

Definition and purpose of the monthly performance review

The monthly personal interview is a regular meeting between a manager and an employee, aimed at reviewing the past month and preparing for the next.

The main objective? To take a close look at the work carried out by the employee, with a view to detecting any difficulties at an early stage and adjusting objectives where necessary.

But it's also (and above all!) a time for sharing feedback, essential for maintaining employee motivation.

All in all, the monthly one-to-one interview is a major contributor to well-being in the workplace.

What are the differences with the annual appraisal interview?

These two human resources management practices serve different purposes and take place at different intervals.

More precisely, the individual annual appraisal is a more global assessment held once a year. It therefore places greater emphasis on the employee's long-term ambitions.

☝️ It is also an opportune time to identify the employee's training and development needs, and even to raise the question of remuneration.

Example of 15 questions to ask during a monthly personal interview

Having said that, let's turn our attention to the monthly performance review format, with an example of 15 questions to inspire you.

You can, of course, adapt them to suit your needs and the specifics of your organization.

Question 1: How did you feel at work this month?

It's important to start this interview by addressing the question of how you feel at work. And with good reason: an employee's potential "ill-being" inevitably has an impact on how well he or she carries out his or her tasks.

There are a number of aspects to consider, and don't hesitate to delve into them during your discussions:

• the general atmosphere within the team and the company as a whole,
• satisfactions and difficulties encountered during the past month,
• the size of the workload, etc.

💡 O ur tip: if necessary, assess the employee's stress level by asking him/her to rate him/herself on a scale from 1 to 10.

Question 2: What are your successes?

By identifying the employee's successes, you value the work accomplished and reinforce their sense of achievement.

There are several ways of approaching this point:

• Concrete achievements: What projects or tasks have you completed this month? Did you succeed in solving specific problems or achieving defined objectives?
  
  
• Progress and evolution: How have you progressed in your work this month? Did you develop new skills or improve existing ones?
  
  
• Positive contributions: How have your actions had a positive impact on your team or the company as a whole?

☝️ Don't forget to ask the employee about the factors that contributed to these successes. This will provide valuable information for the company's performance.

Question 3: What were your objectives for last month, and how did you achieve them?

While this question is similar to the previous one, it focuses more on the analysis of last month's predefined objectives.

To go into more detail, you can ask the employee:

• What were your main objectives for the past month? This will give you a clearer idea of the tasks or projects on which he or she focused.
  
  
• How do you measure your progress towards these objectives? This question helps you identify the performance indicators used.
  
  
• Have you achieved these objectives? Why or why not? By understanding why certain objectives were achieved, you can capitalize more on the success factors.

💡 O ur advice: focus on continuous improvement rather than simply on whether or not objectives have been achieved. The company will have more to gain by valuing the employee's efforts, who will then feel more of a desire to surpass themselves 💪.

Question 4: What prevented you from achieving your goals?

Sometimes, despite an employee's best efforts, certain obstacles stand in the way of his or her path to success, whether they be:

• internal obstacles: lack of confidence, difficulties with time management or organization, insufficient skills or knowledge, etc.
• external obstacles: problems linked to the work environment, such as a lack of resources, excessive workload or time constraints.

Finally, don't forget that lack of communication or conflict within a team can slow down employees' progress.

Question 5: How have your actions over the past month contributed to the company's overall strategy?

A company is a single entity, where each element must contribute to its long-term vision.

We therefore recommend that you support employees in this reflection, encouraging them to ask themselves how their actions concretely align with the overall strategy. And, of course, ask for concrete examples to illustrate your point.

☝️ The employee's contribution goes beyond the achievement of operational objectives! For example, certain individuals, through their behavior and initiatives, strengthen team cohesion... to the benefit of the corporate culture!

Question 6: How heavy is your workload?

One of your goals as a manager is to ensure that your teams don't feel overworked or, conversely, underloaded.

To help your interlocutor express himself on the subject, ask the following questions, for example:

• Do you feel under constant pressure to complete your tasks?
• Do you feel you have too much free time?

The information gathered will enable you to adjust the allocation of tasks in such a way as to maintain employee productivity... while preventing them from exploding in mid-air!

Question 7: Have you identified any skills you'd like to develop further?

Why wait until the annual performance review to talk about training and skills, especially in a context where the market is constantly evolving?

As part of the employee's ongoing professional development, and to maintain the company's competitiveness, it's relevant to regularly address these issues.

💡 O ur advice: don't hesitate to mention training related to softskills, increasingly valued in the working world: time management, interpersonal communication, leadership, etc.

Question 8: What are your long-term professional development aspirations?

Unlike the previous question, here we need to look at the employee's professional development in a broader, long-term perspective.

Basically, help him project himself 5-10 years into the future to understand his broader ambitions:

• How do you see your career developing within the company?
• What role or position would you like to occupy in five years' time?
• What qualifications do you need to achieve this goal?

☝️ These aspirations are likely to change over time. So it's important to reassess them regularly.

Question 9: Have you identified any projects to which you'd like to contribute?

Having pinpointed the employee's career aspirations, the next step is to define the projects to which he or she would like to contribute, whether related to his or her current role or to areas in which he or she plans to develop.

Encourage initiative too:

• by welcoming the employee's ideas for new projects;
• determining with them how they fit in with the company's broader objectives.

Question 10: How would you rate communication and collaboration within your team?

We can't stress this enough, but communication and collaboration are the pillars on which the smooth running of a team depends.

That's why it's vital that you evaluate these two aspects, so as to highlight potential areas for improvement.

✅ Sample questions:

Communication:

• How did you feel when interacting with your colleagues?
• Did you find it difficult to share your ideas or concerns?
• Did you receive constructive feedback from your team?

Collaboration:

• Have you had the opportunity to work as part of a team on projects?
• How would you rate your contribution to the department?
• Do you feel that you get on well with your colleagues?

Question 11: Do you have any comments or concerns about management?

Now it's time to get your interviewee's feedback on the company's management, whether strategic, operational or relational:

• Do you understand and support the company's objectives and values?
• How would you rate management's communication and transparency?
• Do you have any suggestions for improving the leadership approach? Etc.

After all, nobody is infallible, not even the highest levels of the organization. Yet how can we improve if we're not aware of what employees really think?

💡 O ur advice: out of fear, some employees remain skittish about sharing their feelings about "bosses". That's why HR and managers sometimes prefer to operate via anonymous questionnaires.

Question 12: Do you have any comments or suggestions for your manager?

That's it, it's your turn to receive feedback from your team 😬.

While this process is never easy, keep in mind that it ultimately reinforces good understanding within the team.

What's more, it allows you to adjust your management style to better conform to the needs of each employee, who, let's not forget, is unique!

Question 13: Do you have any ideas for improving company processes or working methods?

Saying what's wrong is fine. But it's even better to work together to find ways of improving! Remember, we were talking about continuous improvement above 😉.

So invite your contact to share his or her thoughts with you:

• Do you have any ideas for improving processes?
• Do you think there are any redundant steps we could eliminate?
• Are there any operational obstacles you'd like to see resolved?
• Do you have any suggestions for making our working methods more agile? Etc.

☝️ Showing employees that their opinions count also strengthens their commitment!

Question 14: What are your objectives and priorities for the month ahead?

The monthly performance review also serves to organize the next month.

Consequently, you need to ask the employee about his or her upcoming priorities, and even support them in defining their objectives if you feel they're struggling.

💡 O ur advice: always set SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound). Otherwise, you run the risk of discouraging the employee.

Question 15: How can we support your success over the next month?

To conclude the discussion, we recommend that you ask the employee how you can help him or her achieve success, with questions such as:

• What specific support do you need from me?
• Do you have any specific needs in terms of resources, training or tools?
• Have you already identified any obstacles that we can try to overcome? Etc.

At the end of the day, you're demonstrating that you're willing to provide personalized help, and that you're ready to listen. All the more reason for them to have confidence in you!

How to prepare and conduct your monthly performance reviews? Our 7 tips

#1 Prepare your monthly performance review in advance

If you want to make a success of this exercise and maintain fluid communication between you and your employee, we recommend that you plan ahead as much as possible.

But how do you prepare for your individual interview 🤔 ?

Quite simply, by taking the time to revisit the notes you've taken during previous exchanges and to recall the objectives you've set, so as to build a truly suitable framework.

In other words, avoid ready-made, non-personalized questions that will give the employee the impression that you're not focusing on his or her specific needs.

#2 Base your discussions on existing data

Discussions during the interview should be based on observable data.

In other words, use performance indicators and other factual information as a basis for discussing topics such as productivity or the achievement of objectives. If you're vague on these subjects, you won't be able to help the employee assess his or her own situation, and thus help him or her progress.

#3 Establish an environment of trust

As we've seen, the monthly performance review is sometimes an opportunity to talk openly about sensitive issues such as management. Hence the importance of creating an environment conducive to open exchange !

To do this, we recommend that you choose a place that preserves confidentiality, where sensitive discussions can be held in complete discretion (avoid the break room!).

And of course, by your attitude, show your interlocutor that he can share his concerns without fear: show benevolence and don't judge his words.

#4 Start with your colleague's successes

A positive approach is to start the interview by highlighting the employee's successes and achievements, rather than by addressing outright what's going wrong.

This "softer" approach makes it easier to move on to more sensitive subjects.

#5 Listen actively

Active listening makes a major contribution to the success of the monthly one-to-one meeting.

A real skill to develop, it involves :

• concentrating fully on what the employee is saying ;
• asking clarifying questions accordingly;
• showing that you are attentive to the employee's concerns.

By doing so, you'll more easily understand the employee's needs and show them that you value what they have to say.

#6 Conclude with an action plan

At the end of the discussion, we suggest that you summarize the main points and conclude with a clear action plan.

Similar to a roadmap, it should include :

• the steps to be taken
• clearly defined responsibilities
• deadlines for the month ahead.

In short, it will serve as a guide for the employee, keeping him or her on track.

#7 Use specialized software

To gain efficiency in the process, some HR and managers opt to use specialized software, capable of automating much of the operation.

Examples include :

• Skeely, a solution designed to optimize the preparation and conduct of all types of interview, including monthly ones. For example, it provides template templates, conceptualized by HR experts, to be customized to your specific needs. It also centralizes all data on previous exchanges, making it easy to track employee progress. Finally, on the big day, you can pool your preparations to make the interview run more smoothly.
  
  

• Zest by ZestMeUp, a platform dedicated to improving employee performance and commitment. So it's only natural that it should include tools for regularly gathering feedback from employees, with the aim of identifying not only slumps in performance, but also motivational levers. In particular, you can draw on models developed by experts in psychometrics and work psychology to easily create relevant interview templates.
  

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Monthly performance appraisal: what to remember?

The monthly personal interview is a key element in human resources management. How can you help your employees to progress and achieve their objectives if you only take the time to have an in-depth discussion with them once a year?

However, for this meeting to be a success, it needs to be rigorously prepared, by drawing up in advance a framework of questions focusing on the employee's achievements, but also allowing you to gather feedback.

Because, yes, these meetings are not just a means of assessing performance: they also serve the employee's professional development. In other words, the format of your monthly personal interview can influence employee commitment, and the company stands to gain from surrounding itself with ultra-motivated teams, ready to reach new heights 🚀.