Send us a text

Annual reviews shouldn’t feel like a surprise attack followed by a tiny raise and a big dose of resentment… but for a lot of small and midsize businesses, that’s exactly what happens.

In this episode of The Business Fix, Chrissy Myers (CEO of Clarity HR) and Josh Troche (marketing & operations guy) break down why traditional performance reviews are broken—and how to turn them into one of your strongest tools for culture, clarity, and growth.

You’ll hear Josh’s own “top performer gets blindsided” review horror story, then Chrissy walks through research from Gallup and the Journal of Applied Psychology on why annual, form-heavy reviews don’t actually drive performance. From there, they introduce the 3 A’s framework—alignment, anticipation, and advancement—and show how to turn reviews from a judgment day into a roadmap your people can actually use.

From the CEO and operations side, they dig into:

• Why the annual review should be “dead” as a once-a-year event
• How to use quarterly check-ins and a simple 3-tier system (below / meets / above expectations) instead of bloated 1–5 scales
• How to document performance fairly so you’re not scrambling when tough calls or raises come up
• Why “meets expectations” is not an insult—and what happens when everyone is magically “above average”
• The danger of “money ear”: why mixing compensation with feedback makes people stop listening

They also rapid-fire some hot topics every owner and manager wrestles with:

• Self-evaluations – helpful reflection or just checkbox theater?
• Email/Slack reviews – when quick feedback is good and when it’s just lazy
• Peer reviews – how to avoid turning them into a hornet’s nest

By the end, you’ll have a simple way to think about great reviews using the 3 C’s of leadership:
Clarity (what success looks like), Consistency (no surprises), and Care (growth actually matters here). Combine that with one-page forms and recurring calendar blocks, and r

If you're looking to get help with your culture, or to help out an entire group, reach out to Josh and Chrissy today! We would love to see how we can help you, your business, or your event. Contact us!

ClarityHR is your fractional HR team, giving you real people, real support, and real solutions. Whether it’s compliance headaches, hiring struggles, or just needing someone to take the people stuff off your plate — we’ve got your back. So if you’re ready to stop using duct-tape and hope as your HR strategy and finally get some peace of mind, head over to ClarityHR.com

If you're looking to start your own podcast or maybe you just want to add the next level of professionalism to your podcast and brand, you should be working with the producers behind The Business Fix at Pedal Stomper Productions. Click the link to learn more about how you can get your podcast to the next level. https://www.pedalstomperproductions.com

🎙 Ready to Fix What’s Holding Your Business Back?
The Business Fix podcast delivers real-world strategies to grow your business, lead your team, and reclaim your time. New episodes drop weekly—packed with insights for business owners and managers who want to do better.

🔗 Connect with Chrissy and Josh at https://www.businessfixpodcast.com/ for more tools, support, and clarity.

Enjoy the episode? Leave us a review, share it with your leadership team, and let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments!