In a lot of respects it doesn’t make sense to review your performance (or a team member’s performance) only once a year.

A new trend is doing quarterly evaluations. If your company doesn’t do quarterly evals, perhaps do one on yourself. Reviewing where you are and where you are going four times a year will really help direct where you end up.

Here’s a step-by-step method to help you swap the yearly check-up in favor of a process that allows you to better connect with your staff:

1. Once a quarter, meet with every single staff member on your team, one –on-one.

2. Before this meeting, both you and the staff member come up with three goals for the coming quarter.

3. Meet and discuss any problems, concerns, training needs, etc.

4. Look at the goals side by side and explain why you each have chosen those items to work on.

5. Refine those goals by setting concrete numbers to them. When do you want the goal completed by? What percentage of a change are you looking for in things like aged delinquency or closing ratio? Be specific with your goals and you’re more likely to achieve them.

6. Looking back is always valuable too. What worked, what didn’t, what can be tweaked?