Best Performance Review Questions to Ask in 2026

The questions you ask in performance reviews determine what you learn. Ask vague questions, get vague answers. Ask the right questions, and you surface the insights that actually help people grow.

For HR leaders building or refining a review process, question design is foundational. This guide covers the essential questions for each component of the review cycle—self-reviews, peer feedback, and manager assessments—plus how to adapt them for your organization.

Why question design matters

The right performance review questions drive meaningful conversations that improve retention and development. Gallup research found that 70% of team engagement is attributable to the manager, and reviews are a critical touchpoint. Meanwhile, 80% of employees now prefer ongoing feedback over annual reviews—which means every review conversation needs to count.

Poor questions create busywork. “Rate your performance from 1-5” tells you nothing actionable. “What accomplishments are you most proud of and why?” opens a conversation.

The goal is questions that surface specific examples, reveal development opportunities, and leave both parties with clear next steps.

Self-review questions

Self-reviews give employees a chance to highlight contributions managers might have missed and reflect on their own growth. They also surface accomplishments that would otherwise be forgotten—research shows employees forget up to 50% of their work within weeks.

Keep self-reviews to 3-5 questions. Longer forms lead to procrastination and shallow responses.

Accomplishments:

What are you most proud of accomplishing this period?
Which goals did you achieve? Which were challenging?

Challenges:

Where did you struggle or fall short of expectations?
What obstacles got in the way of your best work?

Support needs:

What do you need from your manager to be more effective?
What resources or training would help you grow?

Future focus:

What are your top priorities for the next period?
What skills do you want to develop?

Career development:

How well does your current role align with your long-term goals?
What would make this role more fulfilling?

Career development questions matter more than most HR leaders realize. Employees who feel their organizations promote skill development are 47% less likely to seek new jobs, according to research on engagement and retention.

The best self-review questions are open-ended and specific. Avoid yes/no questions or anything that can be answered in one word.

Windmill’s AI assistant Windy conducts self-reviews through natural Slack conversations rather than forms. Windy writes the first draft by surfacing work from integrated tools, then employees edit and approve through a natural Slack conversation—no forms, full control.

Peer feedback questions

Peer feedback adds perspectives managers don’t have. Colleagues see collaboration skills, communication patterns, and contributions that happen outside of direct reporting relationships.

Keep peer feedback short—two to three questions maximum. Peers are doing this on top of their regular work.

Strengths:

What does this person do well that helps the team succeed?
Describe a specific contribution they made this period.

Growth areas:

What’s one area where they could improve?
What would help them be even more effective?

Collaboration:

How effectively do they communicate and collaborate?
Would you want to work with them again? Why or why not?

A critical decision: anonymous or attributed feedback? For organizations new to peer feedback, anonymous responses typically yield more honest input. Once trust in the process is established, attributed feedback can create accountability.

Windmill uses Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) to identify who actually collaborates with whom—so peer feedback requests go to the right people based on real work patterns, not org chart assumptions.

Manager assessment questions

When managers assess their direct reports, they synthesize self-reviews, peer feedback, and direct observations into a coherent evaluation. The best managers use questions as a framework for structured, evidence-based reviews.

Performance assessment:

What were this person’s most significant contributions?
Where did they meet, exceed, or fall short of expectations?
What specific examples support your assessment?

Development areas:

What skills should they focus on developing?
What’s holding them back from the next level?

Future direction:

What should their goals be for the next period?
What growth opportunities are available to them?

The key is specificity. “Good job this quarter” helps no one. “You led the product launch effectively, particularly in coordinating across engineering and marketing. Next quarter, focus on delegating more of the execution so you can spend more time on strategy” gives someone something to act on.

Questions by review type

Different review cadences call for different question depths. Here’s how to adapt:

Review Type	Focus	Question Count	Example Questions
Annual	Comprehensive assessment	8-12 total	Full self-review, peer feedback, manager assessment
Quarterly	Progress check	4-6 total	Goal progress, blockers, support needs
Monthly	Lightweight pulse	2-3 total	Recent wins, immediate challenges
Project-based	Specific outcomes	3-5 total	Project contributions, lessons learned

The trend is toward more frequent, lighter-weight reviews. Organizations emphasizing continuous feedback report 40% higher engagement and 31% lower turnover compared to annual-only approaches.

Common mistakes to avoid

Too many questions. Long review forms lead to reviewer fatigue and vague answers. If your self-review has 15 questions, cut it in half.

Leading questions. “Don’t you think you could have communicated better?” puts employees on the defensive. Ask “How effective was your communication this period?” instead.

Recency bias. Questions that don’t prompt reflection on the full review period lead to assessments dominated by the last few weeks. Ask explicitly about the entire period.

No action orientation. Every review should end with clear next steps. Include questions like “What’s the one thing you’ll focus on improving?”

Ignoring context. Questions that don’t account for circumstances—a difficult project, team changes, external factors—miss important nuance.

Making reviews sustainable

The best performance review questions are only valuable if the review process actually happens consistently. Managers spend an average of 210 hours per year on performance management activities—time that often comes at the expense of actual people development.

AI-powered performance management tools like Windmill reduce this burden dramatically. Instead of managers staring at blank documents, Windmill gathers context from integrated tools year-round and generates review drafts automatically. Managers spend 6 minutes per review instead of 6 hours—selecting key points and adding personal touches rather than starting from scratch.

The result: reviews that actually happen on time, with better content, and without burning out your managers.

Key takeaways

Quality over quantity. 3-5 focused questions per component beats 15 vague ones.
Open-ended beats closed. Ask “What are you proud of?” not “Did you meet your goals?”
Be specific. Questions should prompt examples, not generalizations.
Include career development. Don’t skip growth-focused questions in self-reviews.
Make it sustainable. The best questions don’t matter if reviews don’t happen. Invest in processes and tools that reduce the burden.
Adapt to your cadence. Annual reviews need depth; quarterly reviews need efficiency.

Performance reviews work when they surface genuine insights and create meaningful dialogue. Start with the right questions, and everything else follows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best performance review questions to ask employees?

The best performance review questions focus on accomplishments, challenges, development areas, and future goals. Start with open-ended questions like 'What are you most proud of this period?' and 'Where did you struggle?' These questions surface specific examples and create dialogue rather than one-sided evaluation.

How many questions should a performance review include?

Keep performance reviews to 3-5 questions per component (self-review, peer feedback, manager assessment). Research shows longer reviews lead to lower completion rates and vague responses. Quality matters more than quantity—a few well-crafted questions yield better insights than exhaustive questionnaires.

Should performance review questions be the same for all employees?

Core questions should remain consistent across the organization to enable fair calibration and comparison. However, you can add role-specific questions for technical vs. managerial positions. Consistency in base questions ensures equitable evaluation while allowing flexibility for different job functions.

What questions should managers ask during performance reviews?

Managers should ask questions that gather context beyond what they've observed: 'What accomplishments might I have missed?' 'What support do you need from me?' and 'What's blocking your best work?' These questions fill blind spots and demonstrate genuine interest in the employee's perspective.