37 mid-year review question examples (from HR practitioners)

Actionable feedback and performance reviews are essential for empowering employees to succeed. Yet, our latest research shows a troubling disconnect between managers and their direct reports: while most managers say they’re delivering constructive input, many team members don’t feel they’re receiving it.*

With this in mind, perfecting your mid-year review processes is crucial. Conducted every six months, these evaluations provide everyone involved — manager, report, peers — with a structured opportunity to acknowledge achievements, discuss growth opportunities, and identify areas for improvement.

Keen to learn more? Below, you’ll find 37 mid-year review question examples for manager evaluations, peer reviews, and self-assessments; use them to create more structured, meaningful conversations that spark genuine progress.

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*Leapsome’s Workforce Trends Report, 2024
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37 top questions to ask in a mid-year review

Leading mid-year reviews is a significant responsibility. Engagement and retention hinge on your ability to offer constructive, relevant takeaways: employees who feel recognized are 45% less likely to change jobs within two years, and 80% say constructive feedback boosts their productivity. 

In other words, most employees want feedback on how to improve. The key is to ask thoughtful questions that encourage honest reflection and highlight actionable next steps.

Not sure where to begin? Below, we’ll share mid-year review question examples and performance review tips to help you tailor your approach to different scenarios and deliver maximum value.
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For managers 

Addressing managers, Latesha Byrd (a 2022 LinkedIn Top Voice on Company Culture and CEO at Perfeqta) stressed the importance of purposeful questions: “A question like ‘Are you happy in your role?’ doesn’t leave you with any information that’ll help you create action plans toward success.” 

In practice, this means ensuring you come up with the right insights by considering the right questions. These should determine what’s going well, what could be better, and where you could offer more support as a manager.

If you’re working with the 360° review framework (which we recommend), managers will evaluate their reports by answering questions before the performance review conversation. That way, managers and employees can dedicate the discussion to talking about all the collected feedback — from peers, the report, and the manager — as well touch on overarching themes, next steps, and possible development opportunities. 

Wondering what these questions look like? Here are some sample performance management questions that managers can answer to cover all these topics in their mid-year reviews:
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What’s going well?

• What do you consider their biggest achievement since the last review?
  
  
• What should they keep doing?
  
  
• What progress have they made toward their goals since the last review?
  
  
• How do you assess their overall performance over the past 6 months?

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What could be better?

• What do you consider they could have done better over the past 6 months?
  
  
• What should they prioritize working on (change, improve) in the next 6 months?
  
  
• What’s the main development goal they should dedicate themselves to?
  
  
• Are there any concerns you’d like to address?

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In the actual performance review conversation, managers should also ask their reports how they can better support them directly. They may want to ask the following questions:

• What can I do to help you do your job better moving forward?
  
  
• Do you have the tools and resources to do your best work?
  
  
• How can we help you get to where you want to be in the company?
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For peer reviews

Peer reviews add valuable perspectives, recognizing strengths and uncovering improvement areas from colleagues who work closely together.

“This holistic approach gives a fuller picture of an employee’s contributions and promotes a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration,” William Gallagher, Managing Partner and President of CFG Merchant Solutions, told Forbes.

Below, we’ve shared some mid-year review question examples you might include on a peer review form:

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Qualitative questions:

• Over the last 6 months, what achievement(s) should they be proud of? Please be specific with 2-4 bullet points.

• Over the last 6 months, what could they have done better? Please be specific with 2-4 bullet points. 

• What are this person’s greatest strengths? Please provide specific examples of projects and/or situations where they’ve displayed these traits.

• Which company values do they live up to the most, and which could they improve?

💡 Pro tip: Here at Leapsome, we recommend using a 5-point scale for quantitative questions (exemplified below). That’s because it differentiates between performance levels while remaining easy to use.

Keep in mind that a rating of 3 is strong and indicates consistently meeting expectations (86-100% of requirements), with 4 and 5 being reserved for exceeding expectations and superb performance, respectively.

Quantitative questions:

• How would you rate this person’s overall performance (on a scale of 1 to 5)?
  
  
• How would you rate this person’s problem-solving skills (on a scale of 1 to 5)?
  
  
• How well does this person communicate with their colleagues (on a scale of 1 to 5)?
  
  
• How often does this person share constructive feedback with others (on a scale of 1 to 5)?
  
  
• How much do you agree with this statement: “This person displays strong leadership skills” (on a scale of 1 to 5)?

📚💡 If you’re looking for a more detailed guide on 360° performance reviews that incorporate peer assessments, we’ve got a detailed playbook dedicated to just that.

For self-assessments

Mid-year reviews should incorporate an element of self-assessment to allow employees to reflect on their own performance, grow as professionals, and foster a sense of accountability for setting and achieving goals.

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General questions:

• Over the last 6 months, what achievement are you most proud of? Please be specific with 2-4 bullet points.

• Over the last 6 months, what could you have done better? Please be specific with 2-4 bullet points. 

• Is there any specific feedback you have consistently received from your manager and/or peers over the last few months?
  
  
• Which company values do you live up to the most, and which could you improve? 

• How would you rate your average performance over the last 6 months (on a scale of 1-5)?
  
  
• How satisfied are you with your work-life balance (on a scale of 1-5)? Please explain your rating so we can best support you.
  
  

Skills-based questions:

These vary between industries and positions. Still, your team members can ask themselves relevant questions to self-assess soft and role-related skills. For example:

• What do you believe is your strongest skill, and how have you demonstrated that over the past 6 months?
• What skill do you need to improve the most in the next 6 months?
• Do you require additional training for any specific skills? If yes, please list them.
• What talents and abilities do you still want to explore to realize your full potential?
• How would you rate your communication skills (on a scale of 1 to 5)?
• How would you rate your collaboration skills (on a scale of 1 to 5)?
• How would you rate your problem-solving skills (on a scale of 1 to 5)?

💡 Wondering how to write a self-assessment? The most effective self-evaluation examples include both general and skills-based questions.

Focus on the outcomes of your actions

A common mistake people make when writing self-assessments is viewing their work through only one lens — like watching a movie filmed from a single camera angle. This narrow perspective often leads to describing activities instead of tangible results.

Instead, consider the perspectives of other interested parties — the customers, clients, and communities impacted by your work. According to Liz Wiseman, New York Times bestselling author and CEO of The Wiseman Group, for the Harvard Business Review, looking at outcomes through stakeholders’ eyes clarifies the value of your efforts and provides hard evidence of success.

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As you reflect on your projects, ask yourself:

• Which problems did my work address for others?

• What new capabilities do customers or clients have because of my efforts?

• How has my work added value to their operations or our organization?

• What quantifiable evidence (metrics, data) can I offer to illustrate these outcomes?

By highlighting results rather than just effort, you can paint a more accurate picture of your impact — for yourself and others.

💡 Discover more tried-and-tested questions! 

Check out our list of best-practice questions for performance reviews (including 360° and leadership reviews).

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What to discuss in a mid-year review

Mid-year review conversations look different in every company. No two managers or employees are the same, which means HR leaders often have to adapt their organization’s approach according to various department and team needs. 

That being said, there are some core areas that all mid-year reviews should cover:

• Key achievements — What has the person accomplished since their last mid-year review? This could include finishing projects, reaching targets, or taking on new development opportunities.
  
  Team leaders should aim to highlight these kinds of specific accomplishments during mid-year reviews, ensuring they deliver “authentic” recognition. Indeed, employees who strongly agree that they receive authentic recognition are four times more likely to feel connected to their organization’s culture than those who don’t.

• Core strengths — Consider soft and hard skills, from leadership capabilities to technological proficiency. These conversations recognize employees for their hard work, help them understand where to focus their development efforts, and can help managers build skill profiles for different team members.
  
  Tools like Leapsome Reviews keep track of these skills and competencies in one place and offer tailored AI-backed recommendations to support employee growth. 

• Areas for improvement — What could the team member do better? McKinsey found that the leading driver of performance and productivity is the sense of purpose work provides for employees.
  
  So, supporting a culture of continuous improvement where professionals feel empowered to overcome difficulties and achieve their full potential can significantly impact overall performance and well-being.

• Learning and development — Is the individual working toward a specific qualification, goal, or role? Managers and reports should collaborate on training and development opportunities during mid-year reviews to create dynamic roadmaps for professional growth.
  
  Tools like Leapsome Learning can provide team members with top-quality training materials and connect learning outcomes with goals, competencies, and reviews to help them progress in their careers.

• Well-being and job satisfaction — How do employees feel about their roles? Are they happy and healthy? Over 50% of managers and individual contributors say their mental well-being has deteriorated over the past year, so investigating team member sentiment is crucial.
  
  In the context of mid-year reviews, this might mean asking people to describe the challenges they’ve experienced and what kind of additional support they need to thrive.
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Performance management made simple

“Successful mid-year reviews often reflect the level of trust within a team. When employees believe their feedback is valued and acted upon, they’re more likely to engage proactively and share honest insights.” 

— Chris Ellis, Founder at Ellivate Consulting

Transform your performance review process with Leapsome’s comprehensive Reviews module. Whether you’re conducting self-assessments, peer reviews, or manager evaluations, our platform helps you:

• Drive meaningful feedback with a customizable rating scale
  
  
• Access powerful cross-cycle analytics that make it easy to track performance trends and development over time
  
  
• Ensure consistency through standardized assessments while maintaining flexibility for your organization’s needs

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Our Reviews module includes:

• 360° feedback capabilities
• Customizable review templates
• Built-in calibration tools
• Comprehensive analytics

These templates are reusable across cycles and set to recur independently — ensuring consistency, helping avoid bias, and saving you time across the board. What’s more, Leapsome can help you set goals and leverage powerful People analytics all in one place, enabling you to track performance changes over time and drive ongoing growth. 

Combined with our HRIS tool and Reviews, Goals, Surveys, and Learning modules, Leapsome provides a complete platform for driving performance, engagement, and growth.

With effortless integrations, built-in employee engagement features, and expert customer support, Leapsome is the HR platform you need to ensure organizational success.

🚀 Supercharge your performance management with Leapsome

Discover how our platform can help you boost team performance and employee development.

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FAQ about mid-year review examples

What is a mid-year review?

A mid-year review, sometimes known as a “semi-annual review,” is an employee evaluation that companies conduct every six months. 

These reviews provide structured, constructive feedback about a professional’s performance and development across different areas. In addition, they should give the employee an opportunity to raise questions or concerns about their targets, limitations, and professional relationships.

Their main purpose is to measure ongoing progress toward individual and company goals, ensuring team members feel recognized for their efforts and understand what they need to do to progress.