What makes a good annual review question?
A good annual review question does one of three things: it surfaces facts the manager doesn't already know, it invites honest reflection from the employee, or it opens a conversation that wouldn't happen otherwise.
Bad annual review questions are vague ("How do you feel this year went?"), leading ("Don't you think you could have communicated better?"), or purely evaluative ("Did you hit your targets?"). They generate one-word answers or defensive responses.
The questions below are organised by purpose. Use them as a menu, not a script. Pick the ones that fit the person and the conversation you actually need to have.
1. Performance and accomplishments questions
These questions build the factual foundation of the review, the evidence layer that makes the rest of the conversation honest. They should be answered with specifics, not generalities.
Use these to: move past vague impressions and ground the review in real evidence.
- What were your main objectives for the year, and how did you progress against each one?
- What is the accomplishment you are most proud of from the past twelve months?
- Which piece of work do you think had the most impact on the team or the company - even if it wasn't part of your formal objectives?
- What project or initiative didn't go as planned? What happened, and what did you learn from it?
- What did you deliver this year that wasn't on your original plan but turned out to matter?
- If you had to pick one contribution that best represents the value you bring to this team, what would it be?
- What decisions did you make this year that you're most confident about in hindsight?
- Looking at the past year as a whole, where did you exceed your own expectations?
💡 Manager tip: Before asking these questions, pull together your own evidence - check-in notes, 1:1 records, peer feedback, key deliverables. Annual reviews suffer from recency bias: both managers and employees tend to remember the last two months. The questions above only work if you've done the preparation to challenge or enrich the answers.
2. Skills and growth questions
These questions explore how someone developed during the year, not just what they delivered. Skills and behaviours matter as much as output, especially when thinking about someone's long-term trajectory.
Use these to: understand how someone grew, where they're gaining confidence, and where the gaps are.
- Which skills or capabilities did you develop or significantly deepen this year?
- Where do you feel most competent and confident right now, professionally speaking?
- What is one area where you know you still have significant room to grow?
- How would your closest collaborators describe working with you this year?
- What's something you learned this year that changed how you approach your work?
- In which situations did you feel most energised and effective?
- Where did you find yourself operating outside your comfort zone, and how did you handle it?
- What skill, if you developed it more in the next year, would have the biggest positive impact on your work?
3. Challenges and obstacles questions
These are the questions most managers skip. They shouldn't. Understanding what got in someone's way is as important as celebrating what they achieved, especially if the manager or the organisation was part of the problem.
Use these to: identify systemic issues, unblock the employee, and improve your own management.
- What was the biggest obstacle you faced this year, and how did you try to work around it?
- Were there moments when you felt blocked by something outside your control? What was it?
- What slowed you down that I could have helped with but didn't?
- Was there a project or task where you didn't have the resources, clarity, or support you needed?
- What is something that made your work harder than it needed to be this year?
- If you could remove one thing from your work environment to perform better next year, what would it be?
💡 Manager tip: Question 19 is the most important question in this section. It directly invites the employee to give you feedback on your own management. Most people won't answer it fully unless they trust you. Create the space for an honest answer.
4. Goals and development questions
The development section is where the annual review earns its place. Too many reviews end on the performance retrospective. The forward-looking conversation is what actually changes things.
Use these to: set meaningful development priorities and build shared commitment for the year ahead.
- What are your main professional development goals for the next twelve months?
- What kind of work do you want more of next year? Is there anything you'd like to do less of?
- What would make next year feel like a genuinely successful one for you?
- What new skill or capability do you most want to build, and why does it matter to you?
- What opportunities do you feel you haven't had yet that you'd like to pursue?
- Where do you want to be professionally in two to three years, and how does next year fit into that?
- What support do you need from me as your manager to reach your goals?
- What would help you do your best work next year?
💡 Manager tip: Question 29 is one managers almost always skip. Asking it — and genuinely listening to the answer — changes the dynamic of the entire review. It reframes the manager as an enabler, not just an evaluator.
5. Manager and team dynamics questions
These questions are about the working relationship itself: how the employee experiences being managed, how they interact with the team, and what the manager can do differently.
Use these to: improve your own management practice and strengthen the team dynamic.
- How would you describe the working relationship we've built this year?
- What is one thing I do as a manager that you find genuinely helpful?
- What is one thing I could do differently or better to support you?
- How do you feel about the level of feedback and recognition you received this year?
- How do you experience the team dynamic, what's working well, and what could be better?
- Is there anything about the way we work together that you'd like to change?
6. Self-assessment questions for employees
These four questions are designed for employees to answer before the review meeting. They form the core of a well-prepared self-assessment, the foundation of a productive annual review conversation.
Use these to: prepare your own annual review and show up to the conversation with something to contribute.
- What am I most proud of from this year, and what made it possible?
- Where did I fall short of what I set out to do, and what got in the way?
- What has been my biggest area of growth this year?
- What do I want to focus on developing in the next twelve months, and what support do I need?
💡 For employees: Don't wait for the meeting to think about these. Write your answers down at least a few days before. The more specific and honest your self-assessment, the more useful the conversation will be, for you.
How to use these questions in practice
Don't ask all 40. A good annual review conversation uses eight to twelve questions, chosen based on the person, their year, and the relationship. Use the categories as a map, make sure you're covering at least the performance, development, and manager relationship sections.
Send them in advance. Share the questions you plan to focus on before the meeting. This gives employees time to reflect rather than react. The quality of the conversation goes up immediately.
Follow the thread. The questions are starting points, not a script. The best annual review conversations happen when you ask a question, listen carefully, and follow what's actually interesting, not when you move mechanically from one question to the next.
Document what comes out. Capture the key takeaways and commitments after the meeting. An annual review that disappears into a form serves no one. The output should connect directly to your 1:1 agenda for the next quarter.
Frequently asked questions about annual review questions
What are the most important questions to ask in an annual review?
The most important questions are the ones that surface information the manager doesn't already have. Questions about obstacles and blockers (especially "what could I have done better as your manager?"), development goals, and the employee's own view of their biggest contribution tend to generate the most useful and honest conversations.
How many questions should an annual review cover?
A well-run annual review typically covers eight to twelve questions across four areas: performance retrospective, skills and growth, development goals, and the working relationship. More than twelve questions makes the conversation feel like an interrogation. Fewer than six often means important areas go unexplored.
What questions should an employee prepare for their annual review?
Employees should prepare to answer questions about their main accomplishments, what went well and what didn't, how they've grown professionally, and what they want to develop in the next year. Writing a self-assessment before the meeting - covering these four areas - is the single best preparation step.
What's the difference between annual review questions and performance review questions?
The terms are used interchangeably in most organisations. "Performance review" is more common in the US; "annual review" or "annual appraisal" is more common in Europe. Both refer to the same structured year-end evaluation conversation between a manager and a direct report.
How should managers prepare their own answers for an annual review?
Managers should come to an annual review with their own perspective on the employee's accomplishments, key development areas, and one clear commitment for the year ahead. The review should be a two-way conversation, not just a series of questions directed at the employee.
Going further: from questions to a full annual review process
Questions are the raw material of a good annual review. But the quality of the conversation depends on everything around them: the preparation, the evidence you've gathered, the structure of the meeting, and what happens after.
If you want to build a complete annual review process - with a template, a running structure, and a way to connect it to your regular 1:1s - read our guide: Annual Review Template for Managers: How to Run Reviews That Actually Work →
And if you're looking for a way to automatically compile the factual evidence layer before each review — pulling from your check-ins, 1:1 notes, Slack, and other tools - that's exactly what Popwork's AI Reviews (AIR) is built to do.
Popwork helps managers run better 1:1s, check-ins, and annual reviews — with structured templates, continuous feedback tools, and AI-powered review preparation. See how it works →
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