July 1 marked the midpoint of the year, and it also happened tobe the same week as my birthday. My birthday inevitably makes mefeel a mix of gratitude and panic. It also serves as a time forreflection, a time to appreciate what I've accomplished, a time toremember what's left to do and a reminder of my own mortality.

Most importantly though, because it's almost smack dab in themiddle of the year, it's a great time to take stock of my goals andsee how close (or not-so-close) I've come to following my NewYear's resolution. Admittedly, I still haven't lost those 20pounds, but they may just be permanent residents now and I'm OKwith that. Who doesn't like a good block of Tillamook Cheese andnice bottle of Oregon wine? Clearly, I do!

However, I have met multiple professional goals – I've kept upwith my writing, continued to accept and ask for my responsibilityat work, improved my external engagement outreach and learned howto better manage conflicts. (See parts one and two of my conflict resolution columns if you, too, need helpwith that! I know I sure did.)

For managers and employees, this midpoint could serve as a timeto take stock of your own goals. If you're not sure where you wantto be, now is a perfect time to take the right turn and reset yourcourse – personally and professionally.

For credit union employees, here are a few things toconsider:

• If you have sales goals, are you meeting them?
• Are you taking advantage of all the available trainingopportunities? If not, why?
• Do you have set goals for yourself? If not, write somedown.

For credit union leaders, here are a few things toconsider:

• Are you developing your employees – i.e., are there availableopportunities for training, volunteering, employee enrichmentprograms, etc.?
• Are your marketing efforts effectively reaching newmembers?
• Have you seen an increase or decrease in membership?
• Is your asset size growing or decreasing?
• What are you doing to compete with other credit unions andbanks?
• Are you developing or modernizing your website and mobile appsto effectively reach your membership base?

And finally, for managers, if you have annual appraisals orreviews due, are you scheduling them on time? I recently had myannual review – it also happened to fall halfway through the yearand near my birthday – and one thing I appreciated was that mymanager scheduled it on time. Because my annual review is also atime when the possibility of an increase is determined, hertimeliness signaled the respect she had for me as an employee. Thismade me feel valued, which in turn made me want to work harder formy organization. Happy employees yield better results.

Delaying an annual review by weeks or months forces an employeeto miss out on valuable feedback and money that could benefit themin the short-term and long-term.

It's important to mention that Dr. Paul White,a psychologist, author, speaker and consultant who specializes incoaching in the workplace, says if you're trying to help peopleimprove or change an employee's behavior, immediate feedback withspecifics is far more effective than waiting until an annualreview.

“Research is showing that the annual review is a waste of timein terms of showing good results because people are trying to packtoo much into it and people do best with immediate feedback,” hesaid.

He added that if someone does something good, he wants to tellthem now and not in three months, and this is especially true foryounger workers because they particularly desire more immediatefeedback.

So, although immediate feedback is useful in terms of changingbehavior, an annual review can still serve an important purpose. Aswas the case with me, they're often an ideal platform fordetermining pay increases, long-term and short-term goals, and forreceiving valuable feedback.

Here are a few things to keep in mind for managers whencompleting annual/performance reviews:

• People will most often remember the negative feedback, so bethoughtful in how you deliver constructive criticism.

• A review is really a summary of past performance. To make it amore effective use of time, set an action plan for the future. Thisway, employees have a sense of what they need to do in order tomeet your expectations.

• Allow an opportunity for feedback from your employee. What aretheir goals for the future? Do they have any feedback on yourperformance?

• End by expressing support and appreciation of your employee.

Do you have any tips on conducting performance reviews? Whathave you found to be most helpful? Let me know in an email, andperhaps I'll include it in a future column!

Tahira Hayesis a Correspondent-at-Large forCU Times. She can be contacted at [email protected].