Credit Union Times hosted our second Not for CEOs live stream of 2013 this week on a topic we all love to hate: annual performance reviews. Our goal was to change that image and focus on what they can be good for. What can managers and employees take away from them?

At one time, I had a manager who did not give reviews. There is nothing more frustrating than not knowing what you're doing right and what you need to improve upon. When I asked the first time about it, this person said, "What? You got a pay raise." Not helpful.

One of the key concepts that came out of the session was that an annual review is not frequent enough to be effective if that is all it's going to be. Managers should be giving and receiving feedback on a regular basis in order to make it the most useful. I'd add track performance throughout the year. Otherwise, you'll end up just recalling recent months. Some employees deserve to be recognized for marked strides made over the full year that you won't notice over a shorter period of time. Others know reviews are coming and straighten up in the short term.