The Performance Review Handbook

Most managers are expected to write performance reviews. Very few are ever taught how to do it well.

The Performance Review Handbook is a practical, real-world guide for new managers, supervisors, HR professionals, and business leaders who want to turn performance reviews from a stressful yearly task into a clear, useful leadership tool.

Drawing from Kevin Baker's twenty years of operational leadership experience, this book shows managers how to write reviews that are specific, fair, legally safer, and actually helpful to employees. Instead of relying on vague phrases like "good attitude," "team player," or "needs improvement," readers learn how to build reviews around real observations, measurable impact, and clear direction. This book also introduces practical tools that managers can use to write stronger and more defensible feedback.

Whether you are writing your first performance review or trying to improve a process you have used for years, The Performance Review Handbook gives you the language, structure, and confidence to evaluate employees with clarity, fairness, and professionalism. A must-read for first-time managers, team leaders, supervisors, HR professionals, and organizations that want better performance conversations and stronger teams.