- Employee
- 08/05/2026
New TU/e annual reviews focus on wellbeing and performance
An equal dialogue: that is what the university aims to achieve with its “new style” annual review format: the Annual Dialogue Cycle. Professional development, well-being, and performance will take center stage. All managers will be required to complete training in giving and receiving feedback.
Last year, Human Resource Management (HRM) tested a new concept for annual review meetings through a pilot project: a more equal dialogue between manager and employee, with the emphasis on development and well-being rather than performance.
For many people, however, that turned out to be a step too far, according to the pilot evaluation. Project leader Jolanda Oomen explains why: “We heard that there was still a need to pay attention to the performance aspect as well. Not so much for evaluation purposes, because it’s not an official performance review (see box, ed.), but more to look at how employees contribute to organizational goals and to make agreements about that together.”
The new version will therefore land somewhere in the middle between the original annual review and the dialogue-based version from the pilot. Exactly what form this will take is still being worked out, but it is certain that development and well-being will remain important factors, while performance will not be overlooked either. A final new format is expected in 2027.
Correlation
According to HR Talent Development manager Ingrid Roosenboom, one reason for shifting the focus is that research shows that paying attention to well-being actually improves employee performance. “There’s a proven correlation there. It’s great when people start to realize that.”
She has also seen this happen in the corporate world. “More and more companies are moving toward a kind of continuous dialogue, where you spend less time looking back at the past and more time discussing how you want to work in the future and what you need to be successful.”
Not a formal evaluation
Although annual review meetings may feel that way to some employees, Oomen says they are not intended as formal evaluations. “It’s a two-way conversation about results and development,” she explains. There is, however, room for a general conclusion from the manager about performance over the past year.
“Formal evaluations only take place when there is a change in employment status, such as extending a contract or a promotion. But the principle of ‘no surprises’ applies: all topics or conclusions that come up in a formal evaluation should already have been discussed earlier within the Annual Dialogue Cycle. Of course, this also applies when things are not going well and a possible improvement process is being considered.”
In the short term, the focus is now primarily on getting a “dialogue cycle” up and running, in which annual review meetings should take place at least once, and preferably twice, a year. Oomen: “We’re starting by saying: it doesn’t matter how, as long as you have the conversation. Whether that’s using the old form or the pilot concept.”
Still, HRM does care very much about how those conversations are conducted. That is why all managers will be required to complete feedback training. Roosenboom is pleased that approval for this has come from the top. “It’s about creating consistency. You want all managers to start these conversations at the same level.” She herself will also have to complete the training, and even the Executive Board will not be exempt.
Role of the manager
In the type of dialogue TU/e envisions, there is also room for discussing the manager’s role. “The question is whether employees feel comfortable addressing their manager about behavior or about how they are doing their job. I think we still have room for improvement there,” says Roosenboom.
The way improvement points are phrased is crucial, she says: “With some of the cases I see, I think: if there had simply been honest feedback back and forth earlier on, we could have prevented this situation.”
According to Oomen, giving feedback is still something the university as an organization finds difficult, so there is work to be done. “But if we improve that culture, it will help everyone.”
This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.
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