Review season doesn’t have to be a dreaded annual headache for employers. These tried-and-tested strategies make the process easier and more effective—and rewarding for all.

In the early days of running her firm, Chloe Redmond Warner once scheduled her team’s performance reviews right before Christmas—a warm and fuzzy time of year—and held them in a bar around the corner from her old office in Oakland, California. Gin and tonics were sipped. The vibe was convivial—closer to catching up with a long-lost college friend than having a formal sit-down about work. “By the time I got to the third person, it was like, ‘You’re great!’” Redmond Warner recalls with a laugh. Still, even the relaxed atmosphere hadn’t fully calmed her nerves: “Before that, I was nervous for days,” she says. “I found it really hard.”

It’s a common sentiment. Performance reviews are rarely high on a list of favorite things about running a design firm. Really, what’s to like? They come so infrequently that each is loaded with anticipation; they may involve stressful salary and title negotiations; and prepping for them takes time away from day-to-day design work. Underneath all that is something a little more slippery, but no less real: Given the close quarters and camaraderie of a busy boutique firm, performance reviews can be a vibe killer—weirdly formal, potentially awkward and intensely personal all at once. In what other context do you pull someone aside (a person you’re probably friendly with, no less) and spend an hour going over just how much they’re worth to you?