Performance Baloney

Recently , a UCLA professor called for the end of performance reviews. In an NPR interview he called them ‘total baloney.’

It’s not that performance reviews should be eliminated, it’s the way they are
done and the implicit agreement they create. I.e. If you improve in these
areas you will receive this reward. Most discussions like these are not honest
and are always awkward. Most employees are not good judges of how they are
doing and managers very rarely have accurate note on how their employees have
been doing. Of course there are often metrics for measurement, but do these
really measure the ‘soft skills’ there are more important.

Rather than a once a year review of what’s good and bad the review should be
part of an on-going give and take so that employees always know how they are
doing. Likewise, any raise or benefit is not tied to the review.

I always encourage my clients to speak with manager without waiting until a
formal review is planned. The 360 can be more beneficial but few organizations
have the time or resources to do 360’s for every employee.

I’ve worked for companies which use performance reviews and as an employee and manager the process was always disappointing. But I’ve also worked for businesses with managers who were not shy about crticizing or prasing my work in a timely fashion.

I always knew where I stood and found the work much more satisfying.

Share on Facebook