Merge's Blog

It’s time to get rid of the performance review!

Time to get rid of the performance reviewIs the performance review obsolete? Is it time to ditch this archaic exercise, which takes up valuable staff hours with no apparent gain? The answer is a resounding “yes” – and I make the case for getting rid of the performance review in my latest column for The Globe & Mail, which published today.  Here is a link to: It’s time to get rid of performance reviews

It no longer serves the intended purpose

Unfortunately, in many organizations today, reviews aren’t really designed to help employees grow; they’re designed to manage promotions and raises. The conversation tends to be more about “here is why you aren’t getting a raise” and less about “here’s how you can add value to the company and your career.” In other words, they’ve become the opposite of what they were intended to be.  If you add the antiquated practice of forced ranking, the result is more people who are disillusioned, disconnected and demoralized than before you started.

So … you know my opinion on this subject, but I’d love to know what you think.  The employee performance review – necessary evil or meaningless management practice?  The Globe has temporarily turned off commenting on articles while they resolve some technology issues, so you can’t comment directly on their site.  But I’d love to hear your thoughts right here on the blog.  Please share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment below.  I’d love to hear from you.

Sometimes, The Globe puts my columns behind their paywall. If that happens and you are unable to access the article directly through the link above, we have archived a pdf version at this link:

http://turningmanagersintoleaders.com/PDF/G&M_ManagementOnline_010129.pdf

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