WSJ’s Journal Report has a piece recommending that bosses get rid of the performance review — at least in it’s current form. That would be great for all involved. (Note: apologies for non WSJ.com subscribers who can’t get to the online version of the story)
I’ve been on both sides of the performance review for many years, and while they are conducted with the best of intentions (ok, maybe with the intention of giving off the impression that your company cares about you the Employee), they end up being — as the Journal’s piece points out — more of a negative drag on the org than a positive driver of performance.
And while the recommended approach (a performance “preview” between the boss and the employee) is a bit short on details and isn’t exactly something most bosses will sign up for, I’d at least recommend a chunk of the time company’s spend on performance reviews be directed towards engineering a better way to provide employee feedback that actually is embraced by employees and ultimately leads to long-term growth for the person and the company.
By the way, I think this can be done in start-ups and Fortunate 500 companies.
Originally published on Medium on October 20, 2008. This Substack version is maintained as the canonical archive.