The Performance Review is All About Conformance Dressed Up as Performance

The Performance Review is All About Conformance Dressed Up as Performance

Performance reviews have been around since the 1940s; some companies conduct them weekly, quarterly, or yearly. But the question remains - what are we really measuring - the things that matter or just what's easy to measure?

Most companies today wield reviews like a pruning tool, following the American "stack ranking" playbook of annually cutting the bottom 10%. Microsoft, Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Meta, and many more announced significant redundancies this year, all justified by 'performance metrics'.
Have you filled out your compliance forms? Did you avoid helping out colleagues who weren't doing it correctly? Oh, it doesn't matter as long as you don't ruffle feathers. Congrats, you'll do just fine in the review process for most mid- to large-sized companies. Ranking 1-5 on how you're doing in your job, which needs to be translated to a comparative number with your colleagues, is all arbitrary.

Also, most systems don't consider cultural or regional differences in how socially acceptable it is to promote yourself and your achievements. On average, the US employee rating will be 45% higher than the Japanese or Nordic counterpart's self-evaluation. Same performance but a different cultural lens. So, what's the alternative? In an even more data-driven world, we need metrics, but let's focus on the valuable ones:

Future Potential: Is what you did last quarter or year really the most important? What could this person become? What's our blind spot by only looking backwards?

Visibility isn't the same as impact: Your most vocal or visible performer is often not your strongest. The real stars are those who make everyone around them better. Do you want to measure impact or just noise?

What's the growth potential: A rapidly improving 'average' performer might add more value than a plateaued 'star'. Are we measuring pace or just position?

I know we have made mistakes many times throughout my career, but there is a way to rectify them. HR wants to get it right, but are you, as the manager, willing to invest the time? The real question isn't 'Who's underperforming?' but 'How are we enabling our people to succeed?'

Should the performance reviews in your organisation drive growth or just conformity and a convenient way to trim your team?

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