Out With the Old: Why the Annual Performance Review Is No Longer Relevant
By Roya Brake
While many of us have adapted to the physical elements of an evolving workplace with virtual meetings and remote schedules, many organizations continue to maintain dated internal practices. As we chip away at old rituals that no longer serve the modern workplace, the annual performance review – often a one-sided conversation with the sole intention of providing feedback on a year’s worth of performance – is officially a tradition best retired.
Providing feedback on job performance is important and must be addressed as soon as possible. Waiting to deliver necessary feedback until an annual review does little to improve performance or motivation. So how can an organization balance providing performance feedback with engaging its employees and supporting their career goals?
We now enter the age of career conversations.
A career conversation allows both the employee and organization the opportunity to align their goals and objectives by proactively discussing career goals and paths for growth. Managers receive effective training on how to conduct career conversations and help guide employees on their career journeys. Employees benefit from these conversations by taking ownership of their career path through clear discussions of their goals and are given tools to enhance their personal and professional development.
So, how does it work? Unlike performance reviews, career conversations are not meant to establish corrective action or to further manage the employee. Instead, it becomes an opportunity to provide open and honest feedback in a safe environment, empowering employees to share their aspirations and providing them with a sense of direction. Career conversations are entirely focused on forward-looking goals – driven by the employee’s wants and needs. Effective conversations involve empathy, trust, and an ongoing effort to follow up with regular check-ins.
How do you address performance without a regular performance review? A key element of this process is ongoing performance feedback. Giving feedback to employees on their successes and areas for improvement is another critical element of career growth. However, it is common for managers to “save” a lot of feedback for the annual performance review instead of providing it in the moment. By eliminating the performance review process, this forces the manager’s hand to provide this feedback on an ongoing basis.
This past year, my firm adopted career conversations as the standard going forward, successfully replacing the traditional performance review. Stephen Feltner, Learning & Development Manager at Mark Thomas, shares that the quarterly career conversation "provides more opportunities for managers and their employees to connect exclusively about their careers and the direction they would like to see them go,” and adds that “it is with this spirit that career conversations are forward-looking, rather than focusing on the past."
After the first round of scheduled conversations, our team members had a generally positive experience by being able to connect with company leaders who provided them with mentorship, support, and a road map towards career success. Where I personally grappled with a lack of confidence, I was given reassurance and guidance. I am now convinced that the traditional performance review is an outdated practice and does little more than validate imposter syndrome.
A/E/C firms should strongly consider adopting this practice as it promotes a positive work culture, productivity, and employee retention.
Roya Brake is a Corporate Communications Coordinator at Mark Thomas, an award-winning planning, design, and surveying firm in California. To learn more about career conversations, connect with her via LinkedIn or [email protected].
