Insights on Performance Reviews: Week of January 11, 2021
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I’ve been researching the performance review process and talking to customers about what they like and don’t like about the process. Here are the key insights from the week of January 11, 2021:
Are Peer Reviews the Future of Performance Evaluations?
Alessandro Di Fiore and Marcio Souza argue, in this HBR article, that:
Instead of a performance review created and discussed solely with the boss once a year, the employee receives a larger amount of feedback (often 50 or more instances over the course of a year) from colleagues.
(Emphasis is mine)
The authors have another interesting argument:
Because the system generates a larger amount of feedback, each individual is less subject to the potentially biased view of a single person: the boss.
The authors cite an interesting company, Praxis Precision Medicines, that generates 1) a high volume of feedback and 2) at a high frequency:
Praxis Precision Medicines, a Boston based biotech company, issues requests for feedback at the end of each month with a target of around 100 pieces of feedback for a single person in a year. This is aided by Microsoft Office Analytics, which identifies the people with whom the employee interacted most . The system sends automatic requests for feedback to 10 of those collaborators.
(Emphasis is mine)
Your Next Boss May Be More of a Coach Than a Dictator
This WSJ article argues that managers should be coaches, especially in a virtual environment.
The most notable insight actually comes from the comments, where one commentator argues that many people confuse “coach” with “cheerleader.” I’d support that commentators argument. It’s not enough for managers to cheerlead. Managers need to do much more than that.
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