Performance Management Isn’t Broken. Our Approach Is.

Performance Management Isn’t Broken. Our Approach Is. Written by Dan Straw I was sitting on a train recently, on my way to a conference, when I found myself listening to a conversation taking place in the seats opposite me. Two colleagues were discussing their upcoming mid-year reviews. Neither sounded particularly enthusiastic. One was complaining about how long it had taken to complete their self-assessment. The other was frustrated that they had spent most of the previous evening trying to remember everything they had worked on since January. As I listened, one comment stuck with me. “I don’t see why we still do these things.” It made me smile because it’s a question I’ve heard countless times over the years. And if we’re honest, many managers are probably asking themselves exactly the same thing. The traditional performance review has become one of those workplace rituals that everybody participates in but very few people genuinely value. Employees see it as an administrative exercise. Managers see it as another deadline. HR teams spend weeks chasing completion rates and producing reports. Yet despite all that effort, organisations continue to wrestle with the same challenge: H...