It’s that time of year at Microsoft when managers are gearing up to deliver performance reviews. Not having to write or deliver reviews this year, I can reflect back and the pros and cons of performance reviews.
In Business Week The Trouble With Performance Reviews, Jeffrey Pfeffer writes, “Managers don’t like giving appraisals, and employees don’t like getting them.”I’m not convinced that annual performance reviews serve a useful function. Not from a front line manager perspective anyway.
Theoretically, the review allows the direct report to detail their accomplishments and how they met their goals or commitments for the year. In turn, the manager will provide feedback on the employee’s performance reinforcing the good behavior and providing constructive feedback on how they can do better next year.
In theory, this practice would seem to work well. Based on my experience and feedback from my former peers, the performance review is flawed from a front line managerial perspective because the front line manager rarely has enough time to provide a well thought out, constructive evaluation.
Most front line managers have an enormous workload generally consisting of leading a team of direct reports and multitudes of project work necessary for successful business operation. Unfortunately, most managerial focus and recognition is given to successful project work accomplishment.
Like communication in a marriage, it’s much easier to put off a much-needed conversation with an employee till “later” in order to meet more visible timelines. This behavior is driven by upper management who reward project-driven managers rather than people-driven managers.
Until upper management recognizes the importance of people management, I would venture to say that performance reviews are a waste of time.