Employee reviews fall flat despite rapidly digitizing workplace

Despite the ‘data-driven’ mantra of today’s businesses, several surveys reveal that less than half of companies believe their performance review systems effectively measure staff's work. This echoes earlier research highlighting the stress, unfairness, and inefficiency associated with performance reviews.

Confirm, a performance review platform, suggests that 15% of workers contribute 50% of value, while 5% generate 50% of problems. Notably, Confirm emphasizes the disproportionate time spent on self-reflections, with employees dedicating 7.5 minutes while managers invest only eight seconds in reading them.

While financial performance is easily measurable, evaluating those who facilitate efficient work or prevent issues is challenging. Many unsung heroes in the workplace often go unrecognized in traditional performance reviews and continuous feedback systems.

Office politics, visibility bias, and resistance to kissing up to superiors further hinder the acknowledgment of these valuable contributors, showcasing the limitations of existing performance assessment methods.