February seems to be a ‘why do we do performance reviews?’ month, with everyone busy completing their reviews or getting all introspective, pondering why they’re necessary in the first place.

Some very interesting opinion pieces on just this topic have cropped up recently: check out what Jim Holincheck, Bob Sutton and Todd Dewett have to say.

We tend to side with those arguing that the traditional understanding of performance reviews – forms filled out once a year, a perfunctory conversation (if you’re lucky), receiving your number and spot on the bell curve – is probably deserving of all the hate. Useful reviews on the other hand (and we can help you achieve those) have a place in any successful company.

One thing we think it’s important to remember is there’s a difference between performance reviews and ratings. If you don’t actually need to give ratings and rank employees, why bother? If they’re a necessary evil (ie, used when calculating compensation), then ratings and rankings still have to be reached via a robust review process.

Another thing to bear in mind: that normal distribution graph we all love so much doesn’t account for shifts over time (unless your organization really is extremely average and nobody ever gets better or worse. In which case you probably have other worries). Let go of the bell curve and base your decisions on your actual people information – it means something.

Useful reviews aren’t about assigning numbers, they’re about the conversation. Whatever tools you’re using should be gathering the information that will help you discuss performance with your employees, your managers, your exec… If they’re not, they’re not doing their job.

We don’t hate reviews, and we don’t think they’re going anywhere any time soon, but we really do feel for those poor people currently suffering through their ‘traditional’ reviews. There is a better way!

So how do you feel about performance reviews? Take the quiz to see if you’re one of the haters. Nobody’s claiming scientific accuracy, but we’re sure most people will identify with at least a couple of the responses…