Performance Ratings Are On Their Way Out - YaY

I almost danced a jig when I read this.

It doesn't relate to me directly any more, but for years it did.

Performance review times were anathema to me. I simply do not believe in a rating system, so to actually spend time rating people's performance, putting them on the performance curve, fitting this into the larger curve at a global level, was all part of a hated exercise. 

Even at a very personal level I do not believe in comparisons or competition. I guess that's why I jumped with joy at reading this Harvard Business Review write up: Why More and More Companies are Ditching Performance Ratings

A synopsis:

It states it started a few years back with a few courageous companies who dumped the performance rating system to adopt an On The Go Assessment Process, and by early 2015 it had reached 30 large companies. 

They state four reasons why the trend is changing:

1. Changing nature of work: It's not as cut and dry and clearly divisible or comparable anymore. 
2. Higher collaboration than competition: More work in teams
3. The need to attract and keep talent: Keep people happy
4. The Need to develop people faster: More focus discussions at an individual growth level

'Companies who have replaced ratings tend to be anxious about it beforehand and enthusiastic about it afterward. Their employees are happier, which encourages more engagement and better performance. It should be no surprise that treating an employee like a human being and not a number is a better approach. Yet it has taken a few bold companies to lead the way and show us that life is better on the other side. Only time will tell how lasting the trend truly is, but I strongly suspect we are at the beginning of something big.'