article · 7 min read
Performance Reviews People Actually Want
Why most review cycles fail, and the four design choices that make them work.
The performance review cycle most companies run is a tax everyone pays and no one values.
Four design choices separate the cycles people actually want from the ones they dread: (1) decouple compensation from development conversations, (2) shorten the written portion to one page, (3) require a forward-looking commitment from both sides, (4) train managers on the actual conversation — not just the form.
Do those four things and your eNPS on the cycle moves 20+ points. Skip any of them and you're back to the tax.