# Are annual performance reviews on their own a waste of time?

Performance Reviews

##### Post Metadata
- Posted at: almost 8 years ago
- Net upvotes: 1


## Comments
### Comment 1

This is a little tough to answer without more context.

If the question is in relation to conducting performance reviews in the absence of other continuous performance management activities (i.e. feedback, goal setting, recognition and ongoing 1-on-1 conversations), then they are certainly less beneficial and are unlikely to overcome the challenges and biases of the traditional review as we discussed in the webinar (e.g. recency effects, administrative burdens and the accuracy of data used to inform the process).

Research by CEB in 2004, however, has indicated that for those companies that do not regularly provide feedback, employees may suffer as they crave the ability to understand where they stand or be rated. And it could be argued that some information, compared to none at all, may be essentially “better than nothing”.

Other studies have shown that employees with a higher proclivity to anxiety actually suffer more without feedback than they do when receiving critical feedback. The challenge here is that we know other very robust research states that if the employee does not perceive the feedback as fair, this may risk demotivating the employee also.

If your company insists on only having annual reviews alone (not ideal), then I would try and refocus them to come back to the “why?” (i.e. finding the purpose of running the review in the first place) work to enhance the perceived fairness of the process overall in order to ensure the process is as motivating as possible for those involved. To do this, at the very least, it is imperative to ensure your managers are equipped and capable enough to handle the conversations and provide robust and effective feedback throughout.

##### Comment Metadata
- Posted at: almost 8 years ago
- Author title: Senior Marketing Specialist at 7Geese




## Related Product
[7Geese](https://www.g2.com/products/7geese/reviews)

## Related Category
[Performance Management](https://www.g2.com/categories/performance-management)

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