After 15 years in HR, Mikki Forbes, Co-Founder and COO of Forbes Consulting, LLC, now partners with executives as a Fractional HR leader to design people systems that work — systems that reduce turnover, strengthen leadership pipelines, and align everyday behavior with business goals.

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One manager blocked off the same Thursday every December to conduct all annual reviews: ten people, one day, twelve months’ worth of feedback delivered at once. No one looked forward to it — not the employees, not the manager, and definitely not HR.

Annual reviews feel outdated because they are. They delay feedback instead of driving it and feel more like paperwork than performance management. Performance management should not be a formality scheduled once a year and ignored the rest of the time. In modern organizations, it must be agile, responsive, and aligned with how teams actually work. It should be part of how leaders lead, ongoing, embedded in daily routines, and connected to real goals and behaviors. When it is reduced to a once-a-year event, it becomes disconnected from fast-moving priorities. Real-time performance insights are essential to development, engagement, and retention.

When performance is treated like an event instead of a habit, no one wins. Not the employee, not the team, not the organization. The truth is that performance happens every day. It shows up in how employees solve problems, collaborate, manage stress, and meet deadlines. The systems that support and measure performance should reflect that same rhythm and urgency.

Annual reviews are too late, too formal, and too vague. Feedback delivered six or twelve months after the fact is rarely helpful. In fact, it can be harmful. Employees are often blindsided, frustrated, or disengaged. Reviews become a checklist exercise instead of a tool for growth.

In some organizations, review templates have not changed in years, even as roles, KPIs, and reporting structures evolve constantly. The result is misalignment, confusion, and frustration. According to HR.com’s Future of Performance Management 2024–2025 report, fewer than half of organizations say their performance reviews have a meaningful impact on development, retention, or goal alignment. That confirms what most of us already know: the process is broken.

Another problem is that reviews often become an annual justification for compensation changes instead of genuine performance development. Leaders scramble to recall what happened months ago, while employees complete self-assessments that feel like performance theater. Nothing about this process improves behavior, encourages growth, or supports future goals for either the employee or the organization.

Research shows that when performance management is viewed primarily as a compensation tool, development suffers. “Annual reviews are often tied more to salary decisions than they are to growth,” said Redondo, Nunes, and Nunes, whose systematic review found that continuous feedback systems drive more effective behavior change. Employees disengage when performance discussions feel scripted or transactional.

High-performing teams integrate performance conversations into the natural flow of work. Coaching, check-ins, and real-time recognition replace delayed, static evaluations. Informal but intentional conversations become the norm, not the exception. These teams understand that expectations shift more than once a year and require constant alignment.

Frequent check-ins create space for clarification, recognition, and course correction. This approach not only improves outcomes but also strengthens psychological safety. Employees who regularly receive both reinforcing and corrective feedback are more likely to stay aligned with goals and less likely to fear feedback. In high-performing cultures, feedback is expected, not disruptive.

When feedback is normalized and delivered consistently, it becomes a shared expectation rather than a surprise. HR Lineup’s Employee Performance Measurement in 2024 highlights that top-performing organizations treat performance tracking and coaching as part of daily operations, supporting continuous improvement rather than retrospective evaluation.

Effective performance management is about coaching, not auditing. Constructive feedback happens in the moment, tied to real behaviors and outcomes. Employees know where they stand before any formal conversation takes place. Regular feedback removes the high-pressure environment associated with annual reviews. Managers are no longer forced to summarize an entire year, and employees are not blindsided by outdated feedback. When conversations are consistent, issues are addressed in real time and achievements are recognized while they still matter.

The Annual Review Is Dead reinforces this shift, noting that more organizations are replacing yearly reviews with continuous, employee-centered conversations. Real-time feedback drives growth, corrects behavior, and builds trust between managers and their teams.

Recent studies confirm the benefits of continuous feedback. A systematic review, The Impact of Continuous Feedback and Adjustment Incentive Schemes, found that ongoing feedback combined with well-structured incentives produces stronger outcomes than traditional evaluation models. Frequent feedback enhances responsiveness, goal alignment, and motivation.

Organizations relying solely on annual reviews face delayed corrections, stalled development, and higher turnover. Those using real-time coaching resolve issues faster and cultivate more capable leaders.

The move toward continuous performance feedback is not a passing trend. It reflects how organizations now operate in real time. With hybrid teams, shifting goals, and rising employee expectations, real-time coaching is no longer optional. It enables agility, alignment, and sustained performance.

HR must lead the shift away from outdated annual review models. If formal reviews remain, they should be restructured to allow frequent updates. HR should train leaders to coach rather than evaluate and implement simple frameworks that fit naturally into daily management.

Practical steps include:

HR should also audit current performance processes to identify where bottlenecks occur. Are conversations being documented consistently? Do managers know what “good” looks like? Establishing clarity and providing tools to facilitate effective feedback should be core to every leadership development program.

Even small adjustments make a big difference. Organizations that add biweekly check-ins or midyear “look back” conversations often see stronger documentation, greater manager confidence, and higher engagement. The goal is not perfection but consistency and relevance. Culture shifts when performance conversations become part of how leaders operate.

Today’s workplace moves too fast for performance to be measured once a year. Annual reviews are not just outdated; they are ineffective. Performance is not a calendar event. It is a continuous process shaped by communication, accountability, and leadership.

By the time the annual review arrives, the moment to impact performance is already gone.

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