Q.  Our performance review process seems outdated and I’m not sure what to do. Do you have any suggestions?

A.  Employee performance reviews are probably one of the most loathed aspects of the workplace. Managers hate to do them. Employees hate to receive them.  In some cases, they can do more harm than good.

Consider the employee whose performance is mediocre. He is friends with his supervisor, however, and they often grab a drink after work.  Knowing that a negative performance evaluation may impact the employee’s annual salary increase, the manager looks the other way and gives the employee an evaluation rated as “effective.”