Feedback is not something you declare once a year. Like tax deductions, it needs to happen monthly.
Opinion article by Rodrigo Maia Prinzo, Head of People at InnoTech
Read here the original version in Portuguese published at Human Resources Portugal
We are at that time of the year again. The calendar moves forward, deadlines approach, and before we know it, there it is: the moment to deal with our tax return. But that is not what I’m writing about. I’ll leave that to the accountants. Today I want to talk about another phenomenon that tends to happen around the same time: the annual performance review.
A meeting appears in the calendar, which, even though no one asked for it, everyone already knew would come. Just like tax season, we know it’s part of the process. We mentally postpone it, hope that this year it will be simpler, and when the time finally arrives, we just hope it goes well.
For years, we convinced ourselves that this was the big moment. The day when everything came together: performance, delivery, results, and the future. As if twelve months of work could be declared, analysed and concluded in a single conversation.
Spoiler: they can’t. This is not another Excel spreadsheet.
We call it an annual performance review. In practice, it often ends up being the only moment in the year when real feedback is given. But by the time it happens, it is already late. The context has changed. What could — and should — be a useful moment often turns into something closer to a reconciliation exercise: we look back, take stock, and move on.
I have taken part in hundreds of these conversations, on both sides of the table (when it isn’t round, which is my preference). Many times, I felt that the moment was underused. Much more value could be created. Some people appreciate it. Others see it simply as another process to complete, like filling in a timesheet or submitting vacation requests.
Then comes the second part.
We move from talking about development and, with more or less subtlety, start talking about compensation, raises and expectations. At that point, just like with tax returns, the conversation quickly shifts from a passive analytical mindset to a much more active calculation logic.
More than listening, we start trying to figure out: “Adding everything up, what does this come to?”
Feedback stops being feedback. Now we are negotiating. And once that happens, there is no going back.
But the biggest issue might not even be this. It may be that we continue to use this model as if work and organisational dynamics had not changed.
Today, work is no longer measured within a single annual cycle. It unfolds daily: dynamic, fast-paced, and often unpredictable. Priorities change, teams adapt, and new challenges emerge. Yet despite all of this, we still insist on stopping once a year to “check the numbers”.
That said, we must also be intellectually honest: just like tax season, annual reviews still serve a purpose. They help formalise and consolidate information and support decisions later on.
But we need to go further. Annual reviews cannot be the only moment when feedback happens.
In practice, what many companies, including my own, have been doing is complementing this moment with a more continuous model: closer and more regular follow-up that allows feedback to be given and received in real time. This means shorter meetings, informal conversations about ongoing projects, immediate recognition of strong results, and timely adjustments when something does not go as expected.
Because feedback is not something you declare once a year. Like tax deductions, it needs to happen monthly.
The annual review is not dead (yet). But, let’s be honest, it’s currently on life support.
