Abstract
Performance management is not a hairy monster; it is not a salary hike; it is not a formal HR document; it is not OKRs or any other tools. It is definitely not something that only HR does. Performance management is simply setting a goal and checking how you did on that goal.
'tis winter - climatic and funding. And then, it is the end of the year - 'that' time of the year when founders and team leaders in startups will sit across the table and 'evaluate' employees' performance. 'Ratings', hikes, promotions and, often, resignations follow. Every year we hear from anxious founders who need to do performance assessment around this time of the year.
Closer to the end of the year, business periodicals also write about employee expectations or the flaws in the idea or process of performance assessment for startups. This year, a ‘leading' business publication came out with a near- scathing critique of OKRs as a performance management 'system'.