Many companies are doing away with quantitative performance assessments: Adobe and Morgan Stanley, for instance. A study published in the Academy of Management Discoveries shows that “narrative” assessments are perceived as being fairer and more motivating.

Indeed, a qualitative approach allows for giving contextualized appraisals, using concrete facts for support, retracing the manner in which results were achieved. Employees have the feeling of being able to exchange more effectively. This approach visibly encourages their commitment and an improvement in their performance.

This nonetheless does not mean abandoning quantitative evaluation altogether. The authors of the study show that the perceived equity of narrative evaluations is greatly diminished in the cases of very high or very low performance. Opting for a hybrid format, combining qualitative and quantitative, therefore often appears to be more desirable.

Finally, even more than the format of the assessment, it is the process that makes the difference: the assessments perceived as being the fairest are those defined by consensus, as part of a transparent process that explicitly links up with the company’s strategy.

Source: The Power of Words: Employee Responses to Numerical vs. Narrative Performance Feedback, Academy of Management Discoveries, July 2024.