Talent Development Leader
Is Performance Management Performative or Helpful?
Workers and employers provide opinions on the process.
Fri Jul 18 2025
Deloitte defines performance management as a process to evaluate workers’ performance, which informs internal decisions, such as rewards and promotions, and to grow people with developmental feedback.
The Association for Talent Development adds to that definition, stating that performance management should be an ongoing communication process between supervisors and employees to establish expectations, including setting objectives and providing feedback and coaching.
A few recent reports explore workers’ perceptions of performance management and whether the process helps organizations meet their strategic objectives.
![[Bar chart with three bars and an arrow pointing up, as the bars increase in height. The third bar is shaded in.] One-third
of TD professionals said their company’s performance management process is very or extremely effective at developing goals. (ATD)
[A calendar] 6 in 10
employers formally assess performance annually, and 3 in 10 discuss performance at least monthly. (ATD)
[Two cubes with arrows pointing from one to the other] 65%
of organizations believe it’s important to rethink or replace their current performance management process. (Deloitte)
[A stopwatch with 32% shaded] 32%
of managers said performance management enabled timely, high-quality talent decisions about high and low performers. (Deloitte)
[A robot's smiling face. The robot has a speech bubble with two checkmarks and three Xs] 2/5
of employees say artificial-intelligence-embedded performance management is more accurate, fair and objective, and comprehensive. (BetterWorks)](https://assets.td.org/transform/f1cde815-199b-4901-b473-9066caf7f030/by-numberssummer20252-1)
ATD, Performance Management: Working Together to Achieve Results, 2025; Betterworks, The State of Performance Enablement: AI and the Employee Experience: Balancing Opportunity and Anxiety, 2025; Deloitte, 2025 Global Human Capital Trends