Microsoft is retiring its peer-feedback tool as it overhauls employee reviews, an internal message shows
The tech giant is retiring a peer-feedback tool once lauded as a sign of a "kinder, gentler Microsoft."
Microsoft is discontinuing its peer-feedback tool, Perspectives, as the company restructures its employee review process, according to an internal message reviewed by Business Insider. The tool, introduced in 2018, allowed employees to request anonymous input from colleagues, which would then be visible to the employee and their managers.
However, Microsoft has decided that feedback is most valuable when shared through ongoing, in-the-moment discussions rather than formal requests. The Perspectives tool will no longer be available for new feedback requests, but existing requests can be responded to until September 15, and employees can export their feedback history.
The change is part of Microsoft's broader effort to simplify its performance review system, reducing ratings to five categories and making performance distinctions more distinct. Additionally, managers are being instructed to reduce the number of employees in higher-level engineering roles as the company continues to flatten its organizational structure.
The Perspectives tool was introduced as a more informal alternative to the previous Feedback Tool, which allowed managers to collect and review peer feedback for employees. Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, has described Perspectives as a sign of a "kinder, gentler Microsoft" as it aimed to reduce intimidation.
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