The notion of reviewing what we consume is a common one to most of us.  Amazon probably began the trend when they started to ask for reader reviews of the books we purchased, and the trend quickly spread to the holidays we took or the restaurants we visit.

Mostly these reviews provide valuable feedback to the producer, and valuable insight to those thinking of consuming the products.  A major reason behind their success however is that we typically purchase an item once, and our experience of it remains consistent.  After all, a book doesn’t change, so it’s unlikely that we’ll think differently about it in a years time.

Many of the reviews contained on Google local however are different, in that most of the services there are things we consume multiple times, yet the reviews often remain static.  For instance, a few years ago I wrote a review for a cafe that I frequent regularly.  Everything about the cafe was exceptional, with an outstanding atmosphere, great hot chocolate and superb customer service, and as such I was only too happy to rate it strongly and recommend it to others.

Over the years however, things have changed.  The popularity of the cafe altered its vibe, whilst for one reason or another the quality of the drinks went rapidly downhill.  Such was the decline that it was no longer a place that I’d recommend, yet there was my review doing just that.

Traditional performance reviews are similar in many ways.  They allow a review based upon a snapshot in time of something that is anything but static.  When you’re appraising something as fluid as human performance, it can’t be broken down to isolated incidents and events, it has to be regular and ongoing.

That is the beauty of software such as that provided by Work.com, because they allow employees to provide and receive feedback all the time, with that information aggregated to provide an accurate and objective picture of their performance.  What’s more, it also allows you to see clearly how performance has changed over time.

Your employees will be increasingly used to such continuous feedback in their social lives.  Now is the time to give it to them in their professional lives too.

Originally posted at Work.com