Narratives in Subjective Performance Evaluations: Do Ratings Change the Narrative?

ABSTRACT Several high-profile companies have removed numerical subjective performance ratings from their performance-management processes in favor of only using narrative evaluations. Using an experiment, I examine whether requiring supervisors to provide a rating addition evaluation moderates the effects supervisors’ directional incentives (i.e., reasons evaluate employee more or less favorably) on favorability As predicted, find evaluations reflects incentives, but lesser degree when they also rating. Theory suggests moderating providing occur because (1) are biased toward middle scale, and (2) strive for “consistency” between demonstrate that process affects narratives, removing may unintended consequences practice.