Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the workplace, and research shows it is now making its way into one of the most sensitive areas of employment: performance reviews.
New research conducted by General Assembly shows that AI adoption is widespread across organizations, with companies increasingly integrating the technology into HR processes, feedback systems, and employee evaluations.
In its new survey of more than 500 senior leaders across the U.S. and U.K., 47 percent of respondents said they are already factoring AI usage into performance evaluations.
Performance reviews often affect promotions, pay increases and job security. The use of AI in the process of reviewing how an employee performs could fundamentally reshape how workers are evaluated and what shape their career paths take.
A Look at the AI Survey
According to the General Assembly report, an overwhelming 93 percent of leaders said they encourage AI use at work, while 82 percent reported using the technology regularly.
Much of the usage is still focused on everyday tasks, but the expansion into HR functions, including performance reviews, is accelerating.
Many HR professionals are using AI tools to analyze employee feedback, run talent reviews and generate reports that are used in work evaluations.
The move has sparked discussion about the use of such tools in the workplace and whether employees are getting the proper value from AI.
“Employers have invested heavily in AI initiatives, so it’s not surprising to see that nearly half of them consider AI adoption and usage during performance reviews,” Daniele Grassi, CEO of General Assembly, told Newsweek.
“But mandating usage without providing comprehensive, role-specific training will often lead employees to use AI for the sake of self preservation, not to actually improve business processes or deliver better results. Our research found that leaders were more likely to consider how much employees were using AI tools than any actual impact that usage had.”
Concerns About AI in Performance Reviews
The rise of AI in evaluations has already raised concerns among workers and experts.
Key concerns often cited include:
- Bias in algorithms as AI systems may reflect flawed data inputs
- Lack of transparency because employees may not know how evaluations are generated
- Over-reliance on automation with managers deferring too much judgment to AI
According to a different General Assembly report, only 30 percent of HR professionals have received job-specific AI training.
“Companies have spent several years telling workers AI is the future and punishing workers who haven’t adopted it fast enough,” HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek. “The same execs who admit in this study that they don’t fully understand AI are using it as a yardstick to measure everyone else in the organization.”
There are possible benefits cited, including:
- More consistent feedback
- Less bias from individual managers
- Faster and more detailed evaluations
Why Companies Are Turning to AI
Employers are largely adopting AI in performance management and other areas for the efficiency gains it offers. It can often automate time-consuming review writing and reduce administrative workload.
The fast-growing tech can also scrape more data-driven reports, including broader performance data and potentially reduce limited snapshots of performance.
HR leaders also say it can standardize evaluation processes across teams.
“The companies seeing the strongest AI outcomes are not simply measuring how much employees use AI, they are looking more thoughtfully at where AI has the biggest potential to change how work gets done for the better, and what skills employees need to use it strategically,” Grassi said. “Unfortunately, many leaders don’t have the AI expertise to do this on their own, making it tough for them to effectively evaluate employees’ usage.”
What Happens Next
AI’s role in performance reviews will almost certainly grow as companies invest more in AI tools to optimize efficiency and expand beyond basic tasks
Experts say that the next phase will largely depend on training provided to managers and whether companies create clear guidelines for ethical AI use.
“If an AI tool produces a discriminatory outcome (which they routinely do) the employer is liable just as though they proactively made the decision. More than that, workers lose trust in their employer,” Driscoll said.
“When people don’t know how they’re being measured, they disengage and leave if they can. Companies may save money on the front end but pay it back in turnover, litigation, and a workforce that’s checked out.”
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