In 2012, Adobe’s then Senior Vice President of People Resources, Donna Morris, was feeling frustrated with annual performance reviews. The process was so complex, bureaucratic, and paperwork-heavy that it ate up thousands of hours of managers’ time. It also created barriers to teamwork and innovation, since the experience of being rated and stack-ranked for compensation left many employees feeling undervalued and uninspired.

Donna was mulling the issue on a visit to one of Adobe’s India offices when a reporter asked her what was new or innovative in human resources. Even though she hadn’t yet discussed the idea with Adobe’s CEO, her peers on the leadership team, or her own team, she announced, “We plan to abolish the performance review format.” Her revelation made the front page of the Economic Times of India, and a major disruption was underway. She headed back to the U.S. determined to catalyze change and help create something better for Adobe employees and the company as a whole.

Donna and her team solicited feedback from all across the company, and after months of work and many iterations, Adobe introduced Check-in, an informal, ongoing dialogue between managers and their direct reports that has employees feeling more engaged and empowered.

Hear Donna tell the story ›

See Donna's full keynote from the SABA WW2015 event.