Overview
- Microsoft, which announced the change Tuesday, has retired Perspectives, stopped new feedback requests and told staff they may respond to active requests and export feedback history until September 15.
- Perspectives was launched in 2018 to let employees request peer input that was visible to both the employee and their manager and was designed to make feedback feel routine and low pressure.
- The HR message says feedback is now most valuable when shared in ongoing, real-time conversations rather than through formal platform requests, and it does not require those talks to be face-to-face.
- The tool’s shutdown comes with a broader review overhaul that simplifies ratings into five categories and instructs managers to reduce the number of higher-level engineering roles, a change that will affect promotions, headcount and day-to-day reporting lines.
- Observers say the moves reflect a wider tech trend toward sharper accountability and more manager-driven reviews, which could shift power away from peer input and change how employees’ careers and morale play out at Microsoft.