This article, authored by Hemant Kakkar, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at ISB, examines whether annual performance reviews retain utility in 2026. The central argument is that traditional once-a-year review cycles are increasingly misaligned with contemporary workforce expectations, technological realities, and organisational agility demands. The author traces the historical origins of formal performance evaluation to World War I military practices, chronicles the rise of forced ranking models at GE in the 1980s, and documents the subsequent adoption of annual reviews across 90% of US employers. Key evidence presented includes: a 5,500-hour annual time cost for a 100-person firm; a finding that 67% of Generation Z employees prefer ongoing feedback; data indicating 22% of employees have taken sick leave on review day; and a Workleap global study reporting 83% of employees value receiving feedback. The article concludes that continuous performance management models — characterised by frequent check-ins, psychological safety, and development-oriented feedback — better serve today's workforce. The implications drawn favour a systemic transition away from episodic, high-stakes annual reviews toward embedded, technology-supported feedback cultures. Key insights: Annual performance reviews have roots in World War I military assessment practices and were adopted by approximately 90% of US employers by the latter half of the 20th century, yet nearly 90% of managers report dissatisfaction with the current annual review process. A 100-employee organisation dedicates an estimated 5,500 hours annually to the performance review process alone, raising questions about opportunity cost relative to real-time coaching and capability development. A Workleap study across 150+ countries and 1,000+ organisations found 83% of employees value receiving feedback — including corrective feedback — yet 64% believe the quality of feedback delivered needs to improve, pointing to a skill gap in feedback delivery rather than a rejection of feedback itself. Practical takeaways: Organisations transitioning away from annual reviews — as documented in the cases of Kelly Services, Deloitte, PwC, and GE — have adopted agile, real-time assessment frameworks intended to reduce administrative burden and improve engagement. Research cited in the article links psychological safety and supportive, specific, non-judgemental feedback to greater learning behaviour and team performance, suggesting that feedback culture design has measurable implications for organisational outcomes.