Microsoft is retiring its peer-feedback tool, Perspectives, after about eight years of use, according to internal communications shared with employees. The company also is overhauling its performance review approach by moving to a simpler rating structure with fewer categories, as outlined in the same internal message. Business Insider and Times of India both report that Microsoft frames the change as part of a broader refresh of how employees are evaluated, rather than introducing new peer-feedback capabilities.
The reports also mention Microsoft’s recent workforce actions in the United States. Times of India says Microsoft offered a voluntary retirement package to more than 8,500 U.S. employees, which includes healthcare, severance, and partial stock vesting for eligible workers. The peer-feedback and performance-review changes are described as distinct updates to internal systems and processes.
Overall, the sources agree that Microsoft is ending the use of Perspectives and reducing the complexity of performance ratings, with internal messaging communicated to employees ahead of or alongside the rollout of the updated review process.
