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Amazon

Amazon uses OLRs to review employee performance and decide whether to promote an employee or let them go. In order to maintain the high quality of manual labour staff at the warehouse, such a process is essential to the company. The OLRs increase employee motivation in several ways. The first is that employees work harder as they are afraid to lose their jobs. During the biannual OLR meetings, members of management come up with names of employees that should either be promoted or let go. During these meetings, managers do not use hard data but instead use anecdotal evidence to make their case. Other members present in their meetings can choose to deny promotions. For this reason, employees have to be on good terms with their boss as well as their boss’s peers. Employees are thus motivated to work hard and be on their best behaviour at all times, with all people.

In addition to this, employees are also motivated to work hard so that they can get a promotion. A manager proposes one of their subordinates that they feel should get promoted during the OLR meetings. However, other members of management can deny the promotion for a reason. Employees, therefore, have to work hard and maintain a good relationship with both their manager, as well as others in management. While the OLRs may be a means of motivation, it can be seen as a way to induce fear among the employees. Every time an OLR meeting happens, each employee fears that they may lose their job. Such a situation further affects the ability of the employee to perform well in their duties, thus jeopardizing their job. Despite this reasoning, Amazon has always used the OLRs as a method of appraisal, and they must have found it effective for their company.