Performance feedback: A critical systematic review (26 October 2025)

Summary

Providing performance feedback to staff allows employees to learn and grown in their jobs and to deliver better and higher quality work.

For this review, Heine et al. went through 173 studies on performance feedback.

They found that there are many different labels and contrasting definitions given to “feedback” and a lack of research specifying feedback valence, which limits our understanding and theory building. Their research indicates that positive feedback consistently enhances performance, whereas negative feedback requires specific moderating variables or a high-quality supervisor–subordinate relationship to be effective.

They also found that women consistently receive lower performance ratings than men, especially from male supervisors in traditionally male fields.

The authors propose 'Performance Feedback Valence Theory': the supervisor-subordinate relationship is the foundation that makes negative feedback work. Fostering these relationships may be the most critical step organisations can take in ensuring feedback interventions truly enhance employees performance.