Define recency bias in performance evaluation and how can it be mitigated?

Define recency bias in performance evaluation and how can it be mitigated?

• A. Weighing only recent events; mitigate with ongoing documentation, multi-source input, and rating against defined criteria across the review period
• B. Favoring long-term performance only
• C. Ignoring current performance
• D. Relying on up-to-date metrics only

Answer: (A)

Recency bias happens when a manager gives disproportionate weight to what was observed most recently, rather than considering performance across the entire review period. The best answer captures both the problem and practical fixes: avoid weighing only recent events by keeping ongoing documentation of performance, seeking input from multiple sources, and rating against clearly defined criteria that apply across the whole review period. This approach helps ensure the evaluation reflects patterns over time, not just the latest events. Alternatives miss the mark because they emphasize extremes or narrow data: focusing on long-term performance alone ignores recent developments, ignoring current performance skips what happened now, and relying only on up-to-date metrics narrows the view to the latest data without capturing the broader performance trajectory.

Recency bias happens when a manager gives disproportionate weight to what was observed most recently, rather than considering performance across the entire review period. The best answer captures both the problem and practical fixes: avoid weighing only recent events by keeping ongoing documentation of performance, seeking input from multiple sources, and rating against clearly defined criteria that apply across the whole review period. This approach helps ensure the evaluation reflects patterns over time, not just the latest events. Alternatives miss the mark because they emphasize extremes or narrow data: focusing on long-term performance alone ignores recent developments, ignoring current performance skips what happened now, and relying only on up-to-date metrics narrows the view to the latest data without capturing the broader performance trajectory.