‘What exactly did you do last year?’ Amazon asks employees before appraisals

Amazon

• Amazon now requires staff to list 3-5 concrete achievements in annual reviews
• New review process ties pay to measurable individual contributions.
• Amazon follows tech industry's trend of stricter performance standards.

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Amazon has introduced a tougher, more explicit performance review requirement for its corporate workforce, asking employees to clearly document what they achieved over the past year. Following last year’s layoffs of around 14,000 staff, the company is now asking workers to list three to five concrete accomplishments as part of its annual review cycle, signalling a sharper focus on individual accountability and measurable output.

According to a report by Business Insider, Amazon has emailed corporate employees asking them to outline specific projects, goals, initiatives, or process improvements that demonstrate their impact over the last year. Employees are also required to explain what actions they plan to take to continue growing within the company. The exercise is part of Amazon’s internal performance evaluation process known as Forte.

Internal guidelines seen by Business Insider suggest this is the first time Amazon has formally centred Forte around a structured list of personal accomplishments. In previous years, the process relied more heavily on broad self-assessments. Employees were encouraged to reflect on abstract strengths such as their so-called superpowers or how they perform when they are at their best. The revised approach replaces that softer framing with a more results-driven template.

The guidance makes it clear that Amazon wants specificity. Accomplishments are defined as tangible work outcomes that show real impact. Employees are also encouraged to highlight situations where they took risks or attempted innovations, even if those efforts did not fully succeed. The message is that learning and experimentation still matter, but they must be framed within clear examples rather than general claims.

This change carries real consequences because Forte plays a central role in determining pay at Amazon. Managers use the process to assign an Overall Value rating, which directly influences annual compensation. That rating is based on a mix of individual accomplishments, peer feedback, alignment with Amazon’s Leadership Principles, and role-specific skills. By pushing employees to document their achievements in detail, Amazon is tightening the link between pay and provable contribution.

The shift reflects the broader management philosophy being reinforced under Andy Jassy. Since taking over as chief executive, Jassy has emphasised discipline, efficiency, and clearer ownership across the organisation. The revised Forte process follows a series of changes including a return-to-office mandate, reductions in management layers, and adjustments to compensation structures. Together, these moves signal a deliberate move away from ambiguity in how performance is judged.

Amazon’s approach also mirrors a wider trend across the technology sector. Silicon Valley companies that once leaned towards employee-friendly review systems are now adopting more demanding frameworks. Elon Musk famously pushed for weekly accomplishment reports at Tesla after taking over Twitter in 2022. At Meta, Mark Zuckerberg declared a “year of intensity”, raising expectations around output and execution. Google has also tightened performance expectations, with a stronger emphasis on impact and delivery.

What stands out in Amazon’s case is how explicitly the company has formalised the shift. By asking employees to account for their work in a numbered list of outcomes, Amazon is leaving less room for interpretation or narrative framing. The message is clear. Performance must be demonstrable, defensible, and tied to business results.