Amazon's New Focus on Employee Achievements

Amazon is reshaping its approach to employee evaluations. A significant aspect of this is the requirement for corporate staff to document specific achievements from the previous year.

The initiative, dubbed Forte, centers on highlighting individual contributions, a move that aligns with CEO Andy Jassy’s strategy to foster a more organized corporate environment.

A New Question for Employees

This year, Amazon wants its corporate personnel to reflect on and articulate three to five key accomplishments that accurately represent their professional efforts, according to insiders and documents reviewed by Business Insider.

The company's internal guideline mandates that employees provide tangible examples of their contributions, as well as outline future growth plans at Amazon.

Defining Accomplishments

Forte emphasizes projects or initiatives that demonstrate the impact of an employee's work. Employees are encouraged to recall instances where they took calculated risks or innovated, irrespective of the outcome.

This detailed focus on individual accomplishments is a newly formalized aspect of the Forte process. Previously, broader reflective questions about personal strengths and contributions were posed.

Integrating Accomplishments into Compensation

Forte plays a crucial role in deciding employee compensation by incorporating manager and peer evaluations, adherence to Amazon’s core leadership principles, and specific job-related skills to derive an overall value rating, which influences yearly pay.

A Shift in Tech Industry Culture

Amazon's focus on disciplined workforce management mirrors a broader tech industry trend towards greater accountability and rigor. This shift echoes similar changes at companies like Twitter under Elon Musk and Meta under Mark Zuckerberg.

Some Amazon divisions, such as advertising and IMDb, have been testing these evaluation strategies for several years, with leaders noting the benefit of detailed accomplishments in improving dialogue between managers and employees.