Dive Brief:

• Just a few days after Goldman Sachs announced it would scrap its numbers-based employee rating system, another Wall Street investment giant, Morgan Stanley, is following suit in a similar way.
• The New York Times' Dealbook reports that Morgan Stanley employees have been ranked numerically on a scale from 1 to 5.  But not any more. The firm will dump the numbers and move to adjectives. Those rating others will need to use up to five adjectives descriptively in their overall assessment.
• The idea involves an increase in direct feedback, more personalization and a higher chance of uncovering spots for improvement.

Dive Insight:

The Times notes that Morgan Stanley will continue to use “360-degree” reviews, which are completed by both supervisors and colleagues. Another change is interview frequency, including new face-to-face midyear performance reviews starting this month. In November, managers will evaluate the 360-degree reviews before promotion and compensation decisions are made.

“It’s about giving people more information and something they can do more with,” Peg Sullivan, Morgan Stanley’s global head of talent management, told the Times. “It’s more candid and memorable.”

Interestingly, unlike other companies who have changed their performance rating strategies, Morgan Stanley emphatically told the Times it had nothing to do with millennials, though "millennials will like it," Sullivan told the Times.