Tech Explained: AI fluency, outcomes key to appraisals in Simple Terms

Bengaluru/Mumbai: AI is increasingly being woven into performance appraisals, with companies urging employees to use AI actively — both in internal workflows and client engagements — to deliver measurable outcomes.Demonstrating practical AI adoption is fast becoming critical for career progression. Across industries, AI fluency is viewed as a core capability to drive efficiency and sustain long-term competitiveness.Amazon India HR VP Deepti Varma told TOI that the company has embedded AI across the employee lifecycle, while keeping adoption largely self-directed rather than mandated. In HR, Amazon uses AI-generated nudges to prompt managers on performance reviews, feedback cycles and promotion documentation, and to help them practise difficult conversations. Similar nudges support recruiting teams to ensure timely candidate communication.The manager-facing AI assistant has been in place for over a year, Varma said, with the focus on simplifying and scaling processes rather than imposing top-down mandates. “When you remove the fear that AI is there to replace what people do, they begin using it to reduce cognitive load and improve productivity. And that’s what has happened,” she added.Companies are also factoring AI capabilities and outcomes into this appraisal cycle. Kumaresh Pattabiraman, India country manager and vice-president at LinkedIn Sales Solutions, said the company does not formally evaluate employees on AI usage, but on “outcomes and how they do things.” Outcomes are measured by results, while the “how” includes using AI to improve efficiency and collaborating effectively.Citing LinkedIn’s data, Pattabiraman said that while new job titles are emerging, overall roles are not necessarily shrinking; instead, skill requirements for existing roles are evolving much faster. AI, he said, is shifting professionals from being “doers of tasks” to “directors of outcomes,” where unique human strengths such as judgment and agency become more valuable — effectively raising the bar on what individuals bring to the table.A report in The Guardian said Accenture has begun tracking employees’ use of its AI tools and factoring that into promotion decisions, as the firm seeks to accelerate adoption of the technology across its workforce.Guardian also quoted an internal email seen by the Financial Times, which said that the company told senior managers and associate directors that promotion to leadership roles would require the “regular adoption” of artificial intelligence.When TOI asked Accenture on AI becoming key in career progression, the company said, “Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work. That requires the adoption of the latest tools and technologies to serve our clients most effectively.”Rangesh Raghavan, corporate vice-president and general manager at Lam Research, said the company does not formally track or appraise employees based on AI usage, even as it expects teams to adopt new tools to improve productivity. “We don’t specifically say if somebody is using AI or not using AI, they’re not going to get a promotion,” he said, adding that performance is ultimately measured on outcomes and contribution to problem-solving.An LTM spokesperson said as AI becomes more embedded in everyday work and project assignments. “Eventually, this will become a necessity for work and enable employees in their continuous development and growth.”