Performance Management Playbook
Public summary for CPOs & People leaders
Short, citeable overview of the high-performance review system. Full playbook PDF is free for work emails — or book a discovery call.
- Ash Taherian · Product Sales Executive, Revolut People · Dublin
- Source philosophy: QuantumLight
- Hub: ashtaherian.net
Featured
From the Revolut People story
CEO clip and GM cover interview — what People leaders can take into their own orgs.
Source philosophy
QuantumLight
The detailed playbooks and talent philosophy come from QuantumLight — the performance system that helped shape Revolut’s high-performance culture. This page is the short buyer-facing summary; QuantumLight is the deep source.
Why this exists
Most annual reviews fail the same way
Vague ratings, different standards by manager, and grades that don’t change promotion, pay, or exits. High-growth companies fix that by making performance continuous, scored the same way everywhere, and tied to what happens next.
This summary captures the core of that system — the method behind Revolut’s performance culture — so People leaders can share a clean reference link.
Define performance in three parts (not vibes)
- Deliverables — did they ship the agreed work (speed, quality, complexity)?
- Skills — can they do the job at this seniority?
- Culture — do they raise the bar for how the team behaves?
Someone who ships a lot but breaks the team is not “fine.” Someone who is lovely but never ships is not “fine.” You need all three lenses.
Publish a talent bar by seniority
The talent bar is the minimum standard for deliverables, skills, and culture at that level. Junior ≠ senior. Compare people to the bar, not to “how nice they are.” Without a published bar, Manager A’s “4” and Manager B’s “4” mean different things — and calibration turns into politics.
Sort the room into three honest groups
- A-players (~15–25%) — clearly above the bar; promote and reward strongly
- Above bar (~65–85%) — solid; develop; push some toward A
- Underperformers (~0–10%) — miss the bar in a meaningful way; PIP or exit path
Cap “exceptional” deliberately. If everyone is exceptional, nobody is.
Run a quarterly cycle with calibration
- Reviews (1–2 weeks) — managers fill standardised scorecards with evidence
- Calibrate (~1 week) — align grades across teams; check outliers; keep A-players in a real band
- Announce + 1:1 feedback — grades should trigger promo roadmaps, development, PIP, or pay
Peer-only 360s often grade too kindly. Structured manager scorecards plus calibration keep standards consistent.
Method vs product
The playbook is the method. Software (for example Revolut People) is how teams run Goals, Skills & culture (talent bar), Reviews, and outcomes in one place — so the process doesn’t die in slides and spreadsheets.
In the press
Clarity over clutter
Georgian Andrei Oprisor (General Manager, Revolut People) was featured on the cover of HR Chief on how Revolut runs performance with clarity — outcomes, skills, and culture — not admin clutter.
- HR Chief — “When people win, morale follows” Andrei Oprisor cover interview
- People Management (CIPD) — how Revolut used tech to hit “extraordinary” goals Head of people product feature
- UNLEASH — Why Revolut built its own performance-first HR tech
Same philosophy behind the public playbook summary. Next step: get the PDF or book a walkthrough.
Weekly insights
One hurdle → one Revolut People feature
Short posts for CPOs and People leaders — each week one performance hurdle, then the Revolut People feature that fixes it. Full blog index.
Upcoming
- Week 4 — Calibration theatre → Reviews / calibration
- Week 5 — Feedback that never sticks → continuous feedback / 1:1s
- Week 6 — Promo decisions feel political → talent outcomes / performance grades
- Week 7 — Skills gaps invisible until too late → Skills & culture
- Week 8 — Method vs product — playbook + Revolut People
Customer success
Revolut People stories
Official stories from revolut.com/people (video on each story page):
Next step — pick one:
PDF is free for work emails. Discovery is 20 minutes on performance management + Revolut People.