The dreaded performance review form that annually ends up on many people’s desks may eventually become a thing of the past, according to a staff report for NBC News.

Germany’s SAP, the software giant with a North American headquarters in Newtown Square, is ditching annual performance reviews, following a trend that began in the U.S. and is now becoming increasingly popular in Europe.

Despite spending $3.4 billion four years ago on Success Factors, a cloud-based firm in the U.S. that specializes in the area, SAP has come to realize there may be a better way.

“Grading workers did not work. People are open to feedback, also to harsh criticism, until the moment you start giving scores. Then the shutters go down,” said Wolfgang Fassnacht, SAP’s head of human resources.

Instead, SAP is currently testing a new process based on more regular check-in talks with about 8,000 of its workers, before implementing this new system for its workforce of almost 80,000 next year.

“I meet many HR managers at other companies. The topic is on everyone’s mind at the moment,” Fassnacht said. “This is actually one of the hottest topics discussed in the HR area.”

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