If you work in HR, you've heard it before: the collective groan let out by employees when the terms "performance reviews" or "goal-setting" are uttered at the all-hands meeting. Let's face it, annual reviews are complicated and time-consuming, and going over goals with a manager can be scary or intimidating. But it doesn't have to be this way.

2017 can be your year to confront the future of feedback, throw out the old rule book, and embrace something new. Many companies, including mine, have already made the shift by eliminating annual reviews in favor of real-time feedback as well as making goal-setting less about improving weaknesses and more about developing strengths.

This might sound like a crazy free-for-all to those steeped in traditional performance reviews, but we've found that ongoing dialogues work much better than highly structured programs, especially for organizations like ours that have an overwhelmingly millennial headcount and are expanding and moving fast. Increasing transparency also helps foster a culture of support and growth — while still promoting accountability.