Case Study: Khan Academy achieves continuous performance management and increased employee engagement with Betterworks

Performance Management and Balancing Recognition and Impact as an HR Leader

Karina Young, People Operations Manager at Khan Academy, faced the common HR challenge of scaling talent management during rapid growth—Khan Academy grew from 40 to 200 employees in a few years. Traditional annual reviews were time-consuming, biased by recency, and often deprioritized by leaders focused on product and sales, leaving employees unclear about expectations and development.

Khan Academy moved to a continuous performance management approach: frequent, lightweight conversations about goals, feedback, and development; managers acting as coaches; and pulse surveys to surface pain points. The change delivered immediate, practical value—clearer expectations, more timely coaching, stronger alignment to business priorities, higher engagement and retention—and directly addressed the widespread perception (58%) that annual reviews serve the business more than employees.

Khan Academy

Karina Young

People Operations Manager