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From Bureaucracy to Velocity
How Foursquare Transformed Performance with AI & ONA
🕒 Avg. reading time: 3 min
Reviews that drive results
Foursquare's journey: From Bureaucracy to Velocity
The backdrop: Foursquare was a 15-year-old tech company in the middle of a major cultural and business transformation. The challenge was clear, they needed to move faster on both products and processes while cutting through layers of bureaucracy that had built up over the years. Kit Krugman, their SVP of People & Culture, was tasked with leading this change and figuring out how to make it all work.
The Challenge
- Fragmented performance systems (merit, promos, anytime feedback, PIPs) not stitched together.
- Too many performance improvement plans (a sign feedback wasn't timely).
- Managers and leaders lacked real-time, data-driven insights.
- Cultural aspiration: move from reactive HR to proactive, strategic partner.
- Needed a system that was:
- Lightweight (no heavy bureaucracy)
- Team-based (aligned with leadership principles)
- AI-enabled and data-rich
WHY CONFIRM
To build a culture of velocity and team-based accountability, Foursquare knew they needed a new approach to performance. Traditional reviews were slow, top-down, and heavy on process. What they wanted was simple: a system that was fast, lightweight, and still rich with data.
That's where Confirm came in. Using Organizational Network Analysis (ONA), employees could share peer-driven insights through 8–10 minute surveys that felt effortless yet powerful. Instead of relying only on manager reviews, performance signals emerged organically across teams and networks.
With AI powered performance reviews and seamless integrations into Slack, Google, and Teams, participation soared. Employees engaged because it fit into their daily flow, while leadership gained a clear, data-rich view of performance across the organization - with less effort and higher completion than ever before.
Implementation & Rollout
Foursquare started with defining a new performance philosophy: team-based success tied to leadership principles.
Kit and her team rolled out Confirm as the technology proof point of that strategy.
Company wide, Kit's team communicated the message to employees about the changes to come. First, why (culture change), then, how (Confirm).
Foursquare kept the launch simple: Rather than drowning people in lengthy change-management presentations, Kit focused on getting employees actually using the system right away. The team prioritized quick demos and hands-on walkthroughs that helped people see the value immediately and adopt it faster.
The employees of Foursquare made it part of how they work: Instead of Confirm becoming just another review tool that people dreaded, Kit and the team integrated it into daily life through Slack shoutouts and casual check-ins. This turned it into something people actually wanted to use, a way to give recognition and stay connected with their teammates on a regular basis.
THE IMPACT
Boosted Talent Density
Kit's team used the insights to spot their top performers and actually did something with that information, connecting it directly to promotions, development investments, and leadership roles.
The data revealed high performers who had been flying under the radar, giving them the recognition and opportunities they deserved.
Transformed the People team from firefighters to strategists
Instead of constantly reacting to problems like performance issues and compliance headaches, Kit's team started bringing valuable patterns and insights directly to leadership. This gave executives the data they needed to have real, meaningful conversations about who their strongest players were, how teams were structured, and what was actually driving effectiveness across the organization.
More Candid, Real-Time Feedback
Peer feedback cut through the BS: When teammates were giving input on each other, it eliminated the usual "managing up" dynamic where people just told their bosses what they wanted to hear.
The data told the real story: Organizational network analysis helped Kit's team spot red flags early, which led to targeted support and development programs for some people, and honest conversations about fit for others.
Higher Engagement & Participation
The results spoke for themselves: Nearly everyone jumped in from day one, hitting 99%+ participation in the first cycle, which showed people actually saw the point of doing this. Employees appreciated having ongoing visibility into how they were doing instead of waiting for surprise feedback during annual reviews. And managers finally had something concrete to work with, instead of vague gut feelings, they now had structured feedback they could actually use in real conversations with their team members.
Performance Cycle time to completion
Top-Talent Retention
It's all about ROI
The impact was clear across the board: As Kit put it, Confirm lives at the intersection of less time and energy from the organization, with ultimately a higher level of impact: "More data, faster."
People started trusting the performance data more because it felt authentic and comprehensive. The whole system aligned perfectly with Foursquare's cultural transformation goals, and most importantly, talent decisions became both clearer and faster, whether that meant promoting rising stars, investing in development, or having honest conversations about fit.
"Peer-to-peer accountability prevents a purely top-down culture."
"Confirm equipped my team to have more strategic conversations with leaders."
"Confirm lives perfectly at the intersection of lightweight and data-rich."
Kit Krugman
SVP of People & Culture @ Foursquare
See Confirm in action
See why forward-thinking enterprises use Confirm to make fairer, faster talent decisions and build high-performing teams.
