The Six-Week Check-In: How Rokt Accelerates Employee Development Through Rapid Feedback
Annual performance reviews have long been criticized as ineffective, yet most organizations continue relying on them as their primary development tool. A comprehensive analysis of how leading companies design environments where talent thrives reveals that the highest-performing organizations have abandoned this outdated approach in favor of dramatically compressed feedback cycles.
Among the companies examined, ecommerce technology firm Rokt stands out for its shift from six-month calibrations to six-week check-ins, a change that reflects the company’s broader philosophy about how rapid feedback enables rapid development.
Why Feedback Frequency Matters
The logic connecting feedback frequency to development speed is straightforward. When employees receive feedback only once or twice per year, they spend months operating without clarity about their performance, missing opportunities to course-correct, and potentially reinforcing habits that limit their growth.
Compressed feedback cycles address these problems directly. Rokt’s six-week check-ins ensure that employees regularly understand where they stand, what they should improve, and how their work connects to broader organizational goals.
This frequency also benefits managers. Rather than attempting to recall and evaluate an entire year of performance, leaders at Rokt assess shorter periods while context remains fresh. The result is more accurate, more actionable feedback.
Coaching Tools Without Bureaucratic Overhead
One common objection to frequent feedback is the administrative burden it creates. Rokt addresses this concern by using coaching tools designed to raise performance standards without adding bureaucratic layers.
The company’s approach emphasizes real-time coaching and feedback delivered through normal work interactions rather than elaborate formal processes. Leaders at Rokt stay close to the work, operating as player-coaches who can provide guidance in the moment rather than waiting for scheduled sessions.
According to Rokt’s careers documentation, the company invests heavily in developing leaders who can deliver effective coaching, recognizing that this capability directly impacts employee growth.
Development Through Apprenticeship
Rokt’s rapid feedback approach connects to a broader development philosophy centered on apprenticeship. Junior employees work alongside senior leaders, rotating through projects and learning by doing.
This apprenticeship model requires constant feedback to function effectively. When employees are learning through real work rather than structured training programs, they need immediate guidance to develop skills correctly and avoid reinforcing mistakes.
Leadership at Rokt remains actively engaged with direct reports, viewing this engagement as essential to unlocking employee potential. The company’s stated goal is to unlock the organization by unlocking every person in it.
Transparency About Standards
Rokt combines rapid feedback with transparency about what the company expects. Leadership openly acknowledges that the high standards and fast pace are not suited for everyone. Solving problems that no one has solved before requires time and effort that some may find incompatible with their preferences.
This transparency serves employees well. Rather than discovering misalignment after months or years, individuals can quickly assess whether Rokt’s environment matches their professional goals.
For those who thrive in demanding settings, Rokt offers what leadership describes as momentum from day one, clear feedback about where employees stand, and genuine ownership of outcomes.
The Compressed Career Timeline
Perhaps the most striking claim from Rokt is that two to four years at the company provides development equivalent to twenty years in traditional corporate environments. While bold, this assertion follows logically from the company’s approach.
When feedback cycles are twelve times more frequent than annual reviews, employees theoretically receive twelve times more development input. Combined with the apprenticeship model, flat hierarchy, and high expectations, Rokt creates conditions for accelerated growth that traditional structures cannot match.
The Fortune recognition of Rokt as one of the best places to work in advertising and marketing suggests that employees value this development-focused environment.
AI Fluency as Development Priority
Rokt has also integrated AI fluency into its development approach. Every role at the company leverages artificial intelligence to remove inefficiency, sharpen decision-making, and accelerate learning.
The company expects team members to develop AI capabilities and provides tools and training to make this happen quickly. This investment reflects Rokt’s belief that AI literacy will increasingly separate high performers from those who fall behind.
By treating AI fluency as a development priority rather than an optional skill, Rokt ensures its employees build capabilities relevant to the future of work.
Lessons for Other Organizations
The Rokt model demonstrates that feedback frequency is not merely an HR process decision but a strategic choice about development speed. Organizations clinging to annual reviews should consider whether this cadence serves their employees’ growth or merely their administrative convenience.
Implementing rapid feedback requires investment in leadership capability. Managers must develop coaching skills and maintain sufficient closeness to their teams’ work to provide meaningful guidance. Organizations unwilling to make these investments will struggle to achieve the benefits that companies like Rokt demonstrate.
For employees seeking environments that maximize their development, feedback frequency should be a key criterion when evaluating potential employers. The difference between annual reviews and six-week check-ins represents a fundamental difference in organizational commitment to growth.
