Most organizations use ratings, whether numerical or labels, as part of their employee performance review process. They should stop.

Why? Because performance ratings don’t help employees improve. And, last I checked, that was the purpose of performance reviews.

Give a person a top rating and they have a good chance of becoming complacent or developing a superiority complex. Give a person anything less than a top rating and you will likely make them angry, disappointed, or jealous – all negative emotions. When ratings are present, that’s what employees see and remember. We’ve all been there. Someone hands you a written review, you scan for the numbers. Someone gives you an aural summation, you listen for clues of the numbers. And whether you like the number or not, you aren’t really listening to anything else. Even the most valuable, most carefully presented feedback is heard through that roar of anger, fear, or pride – that rush of emotion generated by your year-end grade.

Meanwhile, the rating is often quite meaningless. Some managers will never give anyone 5 out of 5. They just won’t. These are the tough graders we met the likes of back in our school days. Other managers, swept up by grade inflation and believing they hire only exceptional employees, never give less than a 4.

And then there are the mixed messages that occur when all the manager’s comments slam up against the unforgiving number at the end of the year. I got a call just this past week from a baffled executive. She’d worked extremely hard to do everything she’d been told would help her be an exceptional employee. Her progress was well received and she was told she had made dramatic improvements. She responded by asking for even more ways she could increase her effectiveness and value. When her review rolled around, she was rewarded with the same rating she’d gotten the year before. Once the anger and confusion subsided, she asked what would have made the difference. The answers included nothing specific or important to the success of the company. Why inflict pointless negative emotions on your employees?

Then there is the employee who got a 3 out of 5 last year. He took the feedback to heart as well and was doing his best to make improvements. His efforts were rewarded with a 2 because management knew they couldn’t fire a 3, he wasn’t ever going to be a good fit for the job, and they had already decided he needed to go. Both the individual and his company had just lost a year.

So let’s get clear here:

1. The purpose of any performance review is to be sure employees know how they can develop their talents and energies and use them more effectively to contribute to the organization’s success. This applies to every single employee. No rating is necessary.
2. An employee’s ability to grow and contribute effectively requires a good match between the employee’s talents and energies and the demands of the position. An on-going, honest, respectful conversation with a win-win attitude about where an employee is most willing and able to contribute is essential. If the current position is not a good fit, the employee should not be tortured with fluctuating ratings, left guessing, or slapped with a surprise. Instead, the employee should be actively involved in seeking changes that would make for greater success, whether inside or outside the organization. This applies to every single employee. No rating is necessary.

Performance management systems with ratings fail both the employee and the organization. If your goal is to improve performance, stop using ratings and embrace these two points.

If your goal is to document failures, avoid lawsuits, and make it easy for managers to shirk the responsibility of helping employees grow and contribute more effectively, I’m sure you will continue to use ratings. Because that’s what they are good for.

This article originally appeared on Forbes.com on February 7th, 2016.