Why Your “People Database” Needs an AI Upgrade 🧠

In the previous post I wrote about optimizing people database as an Engineering Manager. In this post I will talk about why it needs an AI upgrade!

In the world of an Engineering Manager, your “data” is the myriad of daily observations, achievements, challenges, and conversations you have with your team members. Relying on memory alone is inefficient. AI can act as your personal “query engine”, helping you quickly sort through your notes, find patterns, and draft comprehensive reviews.

Key takeaway: An AI-optimized “people database” helps you move beyond vague feedback like “You did a good job this quarter” to specific, actionable insights, supported by organized data.

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3 Principles for Managing Your “People Database” with AI

1. Your memory + AI = a powerful Data Collection tool

Just as a database needs a consistent stream of data input, you need to actively record information about your team’s performance. Your brain isn’t a reliable long-term storage solution for every detail. Waiting until a review cycle to recall a quarter’s worth of work is a recipe for disaster.

AI-powered tip: Use a tool that can act as a personal CRM for your team, like a dedicated Notion page or a Google Doc for each person. Feed your raw, unstructured notes into an AI.

• Prompt the AI: “Review these notes on Jane’s performance over the last quarter and categorize them by technical skills, collaboration, and leadership.”
• Log regularly: Aim for a weekly or bi-weekly check-in with your notes. Instead of sorting them yourself, let the AI do the heavy lifting.
• Include specific details: Note the date, the project, the specific action, and the impact. The AI can then parse this information and organize it. For example, instead of just writing “Helped a teammate,” you would include more context like “Jane helped Bob debug the login bug on 2/15, preventing a critical outage.”

2. Your organization skills + AI = an accessible Data Retrieval & Analysis tool

A database is useless if the data is unorganized. You need to structure your notes so you can quickly find what you need. AI can help you analyze and synthesize this data, revealing insights you might have missed.

AI-powered tip: Once your notes are collected, use AI to find patterns and connections.

• Ask the AI to find patterns: “Based on my notes for John, what are his three biggest contributions this quarter? Are there any recurring challenges or areas for growth?” The AI can identify themes like consistent contributions to code reviews or frequent challenges in project planning.
• Summarize key takeaways: “Generate a summary of this quarter’s performance notes for the following categories: Technical Skills, Collaboration, and Leadership/Growth.” This provides a high-level overview that’s perfect for structuring the performance review.
• Draft review sections: You can prompt the AI to draft specific sections of the review, such as, “Using the provided summary, draft a paragraph on John’s contributions to the ‘Technical Skills’ section of his performance review.” 
• Remember to always review and edit the output to ensure it is accurate, fair, and uses your own voice.

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3. Your judgement + AI processing = Impactful feedback

Performance reviews aren’t just about listing facts; they’re about telling a cohesive story of an individual’s growth and contributions. While AI can process data, your human judgment and empathy are what give the review its integrity and impact.

AI-powered tip: Use the AI’s output as a starting point, not the final product.

• Review for nuance: AI can’t fully understand context, team dynamics, or a person’s emotions. Read through the generated draft and add the human touch. Did they overcome a personal challenge? Did they show resilience? Add those crucial details yourself.
• Ask for peer feedback: Supplement your own data by collecting input from other team members. You can even use AI to help you synthesize the peer feedback. For example, “Summarize these five peer feedback responses for Sarah, highlighting key themes.”
• Finalize the narrative: Your role is to take the AI-generated skeleton and build a compelling, fair, and motivating narrative. The AI handles the “database queries,” and you handle the “strategic analysis” that truly matters.

By using AI as a powerful tool to manage your “people database,” you can transform the often-dreaded task of writing performance reviews into an opportunity for genuine, impactful feedback. This not only empowers your team but also solidifies your role as a truly effective leader.