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Performance Ranking
Performance Ranking for Managers and Knowledge Workers
There are two approaches to the appraisal of managers and knowledge workers. In this part of the web site, we discuss Performance Ranking as opposed to Performance Profiling which compares a person against an ideal or standard of performance for the job.
What You Get With Performance Ranking:
- A comparative performance appraisal process, which means the results show the highest performers down to the lowest.
- A performance review process that employs multiple evaluators (5 to 10) for each person evaluated. The evaluators can be self-selected or selected by the organization.
- A performance appraisal process that can identify the highest and lowest performers across different divisions, departments or areas. No phony fixed percentages of high and low performers.
- A performance review process that uses multiple criteria, defined by the organization, weighted differently if necessary to accurately reflect job requirements.
- A performance appraisal that uses a force-choice decision process, which is widely regarded as more reliable than traditional rating scales.
- A performance appraisal that analyzes the data to achieve a consensus of the different views of the evaluators, not just an average of the total number of checkmarks.
- A performance appraisal process that reports the reliability of every evaluation.
- A performance review that detects and reports inconsistent and indecisive evaluators, as well as any collusion between evaluators.
- A performance appraisal that has been used to evaluate as many as 2,000 people in a single job family, and as many as 34,000 people in a single organization over a six-month period.
 A performance appraisal process that can be deployed online, or in traditional paper and pencil format.
Performance Evaluation Designed Correctly Will Avoid These Common Mistakes
- Assuming that Performance Appraisal is a "Meeting" - In many organizations, "Performance Appraisal" refers to the annual, face-to-face discussion the supervisor has with each subordinate. That may be an important step in the overall management of performance, but it is not evaluation. Evaluation is a private, judgmental activity where one person thoughtfully considers the job activities of another person and places some kind of value on the outputs of that person. These judgments may be documented or shared with the other person after the assessment has been completed.
- Trying to Avoid Any Form of Subjective Judgment - Performance assessment, especially of managers and professionals, is inherently subjective. Any attempt to avoid subjectivity and only use quantitative data like profits, percentage improvements, or cost reductions will generate a lot of numbers, but not much good evaluation.
- Assuming that "No Complaints" Means that Everything is Fine - If the organization has an ineffective evaluation process, you will not hear management clamoring for a better one. They may complain about the paperwork requirements, but they'll do that in any case — good system or bad. However, when they have a difficult decision to make about people, and they don't trust the formal appraisals, they will simply ignore the data from the evaluation process and make their decision the other way. The "other way" refers to the natural decision-making process they use for other tasks. They "huddle" in a meeting and use their collective knowledge to hammer out a decision. Only when they are reminded (usually by the legal department) of the huge legal ramifications in making personnel decisions this way do they start asking for a better formal system.
- Not Wanting to Ask Reliability Questions - Non-technically speaking, a reliable performance evaluation is
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"A process that gives the same results each time you use it."
A reliability question is something like "What is the best time for your boss to appraise your performance: Monday morning or Wednesday afternoon?" Most people answer without hesitation, "Wednesday afternoon; bosses are in better moods then." If the mood of the boss can affect the level of a person's appraised performance, then the process the boss is using is not reliable. Reliability questions are not optional if you want a good system.
- Not Wanting to Ask Validity Questions - An informal definition of a valid evaluation process is
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"A process that really measures performance, not political support, mentor sponsorship, or the university one attended."
A Validity question would be "What are the appropriate criteria, and their respective weightings that accurately reflect the performance of a design engineer?" Validity questions deal with the criteria, the setting, and the participants of an assessment process. Validity questions are also not optional.
- Trusting Only Supervisors to be Evaluators - This issue relates to reliability and validity. Twenty years of legal decisions on measuring performance have led us to conclude that the "Supervisor-only" approach weakens the reliability and validity of evaluation. Alternately, using multiple evaluators, from a variety of roles in the organization has been shown to increase both the reliability and validity of the evaluation process. Multi-rater assessments are also perceived to be fair to those being evaluated, especially if peers or peer evaluations play a role in the appraisal process.
- Not Controlling Bias and Dishonesty - "Popularity Contest"! That's what your appraisal program will be called if it does not have good controls on 1) conscious and unconscious bias, and 2) dishonesty. It would also be nice to know who put thought and time into the process, and who just hastily completed the forms while waiting to board an airplane. You must carefully select your measurement process if you want to be able to do this.
- Focusing on Only Part of Effective Job Performance - Effective performance involves behaviors (which can be observed), skills (which can be acquired through learning events), and personal characteristics (the relatively permanent qualities acquired early in life). Performance profiling must assess all of these.
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Show me what Performance Ranking looks like.
If you are interested, you can contact us and tell us about your needs and situation. You can also click here to learn more about how we work together on a project like this.
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