Are Half of the People Below Average?

Mathematically speaking, fifty percent of the people are by definition below average. It is how performance evaluation works in many work places. Although performance evaluation is something few people actually enjoy, it has been and will be a necessary tool for many organizations to select, develop and reward employees. 

The problem too often is everything in the end is translated into a numerical rating system which is tied to rewarding system. In a way, multiple dimensional live human beings are compressed onto a one dimensional measure for the easiness of comparison. If you rank a fish in its ability to climb a tree, it is not difficult to know where it will end up. 

Here are a few thing for both the managers and employees to consider for performance evaluation.

If you want to excel at anything, it’s not enough to just fix your weaknesses

It is just as important, if not more, to focus on strength as pointing out weakness. Unfortunately, the only thing employees often remember after an evaluation is the weaknesses, or areas for improvement told by the manager. In order to truly help the person grow, managers need to not only point out the employee’s strengths but also provide very specific suggestions or actionable examples on how they can leverage their strengths to grow and develop. Before one can leverage his or her strengths, one obviously needs to figure out what they are. To identify their unique capabilities, millions of people have taken self-assessments like Gallup’s StrengthsFinder. Managers are in an unique position to help employees to crystallize those strengths.

When it comes to assessing our own talents, we’re full of blind spots

If you can see yourself through the eyes of others, your vision will become less blurry. And by giving other people feedback about their talents, you might help their vision become clearer too. The same is true for our weakness. Part of the roles of managers is to objectively identify and provide feedbacks on the strength of the person, rather than just the performance results. From employee perspective, If your boss doesn’t proactively give you feedback, start the conversation yourself. Top performers are always learning and adjusting, and routinely seek feedback from their boss, peers, and subordinates.

When feedback backfires, it is usually because it lacks specificity

Regardless of where the employee is ranked, the feedback needs to be specific. Generic praise or criticism without the specifics for the person to act upon does not help the person to improve or step up. Do not let the employee guess what you really mean. Also, avoid comparison with others in the group which will only invite resentment. If there are conflicts between members, focus on the issues not the person.

Remember the culture differences

If you read professor Erin Meyer’s book Culture Trap I recommended in one of my previous post (My First Recommended Reading List), you will recognize that there are many cultural differences in how people react to performance evaluation. In today’s global organization environment, you have to have a consistent system. Yet it is crucial to be cognizant of the fact that people from different culture might react to certain feedbacks very differently.

Feedback often so that there are no surprises

This is certainly not a new revelation, but still need reminders. Some managers assume that the employees should already know how well they are performing by themselves. Others do not feel the need for regular feedbacks. When done right, praise is actually a renewable resource you can use often.

In summary, employee performance evaluation, even if you do not enjoy it, will be part of the corporate life in the foreseeable future. There are ways to make it more effective and productive.