In a previous post on the 3 Myths About Performance Management, we discussed the Symmetry Myth, where performance specialists tend to measure everything equally because they see every single measure to be very important. Therefore, they evaluate all steps with the same effect on the employee’s performance score. In other words, all performance measures are given equal weights.
To better understand why this is wrong and how it should be fixed, let’s look at the below example of the evaluation of a student’s achievement on a particular subject. The assessment could be based on the below measures (simplified for explanation)
Considering that the full mark is out of 100, and the passing mark is 60%, we’ve generated a score for this student in 2 ways.
Scenario 1: All measures are equally important
In this scenario, the total weight of the subject (100) is divided equally on the four criteria. So, each measure gets a load of 25.
Scenario 2: Some measures are more important than others
In this scenario, the total weight of the subject (100) is divided unequally on the measures, based on their importance, where more essential measures get higher pressures, and less critical measures gain less weight.
To be able to compare the results, we kept the target and actual values the same in both scenarios.
Now, have a look at the total score. Where do you think it was calculated in a more appropriate way? If your answer was “Scenario 2”, you are right.
If you didn’t notice the issue yet, let’s have a closer look. In scenario 1, although the student didn’t pass in the first measure (which is usually the most essential evaluation factor in the educational sector: written tests), he still has passed in the subject, with a reasonable rate (78%). What helped him pass are his scores in the other measures, which are certainly not as important as the first one.
In the other scenario, however, when the distribution of weights was made uneven, to reflect their importance, the result became more realistic. The high scores on the other measures didn’t help the student pass, because the core of evaluation in this matter hasn’t been well-achieved.
As simple as it might look, this mistake sometimes occurs when defining employees’ performance measures. While we work with performance teams and managers in setting up their performance systems, we usually ask to reduce the number of measures and categorize them based on importance to set up more accurate scoring schema within their operations. The feedback we typically get is:
If your answer is similar to one of the first 3, I will give it a final try by referring you back to the article 3 Myths About Performance Management, hoping that you would change your mind. Or else, I would advise you to stop reading this article now, because the remainder of the text will help you define your measures’ types and weights based on their importance and contribution to the overall required performance. Along the way, you will have to sacrifice some less necessary measures, for the sake of accuracy and focus on the more important ones.
If you decided to continue reading, let’s find together how you can set up your scoring system in the most effective way, by following the below step-by-step guide.
The Goal Achievement Journey
Think about a goal you want to achieve, and then, think about the steps you will follow to achieve that goal. Whether it’s a simple or a complex goal, we usually move in states to reach the final goal we aim at.
That’s why you can think of your primary goal as the final destination on a journey. All other goals you cross while traveling towards your ultimate goal are just temporary stops. They are intermediate goals. Without passing by them, you cannot reach your final goal. However, they are not as crucial as your ultimate goal because they don’t indicate the end of the journey.
The same applies in the case of performance measures. Your most important measure is your final goal. If you don’t reach there, you didn’t win, even if you have made many other achievements along the way (the stops).
Part 2 of this post will discuss the following: