Grading Employees
October 19th, 2006[ Office Gossip ]
If you know me personally then I’m sure you’re shaking your head at this title, as in here we go again. I’m a relatively outspoken advocate against the entire model of grading employees, and for that matter possibly students as well. I’m not avoiding hurting any previous egos and I’m not opposed to firing employees or failing students.
If you’re grading employees then you’re basically following the model set out in the school system. It works in assessing students, most of our people were students, therefore why shouldn’t it work for grading our employees? So you start giving your employees grades for participation, client satisfaction, etc.
Let’s assume for now that grading students actually works, I’ll leave that one to Alfie. The main reason it doesn’t translate to the work environment is simple. In school you are independent and for the most part you succeed or fail based on you and your actions. Sure there’s group work but that’s a farce at best.
In contrast, work, and success in business, is highly interdependent. You are dependent on others actions and help in order to accomplish your job. A company only succeeds if everyone, or the majority, succeeds. Who cares how perfect your ‘scores’ have been this year if you show up to locked office doors tomorrow?
If you’re hiring recent graduates this is, in my opinion, one of your biggest tasks in terms of their development over the first few years. That is, break them of the independent success model that they’re accustomed to, having spent their entire lives in it. It’s why I’m always hesitant to hire people who did very well in the school environment straight out of school. I’m not suggesting they can’t florish in the interdependent work environment, just to keep an eye on it and help them out with it.