A lot of people think that getting middle rating in their company’s performance appraisal system is the same as getting a C in school. That’s a bad analogy.
Here’s why comparing an organization’s 5-level rating scale to the A-B-C-D-F grading system used in schools is wrong. A school district can’t exercise any selectivity in choosing its students. They can’t choose to accept some kids (the smart ones, for example) and reject others (the dull ones). The school has to accept every kid who lives in the school district.
Organizations aren’t like that. They don’t hire people at random — every tenth applicant, for example. And they don’t promote people at random. They hire and promote the best talent they can find. Companies exercise a great deal of selectivity. So a middle rating in the performance appraisal system of a company with tough and demanding standards isn’t comparable to being a C student in school.
If you want a good analogy for what a middle rating represents, think about shooting par in golf. Par doesn’t mean perfect. Par also doesn’t mean average or mediocre or middle-of-the-road, run-of-the-mill. What par represents is the play that’s expected of an expert. A pro golfer can often do better, but par represents expert play. The same thing is true in companies — the middle rating represents the performance and behavior of an expert.
About the Author
Dick Grote is a management consultant in Dallas, Texas and the author of several books. His most recent book, How to Be Good at Performance Appraisals, was published by the Harvard Business Review Press in July 2011.
