1. Module Three
As leaders we all share a common responsibility to maximize employee performance.
This module is designed to prepare you to adequately determine poor, good, and top performance.
It will also help you to communicate to the individual employee their performance ratings.

2. Rating Determination…
When you finish this module, Differentiating Performance Levels, you will be able to:
Define the five performance levels.
Explain the advantages of differentiating performance levels of individual expectations for an employee.
Avoid common tendencies when rating performance for individual expectations.
Communicate meaningfully performance levels to your employee.
Develop differentiated performance levels for individual expectations

3. The Five Point Scale
The State currently requires this 5-point rating scale on the paper Performance Evaluation form:
1 means Unacceptable
2 is Below Expectation
3 means Meets Expectation
4 is Above Expectations
5 is Exceptional
The question is, do these terms always give us enough information to adequately rate the level of performance for an employee completing a specific expectation?
Defined with one and two word descriptions, these performance levels do seem a bit murky.
We will get into even more detail as we move through this module.

4. The Five Point Scale
When explaining the 5-point rating scale to your employee, start with a 3 and then explain the higher ratings:
A 3 means the employee consistently meets and may occasionally exceed the specific performance expectation.
The employee may require moderate supervision in accomplishing the task(s), but possesses sufficient knowledge and initiative to perform the task(s) described in the performance expectation.

5. The Five Point Scale
A 4 means the employee consistently meets and often exceeds the performance expectation.
Generally the employee requires little supervision, has a thorough knowledge to perform the task(s) described in the performance expectation, and assists in solving complex problems associated with the task(s).

6. The Five Point Scale
A 5 means the employee consistently exceeds the performance expectation and requires little or no supervision.
The employee will seek opportunities to enhance the agency and has highly advanced job knowledge.
The employee will consistently solve complex problems; and apply creativity and innovation to formulate solutions when needed.

7. The Five Point Scale
If you feel an employee generally will meet expectations, it may not be necessary to spend time explaining how a 1 or a 2 is rated. However, you may wish to review these lower ratings:
A 2 means the employee inconsistently meets the performance expectation; however, he or she could meet the performance expectation in the future.
A rating of 2 might mean the employee needs close supervision to stay on task, has insufficient job knowledge or initiative.

8. The Five Point Scale
A 1 means the employee consistently fails to meet the performance expectation.
This employee requires close supervision and their work must be continually corrected. The employee’s job knowledge is insufficient to complete task successfully.
You may also use an N (none given) if by the end of the performance evaluation period, the performance expectation is not applicable (for example job duties or task priorities have changed) or you are unable to determine a rating.

9. You may also emphasize to your employees their performance expectations are not an overall rating, but a rating for one specific aspect of their job duties.
A lower score on one performance expectation does not mean they may not be very successful in another aspect of their job duties
– it simply means they have an opportunity to improve on one specific performance expectation.

10. Always emphasize to your employees they are earning these ratings with very specific outcomes.
It is a good idea to try to banish phrases like “you are a 3” from your vocabulary and replace it with “you are currently earning a 3.”
Doing so makes it clearer the rating isn’t “given” by you as the supervisor, but “earned” by the employee.

11. Your employee is consistently meeting the performance expectation.3
Your employee is consistently meeting the performance expectation.
The 3 rating means for a specific performance expectation the employee is meeting outcomes as requested.
A 3 does not mean average; it does not mean the employee sometimes meets the expectation and sometimes does not meet the expectation.
You will need to explain to your employees that 3s aren’t bad ratings – they are the value assigned for successfully meeting the performance expectation.
The time you review and discuss the rating metric with an employee is a good opportunity to discuss how they may stretch in this area to receive a 4 (Above Expectation) or a 5 (Exceptional) rating.

12. It may be a little scary for your employees if you have traditionally given 5s and are now giving 3s for the same outcomes and accomplishments associated with a performance expectation.
Don’t just hope your employees won’t notice – they will!
You may wish to request a note be placed in the personnel file explaining a 3 means the performance expectation is being successfully met.

13. Why Rate Performance at All?
Identifies ways for staff to improve
Energizes staff to make exceptional work contributions to the agency
Is a fair method of comparing the work contributions of staff after the performance evaluation period is completed
Why do we need a rating scale instead of simply communicating with employees the tasks they are doing well and those tasks where they need to improve?
Numerical ratings are a way of communicating everyone can consistently understand. You, as the supervisor, may say, “You are doing a good job” and for you, that might mean “generally you are doing okay, but I think you could do better.” However, what I might think “You are doing a good job” is “I am performing the task as well as anyone has ever done it and there is no room for improvement.”
A numbering system helps the supervisor and employee to communicate.
Value Added

14. The 1 to 5 scale will clearly identify for your employees the areas where they can improve. It will also begin the conversation on how they can improve; such as, “You earned a 3 as you are really doing well in this area, but I think you could stretch by helping us to solve the problem of how to improve our overall customer service rating.”
The numeric scale will also identify and energize your employees who are exceptional in the area. Your employees will respond if they know their exceptional work, creativity and dedication is noted and appreciated with a 4 or a 5.
It may be necessary to compare individual employee contributions after the performance evaluation period. If so, a standard rating scale makes it easier to compare the contributions to the department of employees with different job responsibilities and different supervisors.

15. Clearly identify for the employee where they excel, meet expectations and need to improve. It is a way to communicate with the employee.
Clearly identify for you, as the supervisor, where you may help your employees improve.
There are two main goals of rating employee performance as it matches with specific expectations:
Clearly identify for the employee where they excel, meet expectations and need to improve. It is a way to communicate with the employee.
Clearly identify for you, as a supervisor, where you may help your employees improve.

16. Communication with your employee is your primary goal!
The 5-point rating scale provides you an excellent beginning for helping your employee know exactly where he/she needs to improve, is meeting expectations or excelling.
Before your employee leaves a performance evaluation meeting with you, you both should have discussed the status of every performance expectation.

17. The best part of your employee knowing where they stand on each performance expectation is you have the basis of a specific plan on where you may help your employee improve.
Think about possible training, mentoring or coaching to help your employee excel.
We will be looking into ways to do this later in this workshop.

18. Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
There are some tendencies that impact the employee you are rating.
As the rater, do your best to avoid these tendencies by making sure you have SMART expectations and you created measurable rating parameters for each performance expectation.
Doing so will help you, as the rater, to look at each performance expectation individually – as opposed to looking at multiple performance expectations together.

19. Leniency Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
Leniency is rating all employees on all performance expectations too favorably.

20. Halo Effect Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
The Halo Effect is generalizing all performance expectations as highly favorable because of excellent work in one area.

21. Discrimination Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
Discrimination is intentionally or unintentionally basing the ratings of an employee’s performance on how similar he/she is to yourself (this can include not only the more obvious race and gender, but more subtle differences, like how loud you talk).

22. No one is perfect Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
No One is Perfect is rating employees on all expectations overly low because “no one is perfect.”

23. Horns Effect Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
The Horns Effect is generalizing all performance expectations as overly low due to poor work in one area.

24. Recent Behavior Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
Recent Behavior is rating the employee on recent behavior and contributions rather than the whole evaluation period.

25. Reward Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
Reward is rating the employee on all performance expectations as a 4 or 5 (regardless of actual performance) because, you, as the rater, find this is one way to “reward” the employee.

26. Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
Although not on this list, some supervisors have actually simply asked the employees to rate themselves without a defined rating metric or rubric. While this might have decreased stress and workload for the supervisor, it does not help the employee improve.
People can be complex – if your employee is earning a 4 or a 5 on all their expectations, you may wish to check to make sure you aren’t simply being overly lenient, generalizing performance in one area to all areas, or even subconsciously, rating your employee on how similar they are to you.

27. Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
As the rater, do your best to avoid these tendencies by making sure you have SMART expectations and you created measurable rating parameters for each performance expectation.
Doing so will help you, as the rater, to look at each performance expectation individually – as opposed to looking at multiple performance expectations together.

28. Avoid Common Tendencies When Rating
You may need to rewrite the performance expectations to be more challenging; however, make sure employees who have the exact same duties have similar expectations, if appropriate.
Some expectations, known as cascaded expectations, are provided by the agency or work unit. You may not have the ability to change or modify these performance expectations.

29. Differentiating Performance Levels
There is a method for choosing a rating (a 1 or a 2, etc…) – it isn’t a “gut” feeling.
Okay, you’ve decided to really think about your employees and their success associated with their performance expectations.
How can you make sure you are being fair and consistent in rating them on a 1 to 5 scale?

30. Differentiating Performance Levels
Make sure you have SMART performance expectations highlighting the main components of an employee’s work responsibilities.

31. Differentiating Performance Levels
RUBRICv
For each performance expectation, have a rating rubric to determine the basic rating scale.

32. Differentiating Performance Levels
At the end of the performance period, rate the employee on each performance expectation using the rating rubric you created.

33. A rating rubric is a chart describing differences in levels of performance. You need to have a clear understanding of what will be a 3 or 4 or 5 (and hopefully not needed, what constitutes a 1 or 2) for each performance expectation at the beginning of the evaluation period.
You are able to write the rating rubric for each performance expectation in People First as part of the electronic performance evaluation system.
If you decide at the end of the evaluation period, it is more likely you will simply fit the rubric to what you have already seen from the employee.

34. The point of rating employee performance using specific performance expectations is a concrete way of communicating with your employee. Performance management will help your employee improve, which will help your work unit goals and ultimately the department’s mission.

35. At the beginning of the rating period…
There are specific steps to take to make sure you and your employee are really communicating:
Read each performance expectation with the employee and explain any terms that may be ambiguous.
Keep in mind that there may be terms used in our agency that may have different meanings to different people.
Explain what outcomes describe a 3 (and emphasize a 3 means successfully performing the expectation).
Explain how an employee would earn a rating of 4 or 5.
Depending on the employee and the specific expectation, you may also wish to describe how an employee would end up earning a 2 or 1.

36. Begin by discussing the performance expectations with the employee.
Make sure you both agree on the terms and intent of each performance expectation.
Many times the employee won’t know they misunderstand – it is your responsibility to explain terms like “positive attitude, customer service, timely” or other words having a range of possible behaviors associated with them.
It will help to give specific examples of the behaviors and accomplishments you wish to see.

37. You are responsible to communicate to the employee the outcomes and accomplishments which will result in them earning a 3, 4 or 5 (and, if needed, a 2 or 1).
If you are lucky enough to have an employee who consistently does their job well, you may not have to mention the 2 or 1 rating.
However, if you think there may be a misunderstanding and you think an employee may end up rating a 2 or 1, you will want to explain to the employee exactly the behavior or outcomes that resulted in them receiving a 2 or 1.
You want to set up the employee for success at the beginning of the performance evaluation period. This is your chance!

38. Let’s look at the different roles involved in the performance evaluation process.
We all are employees who will be rated.
Everyone here is also a rater.
How many of you are also reviewers?
Reviewers are people who supervise staff who supervise others.

39. The reviewer is the supervisor of the rater who will read the rater’s comments and ratings before the performance evaluation is discussed with the employee.
If you are a reviewer, you should check that comments match and adequately support the rating given.
You should also verify the ratings actually match the outcomes.
If one of your direct report supervisors rate all their direct reports 4s and 5s on all performance expectations, but the work unit isn’t meeting goals, you will want to discuss the situation to find out if there is something affecting work production out of the control of the supervisor or is the supervisor not rating their direct reports fairly.

40. Although you cannot change a comment or rating, you should discuss with the rater if it isn’t clear to you why an employee received a certain rating.
If it isn’t clear to you, it may not be clear to the employee either!

41. As the rater, you should be continually monitoring employee performance during the entire performance evaluation period.
Remember – you will be using the rating rubric to communicate with the employee the rating earned at end of evaluation period.
However, due to the communication throughout the performance evaluation period, this rating shouldn’t be a surprise to the employee.

42. All of you are also employees and you will be using your performance expectations as the basis to prioritize your work load and stay on track for your own optimal work output.
You should be regularly checking with your own rater about your progress.

43. Remember the Infinity Sign – you, as a supervisor, are in the middle and you should be constantly communicating with your employee and your supervisor to make sure everyone is moving together towards the Department’s mission.

44. Want to Learn More? Additional training is available on:
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Access
Developing Your Leadership Potential
Stress Management
Increasing Your Productivity
Definition of Leadership
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The Office of Training and Development can consult with you on your training gaps. Visit the training calendar or contact Training Manager, Charlie Waters at for more information.