The graphic rating scale is a straightforward tool for evaluating employee performance based on specific qualities and behaviors. It offers simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and ease of understanding but can suffer from subjectivity and biases.
By Brad Nakase, Attorney
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One of the primary tasks of every human resources team is to organize regular worker evaluations to ensure that employees recognize what they do well and where they might improve. A well-liked, tried-and-true technique for evaluating performance is the visual rating scale. But how exactly does it work? What are its benefits and drawbacks? Furthermore, what are the best ways to apply the visual rating scale in performance reviews? Let’s get started.
A graphic rating scale, often known as a Likert scale, is a performance evaluation tool that scores employees on a numbered scale after listing the qualities and behaviors that are ideal for every job. These qualities could be teamwork, accountability, responsibility, quality of work, timeliness, etc.
This aids in assessing worker performance levels, boosting output and efficiency, and determining whether to promote or change salaries. HR managers can also get quantitative information about different employee traits in connection to a particular job description by using the visual rating scale approach.
A predetermined number of topics (or actions) are listed and scored on a numbered scale (1-5, 1-10). On a scale of 1 to 5, a score of 1 would typically indicate that the employee does not exhibit the behavior. If the employee had a score of 5, they would be considered excellent for that specific activity.
Depending on the question, two distinct numerical scales may be employed.
Certain responses, such as “unlikely,” “hard to say,” or “likely,” will be listed on a separate scale. The management has to decide which response best suits the worker.
When using a continuous scale, the manager is asked to place the employee somewhere along the scale after listing two extreme values at either end.
The behaviorally anchored rating scale and the behavioral observation scale are two other commonly used tools in the evaluation of employee performance.
These are a few samples of questions and responses using a graphic rating scale.
Example 1
To what extent is this worker proficient in time management?
Answer:
Choose the statement below that best fits the situation.
Example 2
Statement: This employee works well as part of a team.
Answer:
Choose the statement below that best fits the situation.
Example 3
Question: How would you rank the employee’s quality of work?
Answer:
Assign a number to the employee between 1 and 10.
Let’s examine some of the benefits of the graphic rating scale and the reasons it’s often regarded as a useful tool for performance evaluation.
The graphic grading scale approach is simple to use and comprehend. The majority of individuals have probably completed a questionnaire similar to this one before, so it doesn’t really need any additional training to be implemented and is understandable by both managers and staff. For this reason, it’s a well-liked option for performance ratings.
By quantifying behavioral characteristics, this strategy makes it much simpler to identify patterns, trends, and developments in the feedback and to analyze it. It is simple to identify problem areas, take appropriate action, and monitor growth. This simplifies the evaluation process as a whole.
It is simple and easy to create a graphic rating scale, and many of the questions may be used to different functions within the company. This means that practically all firms can afford to use it as an employee performance method.
This kind of performance appraisal approach has some constraints, just like any other performance appraisal form.
Even if everyone in the company might be rating employees on the same numerical scale, supervisors’ evaluations of staff members may not be consistent. Every individual will interpret the scale and the meaning of each rating differently. While one manager may consider something “excellent,” another may consider it “good.”
The way an employee receives their results and the scores a management assigns may also be subjective.
The “halo effect” is one of this method’s most prevalent biases, which might distort the evaluation outcomes. This occurs when workers have a few number of really strong points that much outweigh any obvious flaws that should be fixed. Conversely, it is also possible for a major weakness to offset an employee’s many strengths and lower their overall score. The tendency to recall recent events the best is known as the recency effect.
At the conclusion of the questionnaire, the scores are totaled, and an average final score is assigned to each employee. But as previously indicated, this might not fairly reflect a worker’s overall performance, which is a drawback of this kind of evaluation.
Employee A, for instance, constantly receives average marks across the board, but Employee B receives scores at both extremes of the spectrum; yet, their final total scores are identical. Given that these two individuals are obviously in different situations, it would be wrong to recommend improvements and changes that are identical to each other.
While there are benefits and drawbacks to the visual rating scale approach, the latter can be minimized with a well-thought-out plan, appropriate questioning, and efficient manager training.
The following advice can help you make the most of a graphic rating scale and ensure that it yields valuable data for performance management of your staff.
Establish your goals before beginning to create your appraisal. What is it that you wish to measure? What objectives do you have? In what way will this data assist the company in achieving the business’s overarching objectives?
“Do you think the worker is happy to be at work?” is an example of a poorly chosen question.
A good example of a more impartial question could be: “To what extent is the worker successful in their position?”
The job description and requirements of the employee should be the direct link between all the questions you choose and the particular factors you assess. Select which questions to ask and try not to include too many.
Identify the primary intended behaviors for each role that you wish to use the graphic scale for.
Should the worker be a team player, for instance? Do they need to be imaginative and creative? Are they supposed to be pleasant and approachable toward customers?
After going over each job and listing the desired characteristics, develop questions that will best help measure these behaviors.
The next stage is to formulate the right responses for the questions you have identified.
Let’s take an example where the question is: Does the worker meet deadlines and deliver work on time?
Responses like “late,” “on schedule,” and “ahead of schedule” should be on your scale.
You shouldn’t rely on the graphic rating scale alone, even though it can be helpful for personnel assessments and appraisals. This assessment method’s limitations can be reduced and a more accurate understanding of an employee’s performance can be obtained by combining it with other methods. These include the ranking appraisal, checklist scale, essay performance appraisal, etc.
To eliminate definition bias, providing a guide for each response on the scale (as shown in our examples above) can be useful and contribute to uniformity among evaluations. This is due to the fact that, as we’ve already discussed, a manager’s definition of “satisfactory” may differ greatly from another manager’s.
If your company chooses to include a graphic rating scale in its assessment process, make sure you invest time in its planning and development, manager training, and employee understanding of their results.
By combining this technique with a few others, you can get a clear picture of how well your employees are performing, which will help you make the best possible action plan to increase engagement, output, and effectiveness across the board in the company.
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