Ten Steps to a Top Performance Rating 

The current world of pay for performance, whether one works for a business, a non-profit organization or even government at any level, requires a different way of working.  In the past, it was enough to work hard, do what you were told and be a team player.  That would get you a cost of living raise for sure and maybe a bonus. Not any more.  In the pay for performance world, those who follow the old rules are left behind – and in many cases without even the full cost of living increase much less a bonus.  No, new rules apply for success and top ratings with pay for performance.  These are the new rules. 

1. Learn your organization’s mission inside out.  All objectives should relate directly back to the mission.  It is important not only to do your job but also to know how it fits into the bigger scheme.
2. Make sure you have a job description.  Learn your job description well.  Make sure you have all the skills that it requires.  If you do not, take steps at night and on weekends to insure that you have all the skills described in your job description.  Anyone who has more or better skills than you could replace your tomorrow.
3. Get a clear set of performance objectives from your supervisor.  Whether you are a first level boss, a business unit executive, a department head in a local government or an executive director of a nonprofit, you have a boss and your boss has objectives. Make sure your boss or supervisor provides you with your objectives.  Take the time to go over what is expected of you and make sure you understand what is due by when and how it is measured and by whom.
4. Again, everybody has a boss.  Even CEOs and Executive Directors report to Boards of Directors.  Your number one objective is to make sure you understand what your boss expects of you and how your boss’s success is measured.  While your boss may be successful and you may not be, if your boss is not successful, then any success on your part will be for nothing.  Get inside your boss’s job and her head.
5. If your boss has a boss, get to know her too.  Make yourself known.  Understand her job and her objectives.  How does she define success?  If your boss is gone tomorrow you are nothing without having a relationship already in place with her boss too.  Note of warning, some bosses are jealous about access to and relationships with their bosses so be sensitive to this.
6. Unless you are in the military or professional sports, forget all this team stuff.  Few organizations measure much less reward teamwork.  You must often get things done with and through teams but this is often over emphasized.  Your success is about you – not about some amorphous group of people brought together randomly to accomplish whatever task.  You must shine alone – and stand out a star performer – not as a member of “the team”.
7. While some organizations us peer ratings or what have been called 360 degrees ratings (above, peer and subordinates), these are far from a science in terms of data collection, reliability and linkage to performance.  At the end of the day, you are fighting for your performance rating, your raise, your bonus and your next promotion against your peers.  Do not view them as team mates, friends, buds or family.  They want your money, your rating and often your job.  Be professional but not familiar.  The world of pay for performance is survival of the fittest to the extreme.
8. Subordinates ARE important.  If you do have people who work for you, then your success is based on their success.  You must do all you can to make sure they know what their objectives are, that they are on track to meet and exceed every one of them and that you eliminate poor performers who work for you.  Make sure they have what they need to do their job.  Make sure they shine as stars and make you shine as a star too.
9. Special projects are the kiss of death.  Some bosses include in objectives: “special projects are assigned” or “other responsibilities based on the needs of …”  Fight these tooth and claw.  They are deadly.  You can be 110% on every objective and these will drain your time, your focus, your resources and ultimately cause you to fail to meet your overall objectives.  If your boss wants you on a special assignment, then have her suspend – in writing – your current objectives and write special and specific ones for the special project including time frames, criteria, dates and so on.  Anything less will doom you to not meeting or exceeding your performance objectives.  Remember: get it in writing and get it signed and dated.
10. Even if your organization only has on annual performance review per year, sit down with your boss to review your performance formally every six months.  Every three months is even better.  Come prepared with a summary of your objectives and your quantified accomplishments for each of the objectives. Do not throw in extra things like “ran the company bowling tournament”.  Have a candid and formal review of each of your objectives and your performance to-date against each.  If you are not on-track to meet an objective, include an “action plan” to pro-actively meet and exceed the objective with specifics.

Pay for performance can be good and it can be bad.  It can be good if your work at being the star of your organization by knowing and exceeding every one of your objectives and knowing how to make your boss successful at the same time.  Pay for performance is deadly if you work hard and do your job and expect to get a raise much less a bonus.  It is a new world and that new world requires a new and different set of actions to be successful.

 

George F. Franks, III is the President and Principal Consultant of Franks Consulting Group, a Career, Business and Nonprofit Consulting practice with clients throughout the USA.  Contact George at franksconsultinggroup@gmail.com.  Franks Consulting Group is on the web at: www.franksconsultinggroup.com