Measuring individual performance in a subjective environment

Measuring the performance of your employees is important. For some employees that have very objective goals, like sales or support, measuring performance is fairly standard. However, I have developed a specific approach towards measuring individual performance for subjective individuals like designers. You can take my approach, and modify it towards any field that feels more subjective to make your performance reviews objective, quantitative and standardized.

Choose the right criteria

Design can be very subjective. Remove subjectivity by measuring designers against criteria that is important to their job, and easy to quantify.

• Interaction Design

  • User journeys (also called user flows) - as is, to be

  • LFW, HFW - the cornerstone of all designs

  • Prototyping - are they

  • End to end thinking - how does the user use documentation, how will marketing reflect this feature, do you need to think about tutorials or introducing new concepts to your users?

• User Research

  • User Persona creation

  • Usability testing, such as task completion

  • Developing hypotheses

  • Testing against the hypotheses, and determining results

  • Sharing results with the team

• Visual Design

  • Adherence to brand/ design system visuals

  • Icon creation

• Design process -

  • Includes "Soft" skills like communication

• Management - only for people managers

Choose the Right Scale

Using a rating scale effectively can enhance feedback and evaluations significantly. Here’s a guide on how to implement a 1-4 scale for assessing performance.

• I like to use a 1-4 scale instead of a 1-5 scale. The reason is simple: a 1-5 scale allows for a middle "3", which allows indecisiveness and ambiguous ratings. A 1-4 scale encourages clear choices, preventing the dreaded middle ground of a “3” rating.

Define the Scale Levels

• 1 - Learning: This level indicates that the individual is new to the concept or skill. Think of it as a beginner stage, where there’s a lot to learn and develop.

• 2 - Growing: At this stage, the individual shows some understanding and application of the skill, but consistency is still a challenge. They are progressing but may not always meet expectations.

• 3 - Thriving: This rating signifies that the individual is performing well and meeting the expected standards. They demonstrate a solid grasp of the skills involved.

• 4 - Expert: This is the highest level, indicating that the individual has mastered the skill and can teach others. They exhibit a high degree of proficiency and confidence.

Communicate the Scale

Ensure that everyone involved understands the scale. Clear communication is essential to avoid confusion during the rating process. Provide examples and explanations to help evaluators feel confident in their choices.

Average the Scores

Once ratings are collected, average the scores to get a comprehensive view of performance. However, remember that while the average score provides a snapshot, the process of evaluation and feedback is ultimately more valuable than the final number.

Gather the feedback

Do it in this order

• You rate the employee. Don't look at previous ratings. You are easily biased, especially by yourself.

• Do ratings at the same time of day for all of your employees. Your ratings will shift throughout the day. I prefer to do my ratings early in the day. Studies show that people let bias enter into their thoughts later in the day.

• Get feedback from others - it's best if it is their stakeholders, like their PMs or engineering counterparts. (more on this process below)

• Employee self rating. Make sure the user does not see any ratings that were done by others.

• Meet with the employee. Combine the ratings from the various people while you are together. Yes, you can do it faster on your own. But doing it together provides transparency and builds trust. You are discovering the results together.

Rate the employee yourself

Get feedback on the designer from others

• Limit the meeting to 30 minutes; Move quickly, get their gut feedback

• When items are a 1 or a 4, ask "why"

• Hide the ratings from others; you dont want to sway their feedback

• But dont overreact - when you get information that is new, or surprising,

Self-Reflection: Force the designer to rate themselves

• Timebox - Ask them to not spend more than an hour.

• Ask them to not check previous ratings - you cant check this, but ask it anyhow.

• Ask them to rate 1-4

• Ask them to give examples, but don't go overboard

Self-Reflecting: What does it mean?

• The user rates themselves much higher than you rate them

• The user rates themselves lower than you rate them

Not everyone is perfect

• Not everyone will be amazing in all categories - that's ok

• Nobody is perfect. Everyone needs to improve. This process helps the designer figure out where they need to improve.

• It's helpful if the designer determines what they are good at.

• You are looking to identify areas where someone needs to improve

The Aftermath: Ask the user to prioritize what they want to work on

• Give the user time to reflect on what they heard.

• You may identify many things that need to be worked on. That is ok.

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Choose the Right Criteria

Design can be very subjective. Remove subjectivity by measuring designers against criteria that are important to their job and easy to qualify.

Choose the Right Criteria

• Interaction Design

  • User journeys (also called user flows) - as is, to be

  • LFW, HFW - the cornerstone of all designs

  • Prototyping - are they effective in creating prototypes?

  • End-to-end thinking - how does the user use documentation? How will marketing reflect this feature? Do you need to think about tutorials or introducing new concepts to your users?

• User Research

  • User Persona creation

  • Usability testing, such as task completion

  • Developing hypotheses

  • Testing against the hypotheses and determining results

  • Sharing results with the team

• Visual Design

  • Adherence to brand/design system visuals

  • Icon creation

• Design Process

  • Includes "soft" skills like communication

• Management - only for people managers

Choose the Right Scale

Using a rating scale effectively can enhance feedback and evaluations significantly. Here’s a guide on how to implement a 1-4 scale for assessing performance.

I prefer a 1-4 scale instead of a 1-5 scale. The reason is simple: a 1-5 scale allows for a middle "3", which can lead to indecisiveness and ambiguous ratings. A 1-4 scale encourages clear choices, preventing the dreaded middle ground of a “3” rating.

Define the Scale Levels

• 1 - Learning: This level indicates that the individual is new to the concept or skill. Think of it as a beginner stage, where there’s a lot to learn and develop.

• 2 - Growing: At this stage, the individual shows some understanding and application of the skill, but consistency is still a challenge. They are progressing but may not always meet expectations.

• 3 - Thriving: This rating signifies that the individual is performing well and meeting the expected standards. They demonstrate a solid grasp of the skills involved.

• 4 - Expert: This is the highest level, indicating that the individual has mastered the skill and can teach others. They exhibit a high degree of proficiency and confidence.

Communicate the Scale

Ensure that everyone involved understands the scale. Clear communication is essential to avoid confusion during the rating process. Provide examples and explanations to help evaluators feel confident in their choices.

Average the Scores

Once ratings are collected, average the scores to get a comprehensive view of performance. However, remember that while the average score provides a snapshot, the process of evaluation and feedback is ultimately more valuable than the final number.

Gather Feedback

Follow this order for an effective feedback process:

• Rate the employee yourself

• Get feedback from others

• Conduct an employee self-rating. Ensure that the user does not see any ratings done by others.

• Meet with the employee to combine ratings from various sources. This promotes transparency and builds trust.

Rate the Employee Yourself

Collect feedback on the designer from others:

• Rate the employee yourself, before you talk to others.

• Even though it is tempting, avoid looking at previous ratings.

• If you rate someone as a 1 or a 4, give examples.

• Conduct ratings at the same time of day for all employees to minimize bias. It is recommended to do ratings early in the day.

  
  

Self-Reflection

Ask the designer to rate themselves:

• Timebox the self-rating process to no more than an hour.

• Instruct them not to check previous ratings.

• Ask for ratings on a 1-4 scale.

• Request examples but advise against excessive detail.

• If the user rates themselves much higher than you rate them, it indicates a potential disconnect in self-perception.

• If the user rates themselves lower than you rate them, it may suggest a lack of confidence or awareness of their skills.

Get Feedback from Others

• Preferably from 2-3 others.

• Preferably from their stakeholders, such as PMs or engineering counterparts. Ask the designer to give you names of people.

• Set up a 30 minute meeting with the stakeholder.

• Ensure that you do not allow them to see any other feedback.

• Encourage them to give their gut reaction.

• If they say a 1 or a 4, ask them WHY they gave that rating.

Not Everyone is Perfect

• Not everyone will excel in all categories - that's acceptable.

• Nobody is perfect; everyone has areas for improvement. This process helps identify where designers need to grow.

• It's beneficial for the designer to recognize their strengths.

• The goal is to identify areas needing improvement.

Prioritize Areas for Improvement & Follow Up

• Allow the user time to reflect on the feedback received.

• It’s normal to identify multiple areas needing work; this is part of the growth process.

• Ask them to identify 3 items they want to work on over the next time period (I prefer 3-6 months)

• Develop a "Success Plan" that includes a list of actions they will take to improve the areas they identified.

• Review their progress on a regular basis.

Do you want more?

I have a spreadsheet that I have used for over 10 years for measuring designers. Contact me and I will share it with you.