Though there are many different ways of assessing your team’s performance, there is one particular method Frog recommends as the most useful.
This method is called The Appraisal Grid. The Grid allows you to measure a person’s overall performance across two dimensions:
- Their ability to deliver results
- Their attitude
Delivery of results is self-explanatory: it is quantitative and measurable. In the case of sales, this means hitting or exceeding the quota. In the case of developers, this means delivering high-quality code whilst hitting timelines in a project. This of course means you have a culture where everyone is measured in a transparent and clear way. If this is not case, then take a look at the VP Sales Scorecard: Setting Role Expectations tool kit for further guidance on setting clear objectives and measurable outcomes for individuals on your team.
Attitude is more subjective but can be assessed through a more quantitative approach. The way “attitude” is defined here is as a person’s effect on the company culture, their colleagues and values. What counts as acceptable (and unacceptable) behaviour in the business should be outlined in a staff handbook. This removes any debate as to whether someone is exhibiting the right behaviour and attitude. Of course, this varies from company to company and largely represents the kind of culture and working environment that the Founder/CEO wants in his/her business. Whatever this is, write it down in your staff book and use this tool to hold everyone to those standards – including yourself.
The attached toolkit includes The Appraisal Grid – You can use this Grid to determine in which of four Groups each of your team members falls depending on their delivery of results and attitude. The four Groups are:
- Super Stars
- Development Needed
- Prima Donnas
- Wrong Hires
The toolkit also includes guidance on how to manage the people in each of the four Groups. At the end of the toolkit is an editable template where you can enter in each of your team members and which Group they fall into, plus write in what actions need to be taken to increase their performance level or keep it high.
When the company is small it is possible to do use this method yourself across the entire team. However, as the company grows this needs to be delegated to managers to perform on their respective teams.
