“Study finds that basically every single person hates performance reviews.” – Noise, Daniel Kahneman
Do we need performance reviews and performance metrics in general? Do we still live in an industrial era and people performing repetitious input-output work with easily measurable outputs?
There is an alternative to performance metrics and reviews – qualitative metrics reflecting on knowledge work characteristics.
- SFIA skill levels as measured by an accredited SFIA consultant
- Proactivity index – reflecting structure of skill from reactivity or proactivity level
- Knowledge worker quality index – constructed from multi-perspective assessment (manager + peers), 3-5 dimensions
- Composite indicator Quality of knowledge worker #CIQKW (or Value of knowledge worker #VKW)
Combination of qualitative metrics provides a cost effective picture of the overall individual’s quality, typically measured every 2 years, or for junior positions updated typically every year.
The purpose of qualitative metrics is different from performance metrics
- development planning
- identification of outstanding worker suitable for promotion or role change
- identification of possible toxicities in teams which can have negative effect on team spirit and collaboration quality
Benefits of qualitative metrics for knowledge workers in IT
- low frequency, less time required, less stress to everyone involved
- future development focus rather than past performance and quantitative metrics
- usability for complex proactive work with uncertain outcomes and long-term efforts
More details and practical templates are included in recently extended training Managing Knowledge Worker Quality
Picture from Excel templates included in this training.
