Efforts versus Results: How should we be evaluated in Performance Reviews? #YearEndReview #EPM #PPA #PerformanceAppraisal
(note: Long Post ~ 10 minute read)
This is a common dilemma that affects corporate organizations at all levels.
Reflecting back on my own working experience, I recall being assigned several tasks where I had minimal actual effort done – just a few days of work – but because it involved a scope from a high-production facilities, it became a very high visibility task and therefore on paper was perceived as a task with a huge impact. Much to the delight of the team members involved. Yay!
On the other hand, I have also received several assignments that involved a lot of effort, many weeks of detailed work, collaboration and interfacing with multiple stakeholders, only to discover and conclude that an engineering proposal is “not feasible” or does not result in substantial “value creation”, which we ended up having to drop.
On paper: That work resulted in virtually zero value.
On the ground: We receive sarcastic remarks for “wasting time and resources for doing this work”, even though it was our must-do core job. “Buat habih boreh je”
What gives?
When it comes to Results, there are in fact many different things that affect the bottom line – and although there are many things which may be influenced by our individual efforts or actions (i.e. what is in our control), there are many more that are completely beyond our control. Weather, market conditions, facilities conditions, resource limitations, information/data unavailability, competency of fellow team members, other collaborating departments, or circumstantially high stake-crisis situations, just to name a few. All of these fall under the general heading of those outside of our control: I call this the Qadar of Allah – some may call this “luck”.
Would it be justified to "blame" individuals for factors beyond their control?
In fact, for many cases, the choice of assignments might be completely beyond the employee’s control. If they are assigned with tasks that have a “meh” impact, in spite of their diligent efforts, do they really deserve a “meh” performance rating, especially coming from their superior who accepted and assigned the task in the first place?
I remember having assigned a major project assignment and told to “drop everything else you are doing now”, only to receive instructions at the end of the year to “remove it from your performance appraisal” because the project was “controversial”.
True enough, that year, I suffered the worst performance rating of my career.
Totally my fault, right?
It starts with the “Why” of appraisals: What is the purpose behind employee performance evaluations in the first place? Who or what is really being evaluated here?
We can critique any “system” as much as we want, but at the core of it, performance appraisals crash and burn because when the PEOPLE implementing them failed or lost the plot. There is no perfect system; and even if there was a perfect one, it still goes back to HOW it was implemented.
If the objective is indeed to gauge the employee’s individual performance, identify gaps for improvement, and subsequently linking it to the overall vision, mission, culture and goals of the organization, then the focus should be on “what is in their control”: What were their contributions to achieve the bottom line? How can I tell if this employee is flourishing or merely functioning, as opposed to just riding on the popularity of the projects that I assigned to him? If I were to swap them with someone else, what differentiates them from the rest?
All of that essentially boils down to one concept: Effort.
As Batman once said, “it’s what I DO that defines me.”
Many superiors tend to have mixed feelings, sometimes even downright dismissing the role of “effort” altogether, perhaps even go to the extent of weaponizing the concept that “Results Matter” and that it’s all about the bottom line. I remember when I first joined as a fresh graduate, I overheard bosses exclaiming that “effort is meaningless if it doesn’t produce results” and “challenges are irrelevant”. At first glance, it sounds like ruthless one-liners by a villain from a 90s flick. To be fair though, I can empathize with where they are coming from. They don’t want “effort” and “challenges” to be used as an excuse for a lack of meaningful impact. Also, objectively speaking, they may have a point from a productivity point of view. As we learn in physics: Distance doesn’t mean displacement. Makes sense.
But then again: is it squarely employees’ faults for meaningless efforts – especially when the employers or superiors send them on a wild goose chase with in the first place?
As much as possible, performance evaluation should be focused on gauging the efforts in one’s control, especially considering the underlying situational and contextual challenges.
But gauging “effort” is challenging, isn’t it? How will the leader differentiate between a “genuine challenge” or “excuses”? Especially with people who are just oh-so-sweet with their words and colorful performance writeups? How will leaders meaningfully measure efforts to see through the fog of a sugar-coated writeup?
The key is to start on the right foot, in the first place: Set performance metrics which are objective, and that effectively measures the efforts in a way that is meaningful to the bottom line, i.e. the Results, and sufficiently challenges the employees to distinguish their individual contributions, taking into account internal and external factors that may affect the employees, both positive and negative. For some job tasks, some “Results” can be directly correlated with Effort: and in those cases, targets can be easier to set. But for more complex and sophisticated work assignments, it isn’t so straightforward.
In the same way you don’t give a high school exam to a preschooler, you cannot just slap on a copy-paste KPI template of a veteran as you do towards a fresh graduate and in the end, blame the new guy for underperforming. Or one who has gone on a 4-month maternity leave – hence not being present for one-third of the year – to be measured equally with others who were present in a full 12-month period.
And as performance reviews take place between subordinates, evaluate them in consideration of the context, situations and challenges that took place to gauge and review expectations accordingly to adequately assess.
Sounds tough…?
Yes, leadership is challenging. But lack of leadership is even more challenging for everyone else.
In Islam, performance evaluation is all about EFFORT: Leave the Results – and all the external factors beyond our control – to Allah. This is the essence of Tawakkul (Trust in Allah).
It is your Effort that showcases who you really are, beyond what is simply “given” to you by Allah. There are many examples that showcase this:
1. Repentance – In the story of the man who killed 99 people, the man sincerely sought repentance, went to migrate to another town to a conducive environment, but he died halfway there. He hasn’t even changed or even arrived at the destination – no “results”: he basically died “on the way”! – yet Allah accepted his repentance, by virtue of his efforts, to die on the path. (Ref: Al-Bukhari, Muslim).
2. Reward of Qur’an: The Prophet ﷺ promised that, for the person who is struggling with difficulty trying to recite Qur’an, he will receive double rewards, motivating to keep trying. Furthermore, in another hadith, he said “the best of you are those who LEARN the Qur’an and TEACH it”. The characteristic of the “best” are linked to verbs – actions – of learning and teaching. Meaning, even if you are very proficient or skilled in Qur’an, but stop the EFFORT learning or teaching, then you have lost the privilege of being the best (Ref: Al-Bukhari, Muslim).
3. Rewards are proportional to their difficulty and challenges – in a hadith, the Prophet ﷺ describes that towards the end of times, the life of a Muslim will be so difficult that it will be like holding on to burning coals; therefore the one who holds steadfastly in his faith and works righteousness will receive the reward equivalent to FIFTY companions of the Prophet ﷺ, the best of generations, the likes of Abu Bakr and Umar (Ref: Abu Daud and At-Tirmidzi).
4. Da’wah (calling others to the path of Allah) – in a hadith, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described that the nations and the previous prophets were shown to him, and he witnessed that there are prophets with one follower, and even a prophet with zero followers. (ref: Al-Bukhari). Yet they are still affirmed by Allah as the best of mankind, in spite of the “lack of Results”. It is worth noting that Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), even he barely had followers in his lifetime; he once said to his wife Sara, “I do not know of any other believer in this land besides you and me” (Ref: Muslim). Yet Allah described him as an ummah (a nation) by himself (ref: Surah An-Nahl 16:120). It was his dedicated efforts that Allah granted the barakah through his children Ishaq and Ismail to be the father of the Prophets..
5. Disbelieving Family members – in the Qur’an Allah describes how many Prophets were tried with those in their household who disbelieved, despite their best attempts to guide them. The most striking examples were the wives of Prophet Lut and Prophet Nuh (surah At-Tahrim, 66:10), and the uncle of Prophet Muhammad himself, Abu Talib. But they are not held accountable for their family members' disbelief.
6. Iman and Amal Soleh – a repeated theme in the Qur’an, Allah always pairs iman with righteous deeds: the actions.
As Muslims we can find solace in the fact that Allah rewards us for our efforts: as long as you have sincerity, and perform the deeds correctly to the best of your ability (i.e. all of which is within your control), then that’s it: None of it goes to waste, and that’s all that matters.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ مَنْ أَحْسَنَ عَمَلًا
“Verily! As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, certainly! We shall not suffer to be lost the reward of anyone who does his (righteous) deeds in the most perfect manner.” (Surah Al-Kahf, 18:30)
But the best part: in those instances you DO get great results, when Allah plants His barakah on your deeds and give the mileage of Results – e.g. charity or knowledge which was greatly benefitted from, successful da’wah – you WILL get the rewards!
In a nutshell:
EFFORT – based on clearly defined expectations and objective measurement – those define who you are. Results are a mechanism to REWARD, not to punish.
Perhaps we can learn a thing or two to implement this in our workplace.
What do you think?
#PerformanceEvaluation #thebarakaheffect
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