How to define what good looks like

There's a recurring theme when talking with HR decision-makers: how to establish a common understanding and way of defining what ‘Good’ looks like for key roles in an organisation. Everyone you ask has a different opinion, and judges it differently. What do we have available to help us in this?

The problem is that if we are not able to describe what good looks like in a consistent way, we'll find that:

• managers may set unclear expectations about performance targets with ambiguous or unrealistic targets, and consequently get less out of their people than they are capable of.
• there is variable effectiveness in hiring people; the wrong people are hired for the job and we miss out on better candidates.
• people may be promoted into the wrong roles, or roles where they are lacking key competencies, most commonly managerial behaviours.
• there is variable performance across the business, affecting customer perception of quality and there is no basis for continuous improvement.

Some people asked will hold to a traditional view of the role, modelled on how it has always been done, some will point to individuals they consider embody good practice, some will claim to be able to recognise it when they see it but may struggle to describe the criteria they are using!

If the role is changing and current practice is no longer likely to be good enough to compete effectively, how can organisations move on from ‘here’ if they can’t describe what ‘here’ is.

Of course once the bar has been met, what happens? It goes up? Without at least a working description of what ‘good’ looks like, how can organisations focus their assessment, development and recruitment efforts effectively, year after year?

So what are the methods we all rely on to make these decisions - and how reliable/useful are they? 

Our article, which you can download after clicking on the button below, explores the most common of these methods.

• Job descriptions and person specifications
• The values of the organisation and the person
• CVs, references and qualifications
• The Policy/Process/Procedure
• Interviews
• Appraisal data and 360 degree review data
• Psychometric test results
• Case studies and success stories
• Opinion

You may like to read the full article by clicking below.