We have an employee feedback program called the 360 Survey. The purpose of the program is to rate yourself, receive ratings from your peers, and receive ratings from your boss. Survey results are then used by your boss to write your annual performance review. All 19 survey questions use a 5-point scale. Rate 1 for “This employee never does this.” Rate 5 for “This employee always does this”. Here are a few of the questions.
- Participates in exchanging information and offers ideas freely. -
- Verbally communicates clearly, concisely, and straightforward.
- Listens and clarifies to ensure understanding.
- Treats others with dignity and respect; is considerate, approachable and polite.
- Works well with the team and is cooperative, helpful, and positive.
- Is easy to do business with.
- Is competent in performing their job (the last question).
For the most part, I like the program. Getting feedback is always a good thing. However, there is something about the survey that bothers me. I always cringe when I get to the last question. Why is “Is competent in performing their job” the last question? Shouldn’t it be the first question? Why aren’t there more questions that speak to the employee’s competency? In addition, I find myself doubting the usefulness of the questions that pertain to open and honest dialog.
I am reminded of my favorite Dilbert comic strip. The New Guy looks at Dilbert and says, “Don’t worry about me, I am going to advance my career with good attendance and head nodding.” Let’s consider the ”brown-eyed”, yes-speaking New Guy for a moment. As a smart player in the corporate world, he always says the right things at the right time. This means saying what others want to hear.
Now let’s consider Karen, an old college friend of mine. Her best quality was her honesty. Her worst quality was her honesty. How honest was Karen? You know the proverbial “does this dress make me look fat”? With Karen, that question was never necessary. Before you could ask, she would have already answered. Upon entering the room, Karen would look at you and say, “That’s awful. What were you thinking?” Karen’s honesty was brutal. Others wrote her off thinking that she was ornery and negative. This was true. She was both of those things. But as an enthusiast of factual speak, I grew to appreciate her brutality. She had great judgment and was almost never wrong. I was the beneficiary of her advice on many occasions.
Karen, high on substance and low on political savvy would likely get high ratings on her verbal communication skills, but low ratings on her team player attributes. New Guy on the other hand, would likely score higher overall.
Despite attempts to promote robustly-spoken dialog, I have learned that the only dialog that is really encouraged is the New Guy’s brand. Show me a New Guy, and I’ll show you a smiling manager. Show me a Karen, and I’ll show you an overflowing HR file.
Although I don’t discount the need to embrace the skills we learned in Kindergarten, I sometimes wonder if we aren’t confused by mom’s ”If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” directive. This behavior is perfect for the playground, but not for the conference room. If it were up to me, I’d add the following yes/no question to the survey.
“If you were stranded on a desert island and your survival was dependent on your teammates, would you choose this person to be on your team?”
No thank you New Guy. I choose Karen.