As April starts and the performance evaluation process kicks in; I could not help but think about the implication of the very real "Great Resignation" on the "Bell Curve" that most of us are very familiar with.
I must admit, I have been very fascinated by the concept of the Bell Curve. While it appears simple and we all tend to fall on its right and/or the wrong side at times in our formative years, we only realise much later how it works and its relevance.
While I am NOT going to delve deeper into the philosophy of the "Bell Curve", its merits and demerits, its comparison with "Absolute Ratings"; I want to simply reflect on 3 critical aspects of the curve at such times.
- THE UNDENIABLE: The "Performance average" is facing a "Shift Left" pressure: It was a Sunday and I received a text from one of the stars in my team and he told me that he had decided to "move on". It came as a huge shock to me. I thought we were doing some incredible work in the team, working on challenging assignments, taking great care of our members, running a meritocratic evaluation and were surely differentiating benefits basis what the company is doing in these "Great Resignation" time. I struggled to comprehend what trick I had missed. But after a few days and several conversations on, I knew that this "Great Resignation" was real. It also told me that quite obviously, the better performers tend to have a flight risk on the back of targeted poaching, increased aspiration etc. The biggest challenge is that this is creating a "Shift Left" pressure on the "Performance average" which needs immediate attention for sure
- THE OFTEN NEGLECTED OR UNDERDONE: Role of "Leaders" and "Managers" in Shifting "Performance average" to the "Right": There is no doubt that managers and leaders are already stretched currently trying to contain attrition. However, the above challenge means that if nothing is done, the "Performance average" drop would stick; taking the average quality of your teams down. Hence, I think the role of the managers in coaching, investing, training the teams is critical. At such times, releasing precious bandwidth through automation, pushing through that shelved training on core hard skills, increase in basic skills like MS Excel, productivity enhancement tips etc, reprioritising work stacks and so many other elements for teams is critical. My experience is no matter how much we may deny it, there would always be scope to further improve and this time, we need to do it on a "war footing". It is imperative that these investments move from "Good to have" to "Must Have"
- THE TOUGHEST ONE: What do I do with the bottom performers: This is a very tricky part. The reality is that as managers we are short on bandwidth and these crazy times are putting enormous stress on our teams and us. Classically the "bell curve" requires us that we identify the bottom X set and move them to other roles which are better suited for them. Again, we would always have people who fall into this category given that their skills are misaligned with needs in the current role. We need to be honest with them and ourselves. We need to converse on whether that misalignment can be corrected and we need to be able to call a spade a spade. If that cannot be corrected in the near future, I believe that it is better to agree to move them to other roles. This helps in 2 ways.
- For one, it moves people out who probably dragged the "Performance average" to the left and letting them move out, automatically shifts the average to the right.
- Secondly, you get an opportunity to bring someone on, who naturally is able to contribute to improving the "Performance Average". If this sounds simplistic, I totally agree that it is not. The conversations, working through organisation process, rehiring are very time and effort consuming but the basic philosophy and drive has to be kept in mind
The above is a very complex trio that is hitting us and if we really want service quality retained (let alone improved), most of the above (if not all 3) are critical.
I would love to hear from you what you think!
Talent & Leadership Development | OD Strategist | Builder of Inclusive, Future-Ready Leaders | Empathy & Inclusion Champion| Award winning coach
3yVery interesting point of view Nitesh Aggarwal ! I am in total agreement of your thoughts about the importance of enablement becoming even more crucial in these times and the role of a manager as a coach in developing talent ! It is a catch 22 situation for most organisations because when you let your employees go for upskilling with a dagger of putting in additional hours to complete their work , you push them towards frustration ! In those cases learning becomes a burden than a joyful experience. So while managers may want to help by investing in development they don’t seem to have enough people around to manage the crazy workload .. a bigger question is : what lead to this really ?
Shaping Future Leaders, Redefining Leadership & Cultivating a Culture That Thrives—Because Yesterday’s Playbook Won’t Win Tomorrow’s Game
3yVery interesting thought on how to keep the performance average up. The current conundrum of helping your team members up skill and then deal with them leaving is also as real as it gets. As I talk to more people in my current and ex organisations, I realise that this paradigm of remote working isn’t helping deveping real connections at the workplace. I am not saying that people did not leave organisations earlier but currently the new employees hardly are developing any sort of connect with the organisations they are working for. Without developing attachments with the organisations, the resignations are at an all time high and at a time like this, the manager’s role is critical as you have rightly highlighted. Fantastic read Nitesh. This correlation is very apt!
Digital Leader, Cloud Strategist, Enterprise Transformation, An Intrapreneur
3yLets just do away with Bell curve. More often than not this is force fit to comply by some dirt imposition. You talked abour investment with respect to skills development. Apply those which is bringing down the so called "Performance average". Build a team which can compliment each towards the success/goals your org/deptt is carrying. Pleae note it is "team" who will deliver for you and not the indvidual. Once we unfollow the so-called Stars (in your jargon, the right winger in performance average), bring in equatable lens and assess everything against "team" performance, the impact would be there to observe - team motivation, reduced stretch, feeling of achievement et al.
Leading People Strategy for Impact | Vice President - HR
3yInsightful article Nitesh...I think great resignation is an opportunity to provide better opportunity of learning and growth (career enhancement or enrichment both). Take risk, trust your team members to take up those enhanced roles, hire for replacements at lower roles. Support them, mentor them during the transition..Reward them appropriately..The performance curve will shift back to right slowly..
GM & VP | Growth, Margin, Innovation | Cross-Functional Leader | Kohler, Masonite, Whirlpool
3yVery insightful article. While I agree that you need to invest in hard skills, the investment in soft skills becomes even more critical. While hard skills (like excel skills, prioritization stacks) will drive productivity in the short run, investment in soft skills (self development, communication) will keep employees engaged over the longer run. The great resignation is real and people are looking for higher level of satisfaction and there is nothing higher than self actualization.