Hack:
Corporate Leaderboards

By Madhusudan Rao - Solution Architect at NTT Data

June 14, 2010 at 11:48pm

Moonshots

Summary

In Tennis, rankings are given to players based on their performance - check the ATP site for more details. This is updated continuously with a 1-year window. Why not apply the same for measuring your leaders within the Corporate?

Leaders will be measured on a defined scale, that is set based on their standing in the organization, nature of work, seniority. Based on their year-end standings, their bosses can review their work and reassign the priorities. This will make appraisals easier and more transparent.

The standings can be shared across the organization for all to view how progress is being made.

Problem

Group Managers and Department Heads typically have the perception that they do better than their peers but are not rewarded/recognized in the same way as the others. While their bosses are clear in their appraisals, the Managers do not mostly agree.

There is a perception that the appraisal executed is biased in some manner and there could have been a different thinking applied for the situations faced by the Managers while performing their tasks.

How do you get beyond such a scenario and come up with a system that is acceptable to everyone? Of course, any system will have its share of backers and critics but if one can be transparent with the ratings, the grief caused might be limited.

One will also not feel the effects of the Forced Ranking due to the Bell-curve - the performance is available for everyone to view and analyze.

With this suggestion, all the leaders will be aware in real-time how and where they stand and make appropriate changes to improve their standing in the Leaderboard.

Solution

Create a ranking system which is simple and easy to implement / understand (in fact, I feel the ATP FAQ is a little complicated). Clearly, identify how many points to be given to Managers for their deeds by various categories. Ensure that all relevant areas / groups are covered in the scoring system.

For e.g., Deals won in the range of $5 Million will result in winning 50 points while successfully delivering a project worth $ 10 Million will result in 75 points.

The points will be approved by the next-level Reporting Managers even though other Groups are also free to assign points for exceptional performance (with appropriate justification).

The numbers can be worked out based on the organization but the concept remains the same.

Practical Impact

This hack, if implemented in the right way, will lessen the ill-feelings that typically happen during appraisal time. The attitudes of Managers can be moulded to cater to these tangible measurements. Hence, their actions will correspondingly change resulting in a win-win situation for all.

Moreover, the Managers need not wait for 6 months or 1 year to get feedback. They will be able to see how their standings change based on the points they receive.

First Steps

An organization can do a dry-run for one single group for a period of 3 months and gather their inputs. Then, it can be expanded to the organization level.

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June 17, 2010 at 3:26am

David Sims

There was a science-fiction book out a few years ago, "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" (by Cory Doctorow) where a couple centuries hence, money had been replaced by something called wuffie, which was basically points of credit that other people had awarded you based on their opinion of you. So your reputation determined your wealth. In some ways, this reminds me of that, though I can see your plan takes some pains to make it as objective as possible.

I wonder about the strictly objective aspect of this, and I wonder how many jobs (other than sales) lend themselves to such clear metrics. For example, as a manager, a big part of my job would be mentoring, coaching, helping others do their jobs. Quantifying that in a system like that would seem difficult. And in fact, I could see how it would shape people's days so that they spent more time on things that measured them alone rather than investing time in their contributions to teams and the development of others -- both of which have positive benefits for the bottom line of the larger organization. I wonder how you think about measuring that sort of intangible benefit.

June 19, 2010 at 6:57am

Madhusudan Rao

Thanks for your comment David.

Mentoring, Coaching needs to be measured as well - without any tangible measurements, how can you say that the mentee is getting real value from his Manager. For example, the mentee can rate how well the mentoring he has received is helping him reach his goals. That will give an idea on how good the mentor is doing. A percentage of the mentee's achievements can be linked back to the mentor's coaching.