Starting a Bell Curve Performance Appraisal: How Do I Begin and Execute It?

I am trying to start a bell curve performance appraisal for my employees. Please guide me in commencing, executing, and finishing this task.

Regards,
Srinivasan

Hi,

Please clarify what exactly you want to do. You cannot start a bell curve performance appraisal since nothing exists by that name. You can have different formats and methods of evaluation and rating. When you summarize the performance ratings of all the employees for a particular appraisal period, it is expected that the ratings, when plotted on a graph, form a bell curve shape (provided your ratings are done with the least bias and your appraisers are well informed about the process). That means at both ends of the bell curve, you will have certain groups of ratings and the majority in the bulged part or the peak point of the curve.

Kind regards, Dayanand L Guddin

Hi Srinivas,

I think what you are referring to is a forced ranking system of appraisal. Typically, as per this mechanism, you would get a bell-shaped distribution as follows:

15% - Top performers
20% - Average Top
30% - Average
20% - Average Low
15% - Low performers

Or there could be other distributions as well similar to the one above. For this to work, you would have to consolidate performance across all dimensions into a single rating value to obtain one curve for the entire workforce. As always, the appraisal process should be unbiased, with fair comparisons across work groups and teams.

Regards,
Joshua

Distribution suggested by Mr. Joshua may be linked to the company's performance ratings (5 levels), and the percentage may also vary with respect to the company's performance ratings.

Hi Dayanand, My only query regarding the Bell Curve is why only the Bell Curve and not any other method.

Regards

I also want to make a presentation on the bell curve and don't know where and what to include in the presentation. Please advise.

What is the rationale behind using the Bell curve only? Are there any other mechanisms that can be considered for Performance Management Systems (PMS)?

Regards,
Pulkit