How can one create a meritocratic company culture using the infamous bell curve?

We come to work every day and do our jobs to the best of our abilities. We are disciplined, focused, and understand business and clients. However, despite being loyal to the company and doing a great job, an average employee has the lurking suspicion that the company truly appreciates their contribution.

Even the best organizations find it challenging to ascertain the quality of their talent. This is not intentional; it is an unfortunate reality of business taking precedence over people.

These patterns tend to be more pronounced in large companies.

How does an organization measure its talent?

Let’s take a hypothetical company with 500 employees as an example. The talent chart below shows the company at the end of its annual performance cycle. I have assumed a 15%—70%—15% split. 15% of employees were outstanding or exceeded expectations, and another 15% were at the other end of the spectrum. The majority met the expectations.

Using that as a guide, there will be 75 employees at each end of the spectrum, with 350 in the middle.

People on the left will get higher pay & bonuses. Some of them will get promotions and move up the ladder. Many of these individuals will get the preference for special projects and learning opportunities in the coming year. And deservedly so.

It's not so great news for our friends on the other end. Some will use the annual performance process to reflect and improve, some will change roles, and some will move on.

What about the middle 350?

We all know that some individuals in this group missed a higher rating by a whisker. Let's apply the bell curve distribution again, this time on the 350-person group. It will identify an additional 53 people (using the same 15-70-15 split - 15% of 350) as "top" performers. If we add these to our earlier identified 75, we now have 128 people, almost 26% of the workforce, as "top performers."

While the increments and bonuses for the additional 53 people will not change immediately, the company has additional people to consider and may want to recognize in some way.

Most of these employees also know why they did not get top ratings. All they are seeking is support and validation, hoping that next year will be better. Furthermore, many of these individuals are silent workers and have a deeper influence than the company realizes, so engaging them sends a message - "We value meritocracy!"

Engage your teams during the annual performance cycle: walk an extra mile to reach out to your silent performers!