How can one create a meritocratic company culture through analytics?

We come to work daily and do our job 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, we suspect companies truly appreciate our contribution.

Companies are not designed to be caring. I am not suggesting that companies are not benevolent or altruistic. They are, and I will write an article on this subject in the future.

Even the best organizations find it challenging to ascertain the quality of their talent. This is not on purpose but is an unfortunate trade-off of chasing profits and managing bottom lines.

How does an organization measure its talent? The famous bell curve!

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, will be 75 employees on both ends of the spectrum, with 350 employees 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) 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 these additional 53 people will not change immediately, you can be more inclusive in your future talent management approach.

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.

Recognizing them can help create a meritocratic culture. Further, many of these individuals are influencers, so engaging them improves morale.

Engage your teams during the annual performance cycle: Make the environment friendly and encourage employees to reflect and listen!