Absolute Rating

Absolute Rating is a system of measuring the performance of employees in an organization by rating them against specific tasks and behaviour rather than against their fellow employees. They are ultimately used to measure an employee’s ability to perform a job. The rating system is usually graded from one (1) to five (5) with five being the highest and one the lowest. Also, the ratings are not relative to the performance of other staff members but solely to the individual being evaluated. 

There are common Absolute Rating methods used by HR Professionals to grade their employees. Some of them are the Critical Incident, Checklist Appraisal, Graphics Rating Scale and Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS). 

• Checklist Appraisal: In this rating, the employer has a list of two statements for each behaviour and then using a simple yes or no checklist, picks which of them best describes the employee. 

• Critical Incident: Here, the employee takes note and documents the activities, character and actions of an employee and then decides if he is successful or unsuccessful. 

• Graphics Rating Scale: In this rating, the employer lists desired traits and behaviour for the role, and rates the employee based on the numbered scale. The traits are usually simple things like punctuality, teamwork, emotional intelligence, etc. 

• Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS): A Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale, is a performance management scale using a combination of critical incident and graphic rating scales to determine employee performance. The behaviour “statements” as a reference point instead of generic descriptors found on traditional rating scales.

Absolute Ratings are quite beneficial to the employer while accessing employees. Some of the benefits of Absolute Ratings are:

• Less likelihood of bias in employee rating because it is based on a scale and not necessarily personal perception.
• Accurate access of employees by using the Absolute Rating System.
• Easy comparability of employees across departments or even companies since the system is unified. 
• Brings clarity and consistency among employees with less likelihood of confusion.  

For Absolute Ratings to be very effective, employers must always set clear work expectations for their employees at the beginning of their recruitment. Also, feedback has proven helpful to enable employees to make changes and get better at their job duties. With feedback and a consistent rating scale across the organization, employees are sure to be at their best consistently.