Calibration in Performance Reviews

What is calibration?

Calibration in the context of performance management is a method used by organizations to review and adjust the performance ratings of their employees. This process ensures consistency and fairness across all departments and teams.

The Importance of Calibration

Organizations should consider performance calibration for several key reasons:

1. Promotes Fair Assessments: Calibration counters potential manager bias or inconsistency, ensuring that similar achievements and behaviours across different teams are evaluated on the same scale.             
2. Reinforces Performance Standards: By calibrating performance reviews, companies can uphold their performance standards uniformly, sending a clear message about what is valued within the organization.
3. Aids in Talent Retention and Motivation: Fair evaluations are critical for employee morale. Calibration shows employees that their hard work is recognized and measured accurately, which can increase satisfaction and retention.
4. Drives Strategic Workforce Planning: Calibration can identify top performers who may be ready for leadership roles, as well as those who might benefit from additional training, thus aiding in succession planning.
5. Improves Legal Compliance: It adds a layer of protection against potential legal challenges regarding discrimination, as it shows a commitment to unbiased and standardized performance evaluation.

Introduction to Calibration Settings

To access calibration settings, navigate to post review analysis and click on calibration(1)  tab, on the right side you will see Calibration Settings(2). 

Upon entering the Calibration Settings page, you're presented with options that determine how performance evaluations are adjusted to align with the company's expectations and values.

First off, you decide the criteria for calibration. You can choose to calibrate based on the final rating or the rating given by specific levels of reviewers, such as the reporting manager, manager of managers, or the department head. This ensures that the calibration is done precisely where it’s needed.

You also set the timeframe(1) for the calibration process, which could be days or weeks, depending on the complexity and the size of the workforce. This helps in planning and executing the calibration without rushing, allowing for thoughtful consideration of each case.

Next, you select the calibration(2) method. The page offers two distinct methods if you have enabled potential rating or your will only see bell curve:

• Bell Curve: This method helps you fit employee performance ratings into a classic bell curve, highlighting outliers and ensuring that only a certain percentage of employees fall into each performance category.
• 9-Box Grid: This is a more dimensional approach, plotting employees based on their current performance as well as their potential for growth.

With the 9-Box Grid selected, the settings page presents you with a matrix where you can define categories such as 'Rough Diamond' for those with low performance but high potential, or 'Future Star' for medium performers with high potential. 

You can tailor each category to reflect the language and values of your organization. For instance, you can rename 'Key Player' to something more in line with your company's culture.

After configuring the settings, you hit Save(3) to apply them. Keka HR takes care of the rest, applying your calibration settings across the selected review cycles and employee groups.

How is calibration performed within keka?

With Keka, you don’t have to settle for one-size-fits-all. If potential ratings are part of your review process, you can benefit from a comprehensive analysis using both the 9-Box Grid and Bell Curve. This dual perspective gives a well-rounded view of your team’s capabilities and achievements. However, if potential ratings are not part of your current strategy, you can still rely on the Bell Curve analysis to calibrate performance ratings fairly.

After a thorough performance review cycle, calibration comes into play. Calibration begins with a deep dive into the performance data. Keka allows you to filter and view(1) performance by specific departments, business units, or managers.

You can now click on manage next to the department or business unit or manager in order to open calibration dashboard.

Calibration Dashboard

Keka’s calibration dashboard is the control center where the fine-tuning of performance reviews happens. Here, you can +invite specific calibrators—those who are well-versed in the roles and contributions of the employees they're evaluating. This might include department heads or direct supervisors who are familiar with each employee's work.

Calibrator Notifications and Actions

Once assigned, calibrators are notified via their Keka inbox. They can jump straight into action by selecting Calibrate Rating  from their inbox. Here, they have the power to review and adjust both the performance and potential ratings, ensuring that each employee is assessed accurately.

Reviewing Employee Performance

Calibrators have the option to review detailed review forms by clicking on the action button(1) next to each employee’s name. This step is critical as it provides context for the ratings and helps calibrators make informed decisions. After careful consideration and adjustments(2), the calibration can be finalized by clicking on Finalize Calibration(3). This step is vital as it locks in the ratings and changes made during calibration, solidifying the outcomes of the review cycle.

HR professionals & Performance Admins can then access the calibration dashboard from the post review sections to review these finalized ratings. As performance admins you can go ahead and calibrate any ratings by clicking calibrate from calibration dashboard.

As the team finalizes the calibration, Keka provides a summary of all changes. This summary includes the number of employees calibrated and a record of who made each adjustment. This ensures that HR has a clear and concise record of the calibration process before it is completed.

In essence, Keka HR's calibration tools not only streamline the technical process of adjusting ratings but also support the strategic HR goal of developing and maintaining a high-performing, motivated workforce aligned with the company's goals and culture. Through Keka, organizations can achieve a balance between recognizing individual achievements and maintaining collective standards, thereby fostering a fair, transparent, and development-focused performance management environment.