Assess performance and capabilities in an inclusive way

Performance Criteria – in my team, I…

  • Use a strength-based approach to capability assessment.
  • Am explicit about the assessment criteria.
  • Question assumptions about job and task requirements, qualifications, need to conform to norms, and “potential”.
  • Collect evidence for assessment in appropriate ways.
  • Avoid bias in assessing the performance and capabilities of others.
  • Provide feedback on performance and capability in an appropriate way.
  • Recognize that individuals can gain and demonstrate knowledge and skills in a variety of ways.
  • Demonstrate open and positive curiosity about people’s skills and capabilities.
  • Invite others to share their knowledge and experience with the team.

 


 

Definitions – what the terms used in this competency mean

  1. Assessment: formal, informal, diagnostic, formative, summative
  2. Feedback: formal, informal, verbal, written
  3. Appropriate ways: appropriate to the assessment criteria, and to the individual’s culture, personality, understanding, ability to express, objectives, career history, expertise
  4. Others: direct reports, peers, supervisors, managers, clients, suppliers
  5. Individual: team member, colleague and peer, candidate, applicant
  6. Evidence: work samples, witness testimony (from colleagues, supervisors, customers, suppliers), video of you performing

 

Required knowledge

  1. Assessment criteria
  2. Giving feedback
  3.  Biases:
    • Common biases related to dimensions of diversity
    • Common cognitive biases that affect decision-making (e.g. confirmation bias)
    • How to identify one’s own biases
  4. Assessment tools and methods
  5. Foreign credential recognition resources and tools
  6. Objective knowledge of the role / task (e.g. required qualifications vs. nice to have)

 


 

Example(s) – what might this look like in practice?

  • In an upward feedback process, you provide specific behavioral examples of situations when your manager’s actions did not feel inclusive.
  • In a meeting to review employee potential and performance, the HR advisor challenges underlying assumptions about “appropriate style” of people with leadership potential.
  • To uncover your own personal biases, you review the candidates for promotion with your HR Advisor, specifically asking him to challenge your choices.
  • A supervisor asks a colleague to provide an additional perspective on a recent incident to avoid a misunderstanding due to cultural differences.

 


 

Related resources – Strengthen your competencies with TRIEC Learning

E-Learning: Understanding cultural competence
 E-Learning: Unconscious Bias in Resume Screening
 E-Learning: Inclusive Interviewing
 E-Learning: Performance Management
Printable resource: Typical Tasks in Preparation for the Performance Appraisal Meeting