Effort, Attainment, and Character: A Feedback and Performance Review Study
The Acton Academy is a series of one-room schoolhouses founded on the belief that every child is a genius who has a special gift that can change the world.
The school’s educational style is rooted in the Socratic method, and the schools are run mostly by students. They use a system of points, badges, and 360 reviews to evaluate effort, attainment, and character. When I apply their system (slightly modified) to the workplace, a review system could look something like this:
Effort: Did you put your heart into it?
Attainment: Are you meeting the standard?
Culture & Character: Are you living the values and being an example for others?
You could evaluate these yes/no, or rate them on a scale with specific examples to support your decision. If you chose a 1-10 scale for each metric, you might say that any metric below 80% needs improvement and that the average of all three scores must be 80% or higher. If improvement is necessary, you’d determine an acceptable timeframe—perhaps two months in a row below average indicates you might need to have a more serious conversation, three months in a row below average and you might encourage someone to find their happiness elsewhere. Of course, you could also develop a system for rewarding positive contributions.
New Employees
With new employees, or employees learning new skills, attainment will always fall below effort. Until people become masters of their craft, it makes sense to track effort and progress. The Acton Academy has a framework for evaluating that too. (Again, I’m modifying this a bit)
New Employee/New Skill: Did you put your heart into it? (effort)
Two-Week Check-In: Is this time better than last time? (improvement)
One-Month Review: Are you meeting the standard? (meeting standards)
2+ Months: Compare your work to a master—are you as good as the best? (continual improvement and mastery)
Standards & Specificity
With any performance review system, specificity matters. A well-defined standard is a must. Those standards should mirror your values and cultural goals. For example, at Cat & Cloud, the standard for a barista might include strict barista skills (espresso prep, milk texture, latte art, etc.), general coffee knowledge, and guest experience. It doesn’t matter how good you are at making cappuccinos if you’re sucking the energy out of the room and the cafe is a mess.
I’m still digesting this, but here are three takeaways that apply directly to building healthy cultures and maintaining high standards at your business:
Mindset and attitude matter.
Effort and impact are not the same.
Not all nice/fun/rad people are cultural fits.