Absolute Ratings

Performance Management System, or Performance Appraisal – a major component in Performance Management System, uses many techniques and methods to evaluate and assess employees and groups in an organization. Absolute Ratings or Absolute Rating System is one of the methods used in Performance Appraisal, where each employee is assessed individually without enforcing a comparison with his colleagues or other employees in the industry. The system considers each employee as an entity and assumes exclusive performance.
How can an employee be rated without comparing his performance? Naturally the question stands. Absolute Rating method too adopts some comparison procedures, only that the

comparison of an employee’s performance is with some standards set by the management rather than with the performance of another employee. As a good practice in the industry, when an organization adopts absolute rating system to evaluate its employees, it is always good to start from a well prepared blueprint. This blueprint must consider many aspects, such as where to begin, what activities to be included, which employees to be included, what is the standard performance, and so on. More over, it is also important to communicate the set standards and evaluation procedure to the employees who are being evaluated.
An alternative to this method is Relative Rating System, where an employee is compared with the performance of another employee with similar designation and job roles. Although the later is easier to assume and implement, in long-run, absolute ratings win the race due to its impartial nature and standardized performance criteria. Absolute Rating System also can work as a direction as well as a self-monitor to employees when implemented carefully.