Thanks for giving the article a thoughtful reading.
Second Inquiry: Thanks for responding, I agree. But, how would you reply to those who say "if you don't offer bonus pay for behavior results, employees won't see the value of the 360 process"? How else would you hold employees accountable for achieving high scores or acting on 360 results?
Denny: Here's how I answer this question: Four Motivations to Self-Improvement
More to the point, it's unrealistic and inappropriate to hold people accountable for 360 results, if that's all the organization has done to help them develop. It takes a lot more than assessment to change a people skill. The assessment results are just the beginning of development. See: A Familiar Tale of Woe...And a Solution
These articles are about the all-important reinforcement phase
of skill development.
The First Pillar of Reinforcement: Ongoing Learning
The Second Pillar of Reinforcement: Ongoing Feedback
The Third Pillar of Reinforcement: Coaching
Third Inquiry: One more question...I'd like to hear your thought on…How would you respond to those who say that if you offer bonuses to employees only for results (like sales) instead of behaviors then what's stopping them from competing, taking advantage of one another, compromising company values, or even worse obtaining good results (like sales) through the suffering of their employees? What's stopping employees? Leaders?
Denny: It's possible to have wonderful people skills and not get desired results. People are hired to get things done. It's that simple. So THAT is what should be REWARDED with bonuses. But not promotions. Promotions should be given based on potential for performance at the next higher level, as proven by past performance, observed and evaluated by management.
A good manager can establish expectations, monitor process, coach, counsel, etc. to let people know that "taking advantage of one another, compromising company values, or even worse obtaining good results (like sales) through the suffering of their employees" is not tolerated. Then get rid of the people who persist in these destructive behaviors. It's called leadership.
The simple fact is, if you reward/bonus better processes, you'll get better processes. But that definitely doesn't assure results. If you want better results, you should reward better results. They are two different aspects of performance. I think it's foolhardy to reward process with bonuses. Wrongheaded. The ideal way to follow through with process measurement is effective professional development - assessment, training, reinforcement, with the emphasis on the latter, which is where most of the learning happens...on the job.
