Performance Evaluation Criteria

✨ New resource: a PM Performance Evaluation template Throughout my 15+ years as a PM, I’ve consistently felt that ladder-based PM performance evaluations seem broken, but I couldn’t quite find the words to describe why. Early on in my PM career, I was actually part of the problem — I happily created or co-created elaborate PM ladders in spreadsheets, calling out all sorts of nuances between what “Product Quality focus” looks like at the PM3 level vs. at the Sr. PM level. (looking back, it was a non-trivial amount of nonsense — and having seen several dozens of ladder spreadsheets at this point, I can confidently say this is the case for >90% of such ladder spreadsheets) So that led me to develop the Insight-Execution-Impact framework for PM Performance Evaluations, which you can see in the picture below. I then used this framework informally to guide performance conversations and performance feedback for PMs on my team at Stripe — and I have also shared this with a dozen founders who’ve adapted it for their own performance evaluations as they have established more formal performance systems at their startups. And now, you can access this framework as an easy to update & copy Coda doc (link in the comments). How to use this template as a manager? In a small company that hasn’t yet created the standard mess of elaborate spreadsheet-based career ladders, you might consider adopting this template as your standard way of evaluating and communication PM performance (and you can marry it with other sane frameworks such as PSHE by Shishir Mehrotra to decide when to promote a given PM to the next level e.g. GPM vs. Director vs. VP). In a larger company that already has a lot of legacy, habits, and tools around career ladders & perf, you might not be able to wholesale replace your existing system & tools like Workday. That is fine. If this framework resonates with you, I’d still recommend that you use it to actually have meaningful conversations with your team members around planning what to expect over the next 3 / 6 / 9 months and also to provide more meaningful context on their performance & rating. When I was at Stripe, we used Workday as our performance review tool, but I first wrote my feedback in the form of Insight - Execution - Impact (privately) and then pasted the relevant parts of my write-up into Workday. So that’s it from me. Again, the link to the template is in the comments. And if you want more of your colleagues to see the light, there’s even a video in that doc, in which I explain the problem and the core framework in more detail. I hope this is useful.

It’s performance evaluation season again. Goals reviewed. Ratings assigned. Boxes checked. But I can’t help asking: Are we still measuring performance for the world we used to operate in—or the one we’re actually in today? Most performance systems are built on assumptions that no longer hold true: • Predictable environments • Static roles • Linear goals • Individual contribution over collective impact In a world defined by digital dexterity, rapid change, and AI-enabled work, performance can’t be evaluated only by what was delivered. It must also reflect how fast we learned, how well we adapted, and how effectively we leveraged technology and teams. What should change? ✔️ From rigid annual goals → dynamic outcomes that evolve with the business ✔️ From “culture fit” → culture contribution and curiosity ✔️ From individual heroics → networked impact and collaboration ✔️ From effort and hours → insight, speed, and leverage of digital tools ✔️ From avoiding failure → learning velocity and intelligent risk-taking High performers today aren’t just executors. They are sense-makers, connectors, experimenters, and continuous learners. If our performance frameworks don’t recognize: • comfort with ambiguity • data-driven decision making • responsible use of AI and automation • ability to unlearn and relearn …then we risk rewarding the wrong behaviors and slowing down the very transformation we say we want. Performance evaluation should no longer be a backward-looking scorecard. It should be a forward-looking conversation about readiness for what’s next. The question leaders should be asking isn’t: “Did you meet your goals?” But rather: “Did you help the organization become more capable for the future?” Would love to hear how others are rethinking performance in the age of digital work. #Leadership #PerformanceManagement #DigitalDexterity #FutureOfWork #AI #Transformation #Talent

Does employee performance at your company rely on a single, a once-a-year rating? Are you optimizing for storytelling or outcomes? How we measure performance directly impacts the results we get. In order to leverage performance systems to compound employee impact, we need to look holistically, at data captured over time to understand trajectory and velocity of employee outcomes. Here are 5 ways to evaluate performance beyond the 5-point scale: ➤ Level Progression: Progression measured by performance across competencies for their role at their level (which can go up or down over time, but generally show the directionality of someone's progress). ➤ Growth Rate: How are employees performing in their level, over time? Growth rate measured by % of change over time (up or down). Rather than subjective "potential" see potential through growth velocity of individuals or teams. ➤ Skill Density: Measure of performance across specific skill dimension. Enables you to benchmark strengths or weaknesses (e.g., IC4s light on "Execution") by function, level, geo and other factors. ➤ Alignment Rate: Are managers and employees aligned on performance expectations? If yes, performance improves, if no, it goes down. Alignment rate is measured by how employees rate themselves vs, their manager. The more dimensions, the greater the alignment potential. ➤ Distribution: Not looking for a bell curve here, but understanding talent density. How do you get the most employees performing their best, and are folks evaluated properly? Why this is different: • Transparent performance expectations and observable behaviors • Focus on nuances of individual performance and growth trends • Alignment as an improvable metric to achieve greater outcomes • Fosters proactive performance improvement (vs. corrective PIPs) 👉 Want the 60-min crash course on building a modern performance program (levels, frameworks, feedback, goals, assessments)? Comment “crash course.” Tagging a few folks here that I know are focused on performance transformation (give them a follow!): Russ Laraway, Lissa Minkin, Shelby Wolpa, Kim Minnick, Jessica Z.

Performance Appraisal Form –Performance appraisals are not just about ratings — they’re about growth, feedback, and future planning. To help HR professionals streamline this process, I’m sharing a comprehensive Performance Appraisal Form that covers: ✔️ Employee self-evaluation ✔️ Supervisor & HOD ratings ✔️ Clear scoring standards (Outstanding → Unsatisfactory) ✔️ Key factors like job knowledge, leadership, communication, problem-solving, etc. ✔️ HR-focused metrics (attendance, achievements, improvement, etc.) ✔️ Structured comments & development planning This template is practical, easy to customize, and ensures both fairness and clarity in evaluations. Let’s make performance reviews more meaningful and employee-focused! 🚀 #HR #PerformanceAppraisal #EmployeeGrowth #HRCommunity #PerformanceManagement

Here's how one company made reviews more objective with just 5 key questions. Crystal Boysen, CPO at Sprout Social, shared how they transformed their performance process. Instead of subjective essays, they now use 5 simple rating-scale questions: 1. "How well did this person consistently achieve their performance targets?" (1-5) 2. "What's their overall impact on the company/team?" (1-5) 3. "If they told you today they were leaving, would you fight to keep them?" (1-5) 4. "Does this person have an immediate performance problem that needs addressing?" 5. "How well do they demonstrate our values?" (1-5) The magic? Their system auto-calculates recommended ratings based on these responses. No more manager bias. No more writing novels. Key benefits: - Saves managers tons of time - More objective/consistent ratings - Clear connection to compensation decisions - Better data for identifying top performers What's the biggest pain point in your performance review process? Link to the full episode in the comments. #hr #leadership #management #performancemanagement

Hybrid and Remote Team Performance Evaluations – Traditional performance evaluations don’t work for hybrid and remote teams. Relying on “time in the office” or quarterly reviews leads to frustration, misalignment, and concerns about career growth. – A better approach? Frequent, structured check-ins. Weekly or biweekly reviews keep employees engaged, provide real-time feedback, and ensure continuous professional development. Employees submit a short report on accomplishments, challenges, and goals, and managers provide timely feedback before a brief meeting. – This system prevents surprises in quarterly reviews, strengthens communication, and keeps employees accountable without micromanaging. It also helps supervisors guide professional growth, ensuring that remote and hybrid employees don’t feel overlooked. – The future of performance evaluation is clear: data-driven, frequent, and focused on impact—not just hours logged. Companies that embrace this shift will see higher engagement, better retention, and stronger results. Read more in my article for Quality Digest https://lnkd.in/gVGmNtHv