Ryan, I think some forms of drafting and ranking already exist in the workplace but it would be an interesting experiment to see if a more transparent process would work.
Bill McDermott talked last month on CNBC about how SAP technology will improve Fantasy Football, expediting statistical analysis and improving the user experience. I blogged about the subject this week, and it's riveting stuff, I assure you.
Forced ranking in the workplace is a slippery slope. Proceed with caution:
Forced ranking is a relic of an HR tool (FT)
Novations Group Survey Uncovers Growing Disenchantment with Forced Ranking Performance Management Systems (date is 2004, but this is a widely cited study)
Excellent citations, Ray. My initial thoughts about forced ranking paralleled those of Peter Bregman in his Harvard Business Review article: It would stifle creativity and discourage teamwork. Andrew Hill's points in The Financial Times were equally compelling.
Hi Derek:
I reviewed my own citations, and thought a little more about it. I think it is very easy to confuse sorting with ranking, especially in HCM. Sorting happens when we evaluate performance inputs: 40 yrd dash, bench press, experience with prior football programs, etc. But ranking occurs when we evaluate outputs: touchdowns, yrds per carry, Pro Bowl appearances, etc. Thus, we sort applicants, but rank employees, and need to be very careful that we don't use sorting criteria (or sorting results especially) to rank peformance.
Forced Distribution, as I have known it called before, is a terrible way of making high-performing people realize that there is little point in performing very well if you can't be the top 2 or 3 performers. It usually proves to employees that the company is more focused in limiting its financial rewards to its staff, whether this is the desired purpose or not.
Hi Luke:
Agree...it proceeds from the notion that talent is both scarce and is something "you either got or you don't", and is reinforced by the structure in flat organizations, where upward progression may be limited to 2 or 3 spots.
Additionally, a lot of managers have graduated from MBA programs that practice forced ranking for grading, or have worked in "up-or-out" professional service firms that also apply such evaluation. It is deep in our psyches, and we often assume that because it is a widespread practice it must also be valid.
There is a lot of be said for good ranking schemes, but even some of the most heavily scrutinized ones are not without a lot of controversy, for example the Bowl Championship Series for college football in the US.
I know it may seem like my standard answer, but I think data and analytics can help us do better than what we are doing now, even if it includes forced ranking.
