How do I know if I'm doing my job right? Rating scales for everyone.

Traditionally, workers in an organization are rated by the outcome or the immediate results they are able to produce for the company they work for. But research shows that in order for an organization to have a proper rating, there is a need to go deeper and look at sundry qualities and attributes a worker is able to demonstrate during the course of his work on a daily basis. The following list of qualities is as a result of research over seven major companies, most of them multinationals. Please note that some of them might be relevant to your organization and your job function, while others may not.So why not pick what's relevant to you?

Job knowledge and ability: How well do your know your job? Do you have the rudimentary knowledge to carry out basic tasks repeatedly with out consultancy or error?

Adaptability and flexibility: How good are you at adjusting to changing environments in the work place? Are you fixated and rigid in your disposition while your job requires that you be flexible and adaptable?

Productivity and output: Analyst often define the attribute of being productive or getting the right outcome as the most important in the work ethic, but a lot of research has shown that we need more than the outcome to rate a worker; thus there is a need for this write up to be importantly considered.  Outcomes and productivity are important, the final arbiter if you like, but there are other facto for the right output!

Attitude to work: The wrong attitude or behavior in the work place would eventually rs which contribute to the productivity of every person. Without these, it would be foolhardy to always looklead to disaster. Business schools all over the world teach that every member of an organization should have attitudes that could contribute to productivity and help the workforce achieve its goals and objectives rather than hinder them. Such attitudes include high motivation on the part of the worker, and great enthusisam.

Interaction is a very important attribute of the modern day worker, especially in environments where team work is a major issue. The modern organization thrives on pooling talent and working from a team perspective, believing that the pool of talent in the organization is enough to sustain it against competition and external threats. Interaction requires above board communication skills, and the ability to tolerate and get along with other people in the work environment.

Originality of thought is another concept that workers who require creativity to survive and excel at their jobs require. How original are your thoughts in the work place? Do you simply copy what other people think and create? Or do you, as often as possible, come up with a revolutionary idea or concept that changes everyone’s thinking and approach to issues for the better! Originality of thought encapsulates problem solving and initiative.

Perception is another attribute that every person in a work  place should have. Proper perception, mind you! Do we see things the same way and the right way? Does our perception hinder the overall success of the business process and eventually the output? We ought to see things the same way in the organization. Seeing them differently could sometimes mean damage to the very process of productivity and death to the organization.

Judgment and use of resources: Judgment and use of resources encapsulates things like plans, prioritizing and the ability to organize processes to the good of the organization first and perhaps the people later. Good judgment would always put the organization before the individual as French theorist Henri Fayol said “the whole is more important than any of the parts”. He was right when we consider putting the organization first.

Attendance and timekeeping is also important in various kinds of work. How often are we at work when we should be? Do we use our time appropriately? Management by objective theorist, Peter Drucker, advises that work will proceed better with maximum productivity if managers and subordinates agree on timelines, strategies and resources allotted to a project even before it begins.  The time element is crucial since predictably, those who agree to the time that should be spent on a project, and the timeline with which it should be used to reach its end, would try to keep to it.

Safety and awareness issues are highly relevant in high-risk environments like security functions, manufacturing and experimental workplaces as well as war zones and disease prone places. The ability to carry out functions under such conditions could often attract maximum reward to participants and team members.

Highly skilled workers and operatives generally need minimum supervision to perform their job functions. Where supervision is required, it should help those concerned develop their leadership abilities such that they could take the helm whenever the need arises.

Beyond productivity is the issue of performance against targets. How well do you perform against the targets set for you? Do you consistently hit or surpass those targets? This is usually a widely acceptable variable for rating people. But exigent factors like the environment, resources and politics often get in the way. In the final analysis, everyone is expected to perform with the resources given to him.