Find out the unintended outcomes of unconscious bias in performance management.

1. THE UNINTENDED OUTCOMES OF
UNCONSCIOUS
BIASin Performance Management

2. HR leaders
have a
problem.

3. Team managers can’t reliably
rate their employees.
Only one third of employees who score high
in their performance reviews are actually the
organization’s top contributors.

4. We end up with useless data
on employee performance
primarily because of bias.

5. The amalgamation of the
various biases that impact
performance reviews is called
the idiosyncratic
rater effect.

6. 61%of a rating is a reflection
of the manager, not the
employee.

7. Here are 6 biases
to watch for
in your performance
management system.

8. The halo effect occurs when our
impression of someone is skewed by
one positive trait, leading us to make
generalizations about them as a whole.

9. If an employee is outgoing and easy
to get along with, their manager
may unintentionally ignore that the
employee has consistently failed to
meet deadlines.
HOW IT SHOWS UP

10. Develop an evaluation matrix that encourages
managers to look at a broad range of traits and
skills AND that weights them evenly.
Provide tools to track common (or commonly
overlooked) concerns, like attendance or
missed deadlines.
Embrace the Bias: Help managers develop soft
skills so they can help their employees use their
strengths to overcome their weaknesses.
HOW TO OVERCOME
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11. The horns effect occurs when you focus
on a negative trait and you allow that to
overshadow the many positive traits a
person may have.
The Horns
Effect

12. A manager values a clean work area and a
peaceful environment while working, but
their employee is messy and loud. This may
produce an unfair evaluation (especially
without specific workplace guidelines).
HOW IT SHOWS UP
The Horns Effect

13. Encourage managers to begin any evaluation looking
at the positive traits. This will help put negative traits
into proper perspective.
Develop an evaluation matrix that encourages
managers to look at a broad range of traits and skills
AND that weights them evenly.
Embrace the Bias: Hold managers accountable
to their employee reviews. Embed into culture
that employee failure is a manager problem. And
give managers the soft skills to develop employee
weaknesses into strengths.
HOW TO OVERCOME
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2
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The Horns Effect

14. Recency bias occurs when
people tend to emphasize very
recent events or observations instead
of looking at events over time.
Recency
Bias

15. Recency bias can limit your ability to
measure overall productivity. Recent mistakes
(or successes) could end up being the primary
focus of the review rather than aggregating
performance throughout the year.
HOW IT SHOWS UP
Recency Bias

16. Hold weekly one-on-ones with a
clear goal.
Document one-on-ones well so that
they can replace or augment your annual
performance review process.
Embrace the Bias: Frequent check-ins
encourage managers to focus on
improving present and recent realities.
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Recency Bias
HOW TO OVERCOME

17. Similarity bias occurs because people are
more likely to imitate cultural models that
are seen as similar to that person, based
on specific traits.
Similarity
Bias

18. Hiring someone because they could be your
new best buddy won’t necessarily yield a
productive work environment or even a good
employee. A company that lacks diversity
may be limiting their innovation and growth.
HOW IT SHOWS UP
Similarity Bias

19. Recognize that no one is perfect. Include a pros and
cons list as an element of your performance reviews.
Replicate your diversity and inclusion policies.
Develop a culture that encourages managers diversify
their team’s personalities.
Embrace the Bias: Similarity bias can help build
manager/employee relationships. Keep this bias
in relationships but out of reviews by following a
framework. Keep all your conversations, including
performance reviews, on track by implementing a
standardized structure for big conversations.
HOW TO OVERCOME
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Similarity Bias

20. Contrast bias is the tendency to
mentally upgrade or downgrade
an object when comparing it to
a contrasting object.
Contrast
Bias

21. Contrast bias occurs when a manager compares
an employee’s performance to other employees
rather than an established company standard:
a manager gives a poor evaluation to an
employee meeting their goals because another
employee went beyond the standard.
HOW IT SHOWS UP
Contrast Bias

22. Create customized evaluations based on each
job description.
Adjust the wording in written evaluation
questions to compare the employee directly to
the job description.
Embrace the Bias: Redirect contrast bias to
help managers compare an employee’s current
performance to their previous performance.
Are they improving? Making progress toward
their goals?
HOW TO OVERCOME
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Contrast Bias

23. Conformity bias happens when we model
our behavior to fit the behavior of others,
rather than using our own judgment.
Conformity
Bias

24. Teams talk. If team members (or even
other managers) share a low opinion of an
employee, it can influence how the manager
holds the evaluation and the lens through
which they begin a conversation.
HOW IT SHOWS UP
Conformity Bias

25. Structure performance reviews around a specific
goal (outside of assigning an evaluation).
Structure performance reviews as a conversation
where both sides share their realities and options.
In fact, the employee should talk more than their
manager.
Embrace the Bias: In performance reviews and in
everyday conversations, encourage managers to stay
engaged and optimistic. If managers are consistent,
employees will conform to their manager’s mentality.
HOW TO OVERCOME
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Conformity Bias

26. You probably won’t be able
to completely eliminate
Idiosyncratic Rater Effect
from your performance
management system.

27. But you can
design your system to
accommodate those
biases and work to
minimize its effect.

28. Coaching
best practices
can be great first step in
eliminating biases in your
performance management.

29. Learn about 7 key practices
to redesign your performance
management in this article.
Read Now

30. Or chat with us about
your performance
management needs.
1.888.262.2448
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