Inside the App: Rater Reliability

More companies are adopting ongoing, real-time evaluations versus annual reviews, which aligns with employee requests for more frequent evaluations that help them grow and develop, and respond to challenges more immediately.

According to OfficeVibe, 96% of employees say they want to hear feedback regularly.

While frequent evaluations are important, the way evaluations are conducted are just as important to ensure effectiveness and a valuable experience for both the manager and the team member.

In order to provide constructive feedback, managers need to accurately and frequently track progress – the Truvelop app is a great tool, aggregating data – both from the manager and the employee – to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the team member’s performance.

Using the app, managers and employees can analyze challenges and opportunities for growth, monitor goals and track performance improvement plans.

Organizations that have made a strategic investment in employee development report 11% greater profitability and are twice as likely to retain their employees, according to Gallup.

However, in addition to accurate data, evaluations can also be influenced by a person’s mood and recent experience, which could negatively impact what otherwise may have been a decent review.

Maintaining an objective point of view, refraining from comparing employees, and keeping emotions out of the evaluation process can be difficult.

Everyone is guilty of practicing bias at one point or another. However, there are ways to mitigate the presence of bias in evaluations and ensure rater reliability.

What is Rater Reliability?

Rater reliability is the concept that when something is being assessed, it would get the same accurate score, no matter who is doing the rating. Ideally, high rater reliability means that the evaluator has accurate data and a clear picture of employee performance.

What happens when rater reliability is absent?

When objectivity is removed, rater bias takes place. This means that the rater gives a score that would not be completely accurate because they allowed emotions, fatigue, low focus, etc. to influence their evaluation process. If there is unchecked rater bias occurring during the evaluation process, then the data is skewed and does not present an accurate picture of employee performance.

Inside the App: How to Practice Rater Reliability in Truvelop

Before beginning an evaluation, take a moment to evaluate your own state of mind and current situation.

• What is my current mood? If you are in a more emotional state, try taking a couple of deep breaths until you feel yourself calm down.
• What is my current energy level? f you notice you are tired or are overly energized, this may not be the time to fill out the observation!
• Am I able to give this evaluation my full attention right now? Inattentiveness can drastically affect the accuracy of an evaluation.
• Am I able to fill out this evaluation objectively? Sometimes we need to separate the actions from the person so that we can give an accurate and objective assessment.
• Can I think of an example that would exemplify this rating? If we are able to think of concrete documented behaviors, actions, instances, etc., where the employee earned this rating, then we will likely have more accurate data. If we can provide evidence for a rating, then we are mitigating rater bias.

Truvelop provides managers and employees a detailed report based on aggregated data within the app. The more data we collect, the more accurate it will be. When managers frequently complete objective evaluations, they will have a clearer picture of each team member and where their team stands as a whole.

Contact us today to learn more about our modern approach to performance management and development that actually improves the manager and employee relationship. Don’t just take our word for it, see what our Customers have to say.