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Your people are the beating heart of your business. They want to understand what will make them successful now and in the future. If you as a leader are not giving them this clarity, your approach to performance management is broken.
Clearly defining each employee’s responsibilities and desired outcomes clarifies expectations for everyone. It helps your people focus their energy in the right areas. It also helps leaders identify talent gaps and develop employees to reach the next level.
It sounds like a win for everyone—and it is. But developing role definitions organization-wide is no small task.
Even if you know a role well, and you have a deep sense of its importance, you may struggle to put its characteristics into words. This is classic Bank Page Syndrome, and it puts your organization at serious risk. If employees and managers cannot reference clear definitions of roles and responsibilities, how can they uphold a high level of performance, and how can they understand what it will take to level up?
A Built-In HR Partner
Rhythm’s Job Scorecard tool provides an intentional, uniform template for documenting each employee’s role—and pulling in the strategic goals they are already working on as Desired Results. A robust Job Scorecard becomes a handy tool for hiring, a conversation-driver for one-on-ones, and of course, the core content of performance reviews. Employees and managers always know which items will be rated in a review, because those items are pulled directly from the Job Scorecard. No “gotcha” moments, no feelings of dread. The review process is much less stressful, because employees understand what is expected of them.
The exciting news is that Job Scorecards are about to become more efficient for leaders and their reports. We are finally living in a time where we no longer have to deal with Blank Page Syndrome, because we have AI as our partner. Rhythm Intelligence will make helpful suggestions for each role’s Job Scorecard content based on the data you provide. You will then be able to edit these suggestions or replace them entirely, refining the Scorecard until it is completely accurate.
Imagine a manager and employee working collaboratively with Rhythm Intelligence to create a Job Scorecard. Instead of wasting time staring at the screen or trying to come up with the right wording, they can generate high-quality suggestions with just a little input. They can then shape those ideas into an accurate and clear definition of the role. The cherry on top of the cake is that this will take minutes, not hours.
How much time will this save an organization of 50 employees? What about 100 employees? 500 employees?
Do Not Outsource Your Brain
As you partner with Rhythm Intelligence to craft impactful, valuable Job Scorecards, remember to do your share of the work. The content of an employee’s Scorecard is what they are responsible for—and what they will be reviewed on. This is not low-stakes paperwork that will be filed away and forgotten about. Each Scorecard needs time, thought, and discussion.
This process requires an intentional conversation between manager and employee. Is anything inaccurate, confusing, or unexpected? Should more emphasis be placed on a particular aspect of the employee’s role? Looking at the Scorecard, does the employee understand where they should focus their time and energy?
Nobody knows the role better than the person in it and that person’s leader. Enjoy the time saved by using Rhythm Intelligence to get started—but do not outsource your brain or forget how essential your human oversight is. Instead, repurpose the time saved into thoughtful conversations about the purpose of the role and what it will take to fulfill that purpose.
Inspire Employees by Investing in the Future
To build and maintain a thriving team, show employees that you truly care about their well-being and future. Engage their hearts and minds, and allow performance conversations to flow naturally towards their progress: “How do I help you develop the right skills and achieve the performance needed for your growth?”
Use the Job Scorecard conversation to discuss where they want to go: What do they most enjoy doing at work? What excites them? Help them chart a course for their career, and then align on how they should grow their skills, experience, and knowledge to get where they want to be. You can even draft a template Job Scorecard for a future role; this can become a playground to dream big about the future.
Demonstrate to your employees that you are not just concerned with their success today; you are even more concerned about their future. You want to make sure they can thrive months and years from now. When you care for them as human beings, they will be much more likely to see a long-term future with the business. Most will work enthusiastically and joyfully to make this vision a reality.
