{"id":124646,"date":"2024-03-19T16:18:39","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T20:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=124646"},"modified":"2024-03-22T14:42:37","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T18:42:37","slug":"scaling-people-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/scaling-people-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Scaling People: Book Overview (Claire Hughes Johnson)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What&#8217;s Claire Hughes Johnson&#8217;s book <em>Scaling People<\/em> about? What&#8217;s the greatest resource every company has? How can you ensure you&#8217;re hiring the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hiring-the-right-people\/\">right people<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast-growing companies often focus on scaling key aspects of their business, such as their sales, marketing budgets, and manufacturing processes. However, according to <em>Scaling People<\/em>, they often forget to focus on their greatest resource: their people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read below for a brief <em>Scaling People<\/em> book overview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-scaling-people-by-hughes-johnson\"><strong><em>Scaling People<\/em> by Hughes Johnson<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/press.stripe.com\/scaling-people\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Scaling People<\/em><\/a> book, Claire Hughes Johnson outlines the <strong>four key processes you should implement to successfully manage employees in a high-growth envirogcnment<\/strong>. As a former executive at Google and chief operating officer at Stripe, Hughes Johnson has years of experience <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-manage-employees\/\">managing employees<\/a> that she distills into accessible tips throughout <em>Scaling People<\/em>. As a faculty member at Harvard Business School, she also has a great deal of experience teaching younger, more inexperienced managers how to implement her strategies for success.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we\u2019ll focus on Hughes Johnson\u2019s four key processes: uniform, company-wide structures that all growing companies need to employ to operate efficiently. These four processes aren\u2019t the <em>only <\/em>keys to success\u2014Hughes Johnson clarifies that you also need committed individuals who run these processes\u2014however, they form the foundation of her approach to management:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Process #1 involves setting the foundation for success by defining your guiding principles and solidifying your operating system.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Process #2 involves hiring the right candidates by building a promising hiring pipeline and conducting consistent interviews.<\/li><li>Process #3 involves turning these new hires into thriving teams by evaluating their strengths, creating a healthy environment, and delegating the right amount of work.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Process #4 involves continuously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-coach-employees\/\">coaching employees<\/a> by providing informal feedback and formal reviews.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-process-1-setting-the-foundation-for-long-term-success\"><strong>Process #1: Setting the Foundation for Long-Term Success<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson\u2019s first process for managers involves setting the foundation for long-term growth, both in your company and in your employees. In this section, we\u2019ll examine two of the key steps for building this foundation: codifying your company\u2019s guiding principles and developing your company\u2019s <em>operating system <\/em>(the set of norms that outline how your company functions).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-codify-your-key-principles\"><strong>Codify Your Key Principles<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>To ensure that your company has a clear identity to guide its business model from the beginning, Hughes Johnson recommends that you <strong>codify your company\u2019s key principles in a set of <\/strong><strong><em>guiding papers<\/em><\/strong><strong>. <\/strong>She says that these guiding papers should include four components: your company\u2019s mission, long-term targets, key values, and team charters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-component-1-company-mission\">Component #1: Company Mission<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>First, Hughes Johnson recommends drafting a <em>mission statement<\/em>\u2014that is, <strong>a concise statement outlining why your company exists<\/strong>. She clarifies that such statements should be unique to your company and ambitious\u2014unique because they lose value if other companies can repeat your mission verbatim, and ambitious because they need to propel your company\u2019s growth over the long term. For example, a coffee company aiming to produce ethically sourced coffee at a reasonable price might have the following mission statement: \u201cTo eradicate unethical coffee sourcing practices in developing countries and provide high-quality coffee at fair prices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-component-2-long-term-targets\">Component #2: Long-Term Targets<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Because mission statements often tend to be abstract, Hughes Johnson explains that <strong>companies should also codify several concrete long-term targets <\/strong>that can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/motivate-employees-as-a-manager\/\">motivate employees<\/a> and orient the company\u2019s actions. For instance, a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/sports-betting-industry\/\">sports betting<\/a> company might have the following long-term targets: \u201cEarn 5% of the sports betting market share in three years; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/increase-revenue\/\">increase revenue<\/a> by 20% annually for the next five years; and develop three features that differentiate our sportsbook from competitors.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-component-3-values\">Component #3: Values<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson notes that while long-term targets establish your company\u2019s aims, <strong>writing down your values establishes your company\u2019s culture<\/strong>. She writes that when you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-determine-your-values\/\">choose your values<\/a>, the most important consideration is that they\u2019re authentic\u2014otherwise, your employees will recognize that they\u2019re contrived and derive little motivation from them. For this reason, she recommends <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/seek-feedback\/\">seeking feedback<\/a> from your employees about your values to ensure they\u2019re true to your company. Apple employees, for example, might say they value creativity, ingenuity, and innovation, since Apple\u2019s goal is to drive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-advancement-of-technology\/\">technological progress<\/a> worldwide.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-component-4-team-charters\">Component #4: Team Charters<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, to provide employees with guidance on a more fine-grained level, Hughes Johnson recommends <strong>drafting a team charter to clarify the purpose of each individual team<\/strong>. Such documents, she explains, provide valuable clarity to team members about their specific goals and responsibilities\u2014unlike the mission statement, which is focused on the company\u2019s bigger picture. In particular, she argues that team charters are essential in phases of rapid growth, since these phases often cause confusion about team members\u2019 specific roles while the company is evolving.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-develop-your-operating-system\"><strong>Develop Your Operating System<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson notes that while your guiding principles lay the groundwork for your company, <strong>your <\/strong><strong><em>operating system<\/em><\/strong><strong>\u2014the set of underlying norms that outline how your company functions\u2014allows your company to function effectively each day<\/strong>. We\u2019ll discuss three subsystems that are essential to your overall operating system: constructing strategy, ensuring accountability, and fostering communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-subsystem-1-strategy\">Subsystem #1: Strategy<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>First, Hughes Johnson explains that <strong>companies need a dedicated system for determining their strategy<\/strong> because they\u2019re liable to run amok without such a system. At its core, a company\u2019s strategy involves decisions about where to allocate resources (especially people and money) by deciding which potential sources of growth deserve more or less focus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To make these decisions, Hughes Johnson advises company leaders to reflect on their financial status and goals for the next year. Then, leaders should make projections about the potential costs and returns of different projects to decide how many employees, and how much money, to allocate to any given project. For example, if Meta expected its virtual reality platform to generate 10% of the company\u2019s revenue, it might not be strategically prudent to allocate more than 10% of its total budget to the virtual-reality team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-subsystem-2-accountability\">Subsystem #2: Accountability<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>To best implement your strategic plans, Hughes Johnson points out that <strong>you need clear accountability standards that identify who\u2019s responsible for which aspects of a project<\/strong>; otherwise, task assignments won\u2019t be clear, leading to shoddy execution. For instance, if Google\u2019s self-driving car team didn\u2019t clearly delineate who was responsible for which aspects of the project (such as the software, the lane assist, and the steering), the team would be in disarray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Further, to retain strong accountability throughout the course of a project, Hughes Johnson recommends that you <strong>meet with your team each week to review progress<\/strong>. She explains that such meetings are pivotal for keeping team members in the loop, as well as affording the team a chance to re-evaluate their approach if the project is proving unsuccessful.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-subsystem-3-communication\">Subsystem #3: Communication<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as team meetings keep members on the same page,<strong> company-wide forms of communication keep your entire company up to date on key developments<\/strong>. Hughes Johnson explains that by creating clear lines of communication, you can cultivate trust from your employees because they won\u2019t fear missing out on important information. And although she acknowledges that every company has different communicative needs, she asserts that candid, easily accessible information is essential to every organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-process-2-hiring-the-right-people\"><strong>Process #2: Hiring the Right People<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Having seen how to lay a promising foundation to support your company\u2019s long-term growth, the next process is to <em>hire<\/em> individuals who can propel you toward this growth. In this section, we\u2019ll examine Hughes Johnson\u2019s recommendations about developing a thriving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/recruiting-pipeline\/\">recruiting pipeline<\/a> to draw top talent to your company and then hiring the best candidates from that pipeline to fill your teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-build-your-recruiting-pipeline\"><strong>Build Your Recruiting Pipeline<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The first step to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/right-person-for-the-right-job\/\">hiring the right person<\/a>, Hughes Johnson explains, is to <strong>build a recruiting pipeline that attracts talent to your organization<\/strong>. She offers an array of strategies for developing this pipeline, of which we\u2019ll discuss three: Write transparent job descriptions, evaluate previous applicants, and use referrals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-strategy-1-write-transparent-job-descriptions\">Strategy #1: Write Transparent Job Descriptions<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Hughes Johnson, it\u2019s tempting to write job descriptions that attempt to win over applicants by painting a warm picture of your company. But she argues that such descriptions are often counterproductive, as they obscure the aspects of the job that allow you to attract the right applicants. She contends that <strong>job descriptions should offer a transparent picture of the role and its responsibilities. <\/strong>For instance, instead of highlighting how your team members are all light-hearted people who hang out together on the weekends, focus on the concrete tasks and skills required of successful applicants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-strategy-2-evaluate-previous-applicants\">Strategy #2: Evaluate Previous Applicants<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to outlining the hard skills (concrete skills, like proficiency with coding languages) necessary for a role, Hughes Johnson recognizes that you also need to attract talent with the necessary soft skills (intangible skills, such as a knack for clear communication). To that end, she recommends <strong>assessing applicants whom you\u2019ve previously hired for similar roles<\/strong>, focusing especially on the commonalities between applicants who became successful employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, imagine you\u2019re hiring for a new software engineer\u2014in this case, you should evaluate your most successful software engineers and look for similarities. If you then discover that most of these engineers are especially effective communicators with exceptional <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-manage-time-efficiently\/\">time management skills<\/a>, you can add these skills to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/job-role-vs-job-description\/\">job description<\/a> to attract similar applicants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-strategy-3-use-referrals\">Strategy #3: Use Referrals<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond evaluating the skills of successful employees, Hughes Johnson also recommends that you <strong>leverage your employees\u2019 networks by leaning heavily on referrals<\/strong>. She reasons that, assuming you\u2019ve hired strong employees in the past, these employees will likely know other similarly strong candidates they can refer. Consequently, by soliciting referrals from your current employees, you can focus on a smaller pool of applicants rather than sifting through hordes of applicants with no ties to your company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hire-the-right-person-for-the-job\"><strong>Hire the Right Person for the Job<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>After you\u2019ve created a healthy hiring pipeline, the next task is to hire the correct individuals for any open roles. According to Hughes Johnson, doing so requires two steps: a consistent interview process and a collaborative <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/methods-of-decision-making-crucial-conversations\/\">decision-making<\/a> process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-step-1-the-interview-process\">Step #1: The Interview Process<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson explains that <strong>you should implement a straightforward and consistent assessment rubric throughout the interview process<\/strong>. Otherwise, you\u2019ll have no uniform criteria against which to judge candidates, making you more susceptible to hiring someone for the wrong reasons (for example, if you found them charming). Moreover, because Hughes Johnson recommends having multiple interviewers meet with each candidate, she advises that you train these interviewers to use your standardized rubric when assessing each candidate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-step-2-the-decision-making-process\">Step #2: The Decision-Making Process<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>After the interview process, it comes time to decide which candidates to hire. For this step, Hughes Johnson recommends that you <strong>embrace a collaborative approach to decision-making<\/strong>, in which the hiring manager ultimately decides whether to hire a given applicant, but only does so after listening carefully to the views of the hiring committee. This approach has two benefits: First, it allows hiring managers to hear the insights of their committees, which often supplement the managers\u2019 initial assessments. Second, because this process leaves the ultimate decision in the hiring manager\u2019s hands, it allows them to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/accepting-responsibility\/\">take responsibility<\/a> for the decision.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-process-3-building-and-sustaining-thriving-teams\"><strong>Process #3: Building and Sustaining Thriving Teams<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson recognizes that the work isn\u2019t finished after you\u2019ve hired the best candidates to round out your team. On the contrary, you must take active steps to integrate these new employees successfully into the team. In this section, we\u2019ll examine three of the steps that Hughes Johnson recommends for building\u2014and sustaining\u2014effective teams: evaluating your team members, developing a healthy environment, and deciding when to delegate tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-step-1-evaluate-your-team-members\"><strong>Step #1: Evaluate Your Team Members<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson relates that <strong>the first step toward creating a thriving team involves assessing your team members<\/strong> to see whether they\u2019re capable of meeting their goals. To do so, she advises that you utilize Max Landsberg\u2019s <em>skill-will matrix<\/em> to assess team members along two dimensions: their competency for completing their tasks (skill) and their drive to do so (will).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With respect to skill, Hughes Johnson notes that there are two possibilities. First, it\u2019s possible that a team member will have too <em>little<\/em> skill, in which case she recommends either training the team member or hiring new team members who already have the requisite skills. Second, it\u2019s possible that a team member will have too <em>much <\/em>skill, such that their tasks will bore them because they\u2019re insufficiently challenging. In this case, she advises that you shift your team\u2019s goals so that they\u2019re more demanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With respect to will, Hughes Johnson says there are two analogous possibilities. First, a team member might have too little will, leading them to work inefficiently. If that\u2019s the case, she suggests that you try to reorient the team member around the team\u2019s mission. For example, if you were managing a marketing team for a healthcare company, you could remind unmotivated team members of your mission to (say) provide affordable healthcare for low-income families. Alternatively, a team member might have too <em>much <\/em>will, which Hughes Johnson warns can lead them to set <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/impossible-expectations\/\">unrealistic expectations<\/a> that they can\u2019t meet. In this case, she recommends explicitly setting expectations so that team members aren\u2019t setting themselves up for failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-step-2-decide-when-to-delegate-tasks\"><strong>Step #2: Decide When to Delegate Tasks<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson contends that, after you\u2019ve assessed your team members\u2019 competencies and motivation, the next step is to start delegating assignments centered around your team\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For context, she explains that managers who delegate tasks too <em>frequently<\/em> or too <em>infrequently <\/em>risk harming the teams they\u2019ve built. On the one hand, when managers delegate tasks all the time, they often overwork their teams and place too much responsibility in employees\u2019 hands too quickly. On the other, managers who never delegate tasks run the risk of taking on too much work and leaving their team members insufficiently challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To strike the perfect balance, Hughes Johnson suggests that you <strong>evaluate every task along two dimensions\u2014its consequences and its reversibility\u2014and only handle tasks that you can\u2019t afford to mess up (those with serious, irreversible consequences)<\/strong>. For example, if wealthy investors ask for a presentation on your company to decide whether to invest, the presentation itself would have crucial ramifications with no opportunity for a do-over. In such cases, the stakes are high enough that you should perform the task yourself. But, according to Hughes Johnson, you should delegate all <em>other <\/em>types of tasks to your team, because such tasks are good learning opportunities for them and also because delegating them affords you more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/time-to-focus\/\">time to focus<\/a> on higher-stakes tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-step-3-develop-a-healthy-team-environment\"><strong>Step #3: Develop a Healthy Team Environment<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>After you\u2019ve started delegating work to your team members to tackle key projects, Hughes Johnson\u2019s final step is to <strong>continuously<\/strong> <strong>develop a healthy team environment that establishes a safe culture of open expression and trust<\/strong>. According to Hughes Johnson, there are two primary modes of establishing this environment: offsites, which are multiple-day events that take place outside of the office, and regular meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-process-4-mentor-your-employees\"><strong>Process #4: Mentor Your Employees<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson recognizes that management\u2019s work doesn\u2019t end upon the formation of a thriving team. On the contrary, she holds that managers should continue to develop the skills of their employees through active instruction. In this section, we\u2019ll discuss her informal approach to helping employees through inquisitive coaching<em> <\/em>and her formal approach of using official performance reviews.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-approach-1-inquisitive-coaching\"><strong>Approach #1: Inquisitive Coaching<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson relates that one approach that has proven effective for her is <em>hypothesis-based coaching<\/em>\u2014which we\u2019ll call inquisitive coaching\u2014in which you informally share your observations of your employees to guide them to better performance. Inquisitive coaching has three steps: First, observe your employees carefully; second, identify any persistent shortcomings; and third, share these findings tactfully with your employees.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-step-1-observe-your-employees\">Step #1: Observe Your Employees<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Before you attempt to provide any feedback, Hughes Johnson advises you to <strong>carefully observe your employees\u2019 performance in various situations. <\/strong>She explains that, because different strengths and weaknesses will emerge in different circumstances, waiting until you\u2019ve seen your employees across these circumstances can provide you with a fuller picture of their tendencies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-step-2-identify-shortcomings\">Step #2: Identify Shortcomings<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson writes that after enough time spent in observation, <strong>you\u2019ll be able to identify consistent shortcomings that afflict individual team members<\/strong>, as well as certain strengths. For example, you might find that one of your team members excels whenever they work on projects without strict deadlines but tends to become inefficient whenever you impose a deadline. Further, Hughes Johnson explains that the longer you look for patterns among your team members, the more effective you\u2019ll become at identifying them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-step-3-share-your-thoughts\">Step #3: Share Your Thoughts<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>After you\u2019ve identified possible shortcomings that hinder your employees, Hughes Johnson recommends that you <strong>share your observations with them so they can continue to grow<\/strong>. However, she clarifies that you must be tactful to do so: You shouldn\u2019t frame your observations as a judgment about them as a <em>person<\/em>, but rather about their <em>behavior <\/em>and its effect on their performance. For instance, rather than telling someone \u201cI\u2019ve noticed that you consistently underperform when you\u2019re under time pressure,\u201d try saying, \u201cI\u2019ve noticed that time pressure can make it difficult for you to finish projects on time.\u201d By focusing on an external circumstance rather than an internal failing, you remove any semblance of blame from your observation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, Hughes Johnson advises you to <strong>work together with your team members to investigate problems<\/strong>, rather than telling them what to do. She explains that when you order someone on your team to address a personal shortcoming, they\u2019re often put on the defensive and become reluctant to help. By contrast, when you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/career-progression-plan\/\">position yourself<\/a> as a mutual investigator of the problem, you become a collaborator, making your team members more receptive to your thoughts and suggestions. For example, instead of simply telling a team member who struggles with time pressure to implement a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-schedule-your-day-2\/\">daily schedule<\/a>, you could instead ask, \u201cWhat measures do you think you should implement to address the time pressure?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-approach-2-formal-reviews\"><strong>Approach #2: Formal Reviews<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>While Hughes Johnson\u2019s intuitive approach to coaching is an informal process that occurs throughout the year, she also points out that <strong>managers should implement formal reviews that occur on a consistent basis<\/strong>. Such reviews have three parts: gathering feedback from various sources, adjusting that feedback to account for irregularities, and determining any changes to compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-part-1-gather-feedback\">Part #1: Gather Feedback<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>First, Hughes Johnson writes that you should collect feedback about your employees from three sources: <strong>the employees themselves, their co-workers, and yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To begin, ask each reviewee to submit a brief self-assessment that summarizes their accomplishments, highlights their strengths, and discusses one potential area of improvement. Because your employees are often most aware of their own work, their reports could provide insights that you\u2019ve missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, choose a handful of each reviewee\u2019s co-workers who are especially familiar with the reviewee\u2019s work to give feedback on their performance. Whereas the reviewee might be motivated by self-interest, their co-workers should be able to give more candid assessments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, after you\u2019ve taken each reviewee\u2019s self-assessment and peer assessments into consideration, write down your own feedback report, discussing the reviewee\u2019s accomplishments, strengths, and weaknesses. In particular, Hughes Johnson suggests rating employees on a concrete five-point scale, from \u201cdoes not meet expectations\u201d to \u201cgreatly exceeds expectations,\u201d which will inform your later decision on whether to promote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-part-2-adjust-feedback\">Part #2: Adjust Feedback<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Hughes Johnson recognizes that biases and other suboptimal circumstances can influence performance reviews. For example, you might find that women consistently receive worse evaluations than men, or that one manager consistently rates employees lower than other managers. For this reason, you should <strong>use data analysis to track performance ratings from different managers and across different demographic groups.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She points out that by analyzing performance ratings, you can identify any abnormalities in the review process and dig deeper into them. For instance, if you notice that one manager provides significantly higher ratings than other managers, you could carefully re-evaluate the employees to see whether they\u2019re <em>actually<\/em> performing better than those on other teams, or whether the manager is being too generous.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-part-3-determine-changes-to-compensation\">Part #3: Determine Changes to Compensation<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, after you\u2019ve gathered and adjusted your feedback, it\u2019s time to <strong>rely on your <em>compensation philosophy <\/em>to determine whether to give your employee a raise<\/strong>. Your compensation philosophy, Hughes Johnson explains, is your guiding framework for determining how much compensation any given employee should receive. And although she doesn\u2019t offer concrete advice for establishing a compensation philosophy, she suggests that incorporating some component of merit\u2014such that higher performance is met with higher compensation\u2014is a prudent way to continue to motivate your employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What&#8217;s Claire Hughes Johnson&#8217;s book Scaling People about? What&#8217;s the greatest resource every company has? How can you ensure you&#8217;re hiring the right people? Fast-growing companies often focus on scaling key aspects of their business, such as their sales, marketing budgets, and manufacturing processes. However, according to Scaling People, they often forget to focus on their greatest resource: their people. 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