Rubrics are Back
I initially thought that I left rubrics behind when I transitioned from training to advising in my OD services, thinking of it solely as a learning tool. At that time, I used rubrics in competency-based learning systems for change agents and MSME entrepreneurship courses. I learned that competency-enrichment measures without proper rubrics tend to be subjective, relying heavily on the raters’ whims. Even if I use rubrics then, I realized that without timely updates, they become rigid and irrelevant over time. As my interest in competence learning waned, so did my use of rubrics.
I was Wrong!
Consider our academic organizations. The recent inclusion of K-12 curricula opened new courses such as web design, curation, and the broad acceptance of PowerPoint as a presentation tool. These forced the teachers not only to use and teach these multimedia skills but also abandon obsolete rubrics and explore new ones.
Rubrics is intrinsic in our organization life. Organization constantly evolves as it confronts changes (in talents, skills, processes, policies, strategies, and even culture) in the social, technology and competitive landscapes. Some competencies (say 21st century competencies of problem solving, creativity, communications) and skills (word processing, spreadsheets and presentations) are more stable than others. They may require extended use and updates of existing rubrics. So rubrics has a life cycle rather than ends.
What is Rubrics?
Ideally, organization use rubrics as a structured scoring guides for objectively evaluating and measuring various competencies, skills, and performance levels within the organization. It uses a well-defined and fair yardstick to examine say; productivity, use of assets, recruitment, learning quality, and specially, KPIs. It can help build a clear and laddered system that facilitates: (a) shared understanding of what proficient performance looks like in practice, (b) develop a common terminology and structure to organize evidence, (c) breaks the cycle of biased reviews, and (d) promotes consistent evaluation, feedback and learning. Looks like it lives in our organizations. With rubrics, organizations can communicate expectations to employees, assess their work fairly and efficiently, and provide them with informative feedback on their strengths and weaknesses.
Types
There are different types of rubrics in organizations: Analytic rubrics break down a task into its component parts and evaluate each part separately. Holistic rubrics evaluate the task as a whole and provide a single score. Developmental rubrics are used to evaluate progress over time and provide feedback on how to improve.
Best Practices
For the practitioners, some best practices in building and using rubrics are:
Define clear criteria. Define clear criteria for inclusive behaviors, communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.
Involve the right people. Involve the right mix of people in developing the rubrics to ensure that all important criteria are considered.
Ensure consistency. Ensure that several evaluators can use the rubric and would score performance within the same range.
Align with overall goals. Ensure that the criteria and expectations in the rubric are directly aligned with the overall goals of the organization.
Use interim assessments. Consider using interim assessments with projects or programs to check on progress and address performance issues early.
Make it a dialogue. Use rubrics to open up the floor for evaluations to be a dialogue rather than a one-sided conversation.
Be specific. Use rubrics to see the specific areas where improvement is needed and where to invest in training and development.
Creating Rubrics
To create a rubric for a unit in the organization, OD practitioners in collaboration with relevant colleagues can follow these steps:
1. Define the Purpose. Review the function of the organization unit under the performance measure under examination. What could be “good” or “unacceptable” performance. For example, a talent onboarding function.
2. Breakdown the Function as Dimensions. Break the unit’s function into meaningful dimensions, steps or stages. In our onboarding example: (a) pre-boarding (Day 1), (b) orientation, (c) the first week, (d) the first 90-days, (e) the first year. And for talent management, stages may include: (a) talent finding, (b) talent recruiting, (c) on-boarding, (d) talent managing and (e) talent developing.
3. Define the Quality Levels and Scores. What are the levels of achievement? Great [5], Good [4], Satisfactory [3], Fair [2], and Poor [1].
4. Describe each Performance Level. What specific feedback can be given for each level of each dimension? What evidence should there be to achieve a quality level of say “Great” in Task (a) for example. Say, “every new talent has been assigned to their respective departments and reporting to their supervisors.” Always use the language of the organization unit in crafting the performance levels.
5. Pilot Test Prior to Use.
Applications
Pressured to go digital, a medium-sized food processing firm shifted its marketing program from the aging 4 Ps Marketing (https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/4-ps-marketing/) to e-Commerce model. The new rubrics included dimensions such as clarity of the message, search engine optimization design, platform performance, delivery methods, and impact on the target audience. Each dimension is evaluated separately, and the scores are used to determine the overall effectiveness of the strategy.
Another large university extension uses rubrics for each set of talent management and development competencies. The rubrics are used to evaluate the staffs' performance on each competency, and the scores are used to determine the staffs' overall performance rating. The rubrics are also used to identify areas where the staffs need to improve and to develop individualized learning plans.
In the K-12 example above, teachers are again confronted with a sudden change: from mainly verbal to PowerPoint presentations. New rubrics are needed to assess not only the students' learning in the traditional sense but also how they use the new presentation technology. Much of the existing technology has developed so quickly that certain “project enhancers,” while pleasant and fun, are not evidence of a deeper understanding of the subject matter and could simply be a distraction. Undoubtedly, a new set of rubrics is required.
Rubricating the organization can lead to enhanced communication clarity, consistency, and effectiveness in performance evaluation, learning and management, thus contributing to improved performance. And given the widely accessible word processing and spreadsheets templates or driven by generative AI, making (or revising!) rubrics today has never been so easy.
Notes:
1. AI for Academics. This 3-day hands-on webinar is for educators, administrators, advocates, professors, researchers, trainers, facilitators and teachers (pursuing masters and PhD). It explores the convergence of AI with OD and education. Some topics: AI Under the Hood, AI and Training, AI in the Classroom, AI Apps, AI Roadmap, Ethics and Best Practices. AI will impact instruction, academic integrity, research methods, content creation, student support, school administration, and learning system organization. March 6, 7, and 11, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM via Zoom. E-mail or call: Cynthia Cruz at cecruz@saidi.edu.ph or 8-5545373.
2. 4th Data Analytics for MSMEs. 3 Saturdays (March 9 to 23) In-Person hands-on at the University of the Philippines Institute for Small Scale Universities (UPISSI) REGISTER NOW. REACH US AT: University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries Room 401, Fourth Floor, E. Virata Hall, E. Jacinto Street, UP Campus, Diliman Quezon City, Philippines 1101 Trunk Line: 8981-8500 loc. 4054 or connect to our Facebook site.
3. ODLab24 will happen on July 4 to 5 in Bacolod City. Save the date. Watch for more announcements in this space.