During the job hunting process, we focus on finding a great role that suits our skills and goals. But the company we work for also has a big influence on our job satisfaction.
During a job interview you can get a hint of how a team works and what the work environment looks like. But in order to find out if a company actually suits you, you need more information.
You can ask these questions to REALLY understand how a company works. And if it suits YOU.
Go on to read about question 1!
“What type of performance management process does this company have?”
Companies can assess your performance in many different ways. The type of process has a big influence on your work environment.
Which types are common and which will suit you?
a. Rating scale
What? This is a grading system where employees are rated following a normal distribution. Ratings are determined by comparing employees to one another. This means ratings are relative and you will always have a best and worst performer. Even when the whole population is high performing.
For Who? Works when you are a champ at networking and you thrive in a competitive environment.
b. Objective setting
What? The manager and employee set specific objectives together and agree to a certain time frame for achieving the goal(s).
For who? Works when you thrive in working towards personal goals.
c. 360-degree feedback
What? Multi-source feedback about the employee coming from direct colleagues: peers, managers, clients etc.
For Who? When you are able to better yourself based on constructive criticism from direct colleagues.
d. None
Not all companies have a thought out performance process. This also affects your work environment. It could be that you only receive feedback when you explicitly ask for it, or that your compensation (salary increase of bonus) does not depend in any way on your performance. Salary raises and promotions may be given based on length of service.
This may be something you like. Not being exposed to direct competition can make people more creative.
On the other hand, you could miss the extrinsic motivation of a competitive environment in order to perform the best you can.
Which type do you prefer?
