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Forced Ranking: Making Performance Management Work | 
 enlarge | Author: Dick Grote
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
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Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 332861
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 260
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 1591397480
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.3125
EAN: 9781591397489
ASIN: 1591397480
Publication Date: November 16, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Crisp, clean, unread hardcover with light shelfwear/edgewear and possibly a very small tear to the dust jacket - NICE!
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Product Description
Forced ranking assesses employee performance relative to peers rather than against predetermined goals. It’s a performance management tool that—when used right—has increased productivity, profitability, and shareholder value. Unfortunately, some firms have misunderstood what forced ranking is, or have implemented it poorly—resulting in confusion and controversy.
In this hands-on book, renowned performance management expert Dick Grote dispels common misperceptions about forced ranking and offers a clear-headed, convincing argument for why it should be a necessary part of any robust performance appraisal system. Based on extensive research, case studies, and consulting experience, the book provides a practical framework for developing a forced-ranking system that is fair, humane, and effective. From establishing appropriate guidelines to accurately categorizing employees, to managing A, B, and C talent differently, Grote shows how managers can use this tool to identify future leaders, give honest performance feedback, and grow the talent that matters most to the firm’s success.
Transforming a controversial management practice into a practical and powerful leadership-development tool, Forced Ranking will help organizations and their employees reach new heights of performance success.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Any system that begins with the word "Forced" ought to raise a few red flags. January 29, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
In his previous book, Discipline Without Punishment, the author's main premise was that employee punishment should be avoided at all cost because it "produces side effects and long-term consequences - anger, apathy, resentment, frustration - that end up being far more costly than whatever the original misbehavior might have been". However, in his new book entitled, Forced Ranking, the author turns right around and then tells the reader that a Forced Ranking System is really not a form of the same type of employee punishment and does not create the same long-term consequences. This is illogical and many real world examples and facts work to contradict the author's message. Wherever a forced ranking system has been inculcated, the majority of people come to resent it. Good employees resent being forced into the bottom 10% category yielding them no pay raise and putting them on an embarrassing probationary period even when they have been meeting the company's performance standards and good managers resent being forced to "reward" good employees this way. Turnover of good employees costs companies millions of dollars every year as well. The cost of hiring new employees is a minimum of 2x the salary of the position, good employees that are let go merely transition to the competition and high turnover never allows the company to establish an experienced world class workforce which takes on average 15 years to develop. From every angle this is a bad system to indoctrinate into any organization but then again any merit system that begins with the word "Forced" ought to raise a few red flags.
 Bottom 10 in June, corn be heavy soon. September 29, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
If we were to rank all living Nobel Laureates, ten percent of them would be "Bottom 10." What would we do to punish those losers?
Forced Reading January 10, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Forced Ranking, which was forced reading from my Company's VP, was perhaps the poorest example of published material I have had the displeasure to read. My Calculus textbooks had more substance. How Dick Grote could take 10 pages of material and repeat himself enough to make it last over 100 pages is the only amazing thing about this book.
 Performance Management: How to Have "The Best of Both Worlds" August 11, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Although certainly not an imperative, I do recommend reading one or both of Grote's earlier works first (Discipline Without Punishment and The Employee Appraisal Question and Answer Book) before reading this, his latest work. In all three, he generously shares what he has learned over several decades as a senior-level executive in HR at Frito-Lay and United Airlines, then as founder/CEO of his own thriving management consulting firm (which he later sold to his senior partners), and since then as an independent consultant. In fairness to Grote, the term "HR" has much wider and deeper meaning than it does to many others. He cares passionately, almost obsessively about helping to achieve the full development of every human being whom he encounters, both within the organizations which retain his services and among those who read his books as well as those who comprise the numerous audiences to which he speaks.
In this volume, Grote examines a concept -- forced ranking -- which began to receive increasingly greater attention when advocated by Jack Welch during his tenure as CEO of General Electric. It is important to note that Grote is by nature and training an empiricist in that he rigorously observes real-world experience (his and others') rather than relying almost entirely on theories, hypotheses, assumptions, etc. He is also a pragmatist in that he is determined to learn what does and doesn't work...also, WHY. Back to Welch. In essence, GE's version of forced ranking has a 20/70/10 performance measurement ranking scheme: 20% are the best, 70% are vital, and 10% are at the bottom. (Reportedly, those in the last group are strongly encouraged to seek new career opportunities elsewhere but, if necessary, terminated. ) Grote notes that this ranking scheme has some obvious advantages and has been adopted (usually with some modification) by other major corporations.
Grote recommends an alternative ranking scheme which he explains in sufficient detail. It remains for each reader to determine (a) whether or not forced ranking is appropriate to her or his own organization and, if so (b) which ranking scheme would be most appropriate. Grote can assist with making both determinations.
In my view, the more immediate issues to address include these:
1. With rare exceptions, organizations reward what they value most. That said, in terms of human resources, what are a given organization's greatest human resource needs? What incentives are used in response to those needs?
2. To what extent does that organization recruit, interview, hire, and then develop people to fill those needs?
3. Are performances expectations clearly understood by everyone directly involved (i.e. supervisor and direct report)?
4. Are performance metrics also clearly understood by everyone involved?
5. Are they applied fairly and consistently?
6. Finally, as HR needs change, are performance expectations and metrics modified in a timely response to those needs?
As Grote duly acknowledges, forced ranking is certainly not for everyone. Moreover, what worked at GE during the Welch years may not have been appropriate for most other organizations then, nor appropriate for GE now. (Presumably, over the years, GE's senior management has made the necessary modifications to which I referred earlier.) My point is, the six questions just posed must be answered first before making a decision about whether or not to implement some version of forced ranking enterprise-wide.
As is his SOP, Grote presents his narrative in combination with a number of reader-friendly devices which include sequences of key points highlighted in bold face, check-lists to facilitate self-audits as well as evaluations of the reader's own organization (e.g."First Things First - Is Your Company Ready?"), and three especially helpful appendices: Memos and Scripts for Managers, FAQs About the Forced Ranking System, and Forced Ranking and the Law. Grote concludes his book as follows: "Conventional performance appraisal has an important place in the talent management palette of any organization. So does forced ranking. Neither process by itself is complete; both have limitations. But together they can provide an accurate and well-rounded picture of the strengths and weaknesses of each member of the team." Senior-level executives in most organizations continue to insist that "people are our most valuable asset." Grote challenges them to determine precisely what that total value is...and to do so with metrics which are realistic, consistent, and (yes) equitable for everyone involved.
Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out Grote's earlier works as well as Leigh Branham's The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, James O'Toole and Edward E. Lawler III's The New American Workplace, and Workforce Crisis co-authored by Ken Dychtwald, Tamara J. Erickson, and Robert Morison.
Be Good, or Be Gone April 24, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Forced ranking is a loaded topic. Any system that suggests that a company should fire the bottom 10% of its workforce will raise eyebrows. But author Dick Grote, a performance management expert, makes a thorough case for the harsh rigors of forced ranking. By tapping his personal experiences and utilizing input from industry leaders, Grote assembles a thoughtful and convincing presentation. At the same time, he addresses problems and obstacles inherent in forced ranking. We recommend this book as must reading for the leaders of any company that is considering a forced ranking system. It will also prove valuable to human resource professionals and those who just want to know what all the hubbub is about. Indeed, you might say this book scores in the top 10%, so the author can breathe a sigh of relief - for now.
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