This article shows how our customers have configured the parameters of concept scales.
The Concept Scale is a tool that replaces numerical values with a conceptual result within the review. It is a widely used feature to avoid result comparisons among employees and to facilitate performance interpretation. Click here if you want to understand more about what a Concept Scale is and how to configure it.
If you have already decided to use a concept scale in your review, you may be unsure about which parameters to use in the settings, and here we will bring the most commonly used definitions.
Defining Concepts
For defining concepts, it is common to replicate the same terms used in grade scales, which makes it familiar to participants.
Example: If the response options in the review are: (i) below expectations; (ii) meets expectations, and (iii) exceeds expectations, you can use these same three options as possible final concepts.
However, there are some that stand out, and in our database, the most used concepts are:
1. For scales with 3 concepts
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21% use the groups (i) Below Expectations, (ii) Meets Expectations, and (iii) Exceeds Expectations;
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17% use the groups (i) Needs Improvement, (ii) Doing OK / Well, and (iii) Strong;
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16% use the groups (i) Attention; (ii) Good Job, and (iii) WOW.
2. For scales with 4 concepts
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9% use the groups (i) Below Expectations, (ii) Developing, (iii) Meets Expectations, and (iv) Exceeds Expectations;
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8% use the groups (i) Does Not Meet, (ii) Partially Meets, (iii) Fully Meets, and (iv) Exceeds Expectations;
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5% use the groups (i) Below Expectations, (ii) Meets Expectations, (iii) Exceeds Expectations, and (iv) Far Exceeds Expectations;
3. For scales with 5 concepts
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8% use the groups (i) Poor, (ii) Needs Improvement, (iii) Doing Well, (iv) Exceeding, and (v) Rockstar!;
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6% use the groups (i) Far Below Expectations, (ii) Below Expectations, (iii) Meets Expectations, (iv) Exceeds Expectations, and (v) Far Exceeds Expectations;
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4% use the groups (i) Insufficient, (ii) Regular / Unsatisfactory, (iii) Good / Satisfactory, (iv) Excellent / More than Satisfactory, and (v) Exceptional.
Concept Range
In addition to defining the number of concepts and their names, it is important to define the cutoff scores for converting results.
Note: It is important to note that the number of grades is not necessarily the same as the number of concepts. For example, an review with only 3 grades can have 5 concepts, as long as the possible values from 1 to 3 are correctly divided within this range.
The most used note intervals for concepts according to the number of grades are:
For reviews with up to 3 grades
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20% use cutoffs (i) from 1 to 1.5; (ii) from 1.5 to 2.5, and (iii) from 2.5 to 3;
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16% use cutoffs (i) from 1 to 1.1; (ii) from 1.1 to 2.1, and (iii) from 2.1 to 3;
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10% use cutoffs (i) from 1 to 1.7; (ii) from 1.7 to 2.4, and (iii) from 2.4 to 3.
For reviews with up to 4 grades
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14% use cutoffs (i) from 1 to 1.6; (ii) from 1.6 to 2.6, (iii) from 2.6 to 3.6, and (iv) from 3.6 to 4;
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14% use cutoffs (i) from 1 to 1.5; (ii) from 1.5 to 2.5, (iii) from 2.5 to 3.5, and (iv) from 3.5 to 4;
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6% use cutoffs (i) from 1 to 2.8; (ii) from 2.8 to 3, (iii) from 3 to 3.2, (iv) from 3.2 to 3.4, and (v) from 3.4 to 4.
For reviews with up to 5 grades
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11% use cutoffs (i) from 1 to 2; (ii) from 2 to 3, (iii) from 3 to 4, and (iv) from 4 to 5;
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8% use the cutoffs (i) from 1 to 1.1; (ii) from 1.1 to 2.1, (iii) from 2.1 to 3.1, (iv) from 3.1 to 4.1, and (v) from 4.1 to 5;
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6% use the cutoffs (i) from 1 to 1.5; (ii) from 1.5 to 2.5, (iii) from 2.5 to 3.5, (iv) from 3.5 to 4.5, and (v) from 4.5 to 5.
We hope this content helps you in creating your concept scale. Don't forget to provide your feedback below!
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