More than words
We have a couple* of creatives working for us, so we face the same predicament many** creative companies face at review time. How the heck do you review creativity? Isn't it completely subjective? How do you collect evidence to back up your rating?
This performance predicament is compounded by the fact most reviews rely on words: written or spoken, performance is condensed to a handful of words that (in theory) sum up that period's work. But when you’re dealing with creative, visual types, wouldn't it make more sense to capture creative, visual information in a creative, visual way? Something that paints the full picture? (see what we did there.)
*understatement
** see above
Visual people like visual things
Infographics: take a pile of statistics and instead of writing a report filled with many many words, make them into graphics and charts that tells the tale in a fraction of the time.
Pinterest: share images that represent what you've done or what you'd like to do with like-minded folk.
Draw Something: because sometimes the last thing you want to do with friends is play Scrabble.
Visual information is something most of us deal with on a daily basis, but when it's something we're being assessed on, capturing it becomes even more important.
Stick a pin in it
Here’s our thinking: approach the performance review like a pinboard. As cool creative or visual stuff happens through the year, 'pin' it to that person's review board and attach it as review evidence. Then it's easily referred to at review time in all its Technicolor glory; you don't need to rely on unnaturally condensed text to get the full story. Or picture, as the case may be.
