In my opinion, Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) is a scale used to rate

the performance of employees. It is an appraisal mechanism that seeks to combine

the benefits of narratives, critical incidents and quantified ratings by anchoring a
quantified scale with specific narratives of performance ranging from good,
satisfactory and poor performance. Designed to incorporate the advantages of both
qualitative and quantitative knowledge to the evaluation process, BARS tests the
performance of an employee against common behavioral indicators which are
assigned a number rating for data collection purposes.
how to develop a behaviourally achored rating scale are ask my team of experts to
turn my success measurements into their own. Give a scale to the remaining
behaviors, usually a 5 to 9 point one. Discard the higher deviated criteria to ensure
consensus on behavior ratings between subject matter experts. The final scale
evolves accordingly. How do we use the BARS method, and when? The response to
why and when is the same as for scales of graph rank. Let's then reflect on the
variations between the graphical rating system and the types of BARS. BARS types
solve the subjectivity issue by including an explicit performance summary for each
rating along the spectrum, rather than a simple word (excellent, nice, etc.) like
graphic rating scales. A summary of each performance level makes the assessment
a more objective, exact measure. And if you have BARS shapes more reliable.
How do we use BARS forms? Like graphic rating scales, we simply select a
level of performance along the continuum. College accreditation associations are
requiring more measures of student outcomes as assurance of learning, and as part
of the process they want more BARS rubrics as evidence. So in college courses,
especially for written assignments, professors give out rubrics that describe in some
detail the difference between excellent (A), good (B), average (C), poor (D), and not
acceptable (F) grades for multiple criteria put together to provide a final grade. Here
is a very simple example of making a graphic rating
scale item into the more objective BARS form.
Attendance—excellent, good, average, fair, poor
Attendance—number of days missed 1, 2, 3–4, 5, 6 or more
Defensiveness can be observed in spoken words, emails, texts, etc. in which
someone communicates to you or about you or your team, and you find yourself
over-reacting to their communication. Most people find themselves reacting
defensively at times in a typical day or week, but some folks take it to an art form.
Defensiveness will predominantly be demonstrated passively through avoiding
perceived threats, essentially laying low. Less common, but more extreme will be
those individuals who are aggressively defensive, attacking or criticizing others to
deflect undue scrutiny on themselves And extremely defensive employees will
exhibit passive-defensive behaviors, fluctuating between being easy going and
brutally aggressive.

So what is a supervisor or manager to do?

  First, communicate your concern and be specific about the behavior you are
observing. Talk specifically about the reactions you observe or how the
person is interacting with others. Most people lack self-awareness of how they
are impacting others.
 Describe the consequences in terms of deteriorating teamwork, lack of
productivity or impact on the customer.
 Ask the employee for their perspective on the situation. Ask them what might
be causing or contributing to the situation. If the employee either states or
hints that they are facing personal challenges at home, then the leader’s job is
to direct the employee to available resources. HR can be a resource here.
Avoid counselling directly because it can be unhelpful and put the supervisor
or manager in a difficult situation.
 Describe the expected behavior and ask how the employee will change to
meet expectations. Ask if there is anything that you can do as the supervisor
to help (avoid committing to things you cannot deliver). If the employee
blames others for the problem and avoids taking responsibility, continue the
conversation so that they employee takes ownership. This might involve
making a direct statement that the employee is not taking responsibility.
 Set up a timeframe to review a situation and if improvement is observed,
provide positive reinforcement. If the unacceptable behavior continues, then
escalate the consequences.

So what is a supervisor or manager to do?

 First, communicate your concern and be specific about the behavior you are
observing. Talk specifically about the reactions you observe or how the
person is interacting with others. Most people lack self-awareness of how they
are impacting others.
 Describe the consequences in terms of deteriorating teamwork, lack of
productivity or impact on the customer.
 Ask the employee for their perspective on the situation. Ask them what might
be causing or contributing to the situation. If the employee either states or
hints that they are facing personal challenges at home, then the leader’s job is
to direct the employee to available resources. HR can be a resource here.
Avoid counselling directly because it can be unhelpful and put the supervisor
or manager in a difficult situation.
 Describe the expected behavior and ask how the employee will change to
meet expectations. Ask if there is anything that you can do as the supervisor
to help (avoid committing to things you cannot deliver). If the employee
blames others for the problem and avoids taking responsibility, continue the
conversation so that they employee takes ownership. This might involve
making a direct statement that the employee is not taking responsibility.
 Set up a timeframe to review a situation and if improvement is observed,
provide positive reinforcement. If the unacceptable behavior continues, then
escalate the consequences.

The goal in the process is to resolve the particular performance problem and
then encourage the employee to become more (less defensive) productive.
This means offering constructive reinforcement as conduct changes. This is
normal that you can see some improvement and then note a tendency while
under pressure to slip back. Such workers will be more maintenance in the
short term and would need more of the supervisor’s time.

While it is difficult to deal with an employee who demonstrates a dramatic

change in his or her behavior from a sudden personal problem, it is possible
to screen out problem employees during the hiring process. You cannot ask
directly about personal situations but you can observe frequent job changes,
repeated poor judgement or bad luck. Be on the lookout for answers to
interview questions that raise red flags in terms of dealing with coworkers,
stress, etc.

Also, the probationary period can be an excellent time to watch for behaviors
of concern.

Inevitably problem employees sap the productivity or coworkers and consume

a lot of the time and attention of the supervisor and HR. Knowing how to
handle these situations can make the supervisor more confident and reduce
stress.