Understanding Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales: A Legal Perspective
Definition & Meaning
Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) are a performance appraisal method used to evaluate employee behavior against specific performance levels. This approach merges aspects of critical incident techniques and graphic rating scales. Supervisors utilize BARS to assess employees based on predefined behaviors that exemplify effective and ineffective performance.
Legal Use & context
BARS are commonly employed in various legal contexts, particularly in employment law and organizational management. They can be relevant in:
- Performance evaluations for promotions or demotions.
- Disciplinary actions related to employee performance.
- Assessing training and development needs.
Users can manage BARS-related processes using legal templates provided by services like US Legal Forms, which can assist in creating performance appraisal documents that comply with relevant employment laws.
Real-world examples
Here are a couple of examples of abatement:
Example 1: A manager uses BARS to evaluate a sales team's performance. They identify specific successful sales behaviors, such as effective communication and customer follow-up, and rate employees based on these behaviors.
Example 2: A school principal implements BARS to assess teacher performance, focusing on classroom management and student engagement as critical dimensions. (hypothetical example)