Calibration

Calibration is the process of aligning performance appraisal ratings across managers so that employees doing similar work are evaluated against consistent standards, regardless of who their manager is.

Left uncalibrated, performance reviews tend to drift. One manager grades generously, another harshly, and the same level of performance can produce very different ratings depending on which team an employee sits in. Calibration sessions bring managers together to discuss their assessments, compare reasoning, and reach a shared view of what each rating level actually means in practice.

The result is a fairer process. Employees in comparable roles are measured against the same bar, and differences in ratings reflect actual differences in performance rather than differences in how individual managers interpret the scale.