Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS): A Practical Guide

Many companies across the globe still rely on outdated performance rating scales that offer vague and unhelpful feedback while failing to capture the true essence of employee performance. This is where Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) can help. BARS allows leaders to link noteworthy workplace behaviours to ratings, facilitating a fair evaluation of performance, and making it objective and actionable.

However, BARS isn’t ideal.  Like any other performance measurement system, it has its demerits. While it helps managers evaluate employees more objectively, there are challenges—from implementation issues to scalability in dynamic work environments. In this article, we look at the advantages and disadvantages of the BARS system and offer ideas on how leaders can effectively implement BARS despite its limitations, and ways to modify it for modern teams.

What Is BARS, and Why Should Leaders Care?

 

BARS is a structured performance evaluation method that links numerical ratings to more specific workplace behaviours that can be used to assess the temperament of employees at work. Instead of broad subjective ratings (e.g., “Meets Expectations”), it allows leaders to evaluate different employee performance levels based on specific behaviour patterns. BARS provides a holistic view of employee performance and humanizes how leaders communicate feedback to employees, encouraging them to work on their drawbacks, resulting in highly-driven teams that work together to achieve professional excellence.

Example: “Collaboration” Evaluation in a Workplace Setting

 

Rating	Behavioural Indicators
5 (Exceptional)	Consistently promotes a highly motivated, collectively united and growth-driven work environment. Regularly shares knowledge, mentors peers, and resolves conflicts effectively.
4 (Above Expectations)	Works well in teams, encourages constructive discussions, and contributes positively to team projects. Occasionally shares insights and best practices.
3 (Meets Expectations)	Participates in teamwork but may need occasional guidance in conflict resolution and group communication.
2 (Needs Improvement)	Collaborates reluctantly, may struggle with team communication or fail to engage proactively in discussions.
1 (Unsatisfactory)	Is resistant to collaborating with team members, breaking unity and hesitates to work with others, showing poor team spirit and limiting professional growth.

Why BARS Works for Organizations

Hiring talent is costly. Organizations cannot afford to evaluate their employees based on vague pointers that leave no scope for improvement. With its unique feature of linking behaviours to performance rating parameters, BARS helps retain talented employees and motivates them to improve their outputs, driving tremendous results that contribute to the bigger picture. Here are the benefits of using BARS for employee performance evaluation.

Reduces subjectivity – Anchors performance to observable behaviours, making reviews fairer and holistic. 

Improves feedback quality – Employees are more receptive to feedback, as the system allows them to assess where they fall short, instead of vague evaluations. 

Enhances development plans – Motivates employees to take note of the organization’s goals and align their actions accordingly, resulting in a more understanding workforce ethos. 

Standardized performance benchmarks – Aligns expectations across teams and levels.

Ensures employee satisfaction – The BARS framework builds a holistic view of performance review sessions, providing definitive and actionable feedback. This enhances employee satisfaction.

BARS provides employees with a clear understanding of the problem areas and encourages them to act on the feedback provided during review meetings. High employee satisfaction indicates that the organization is taking its review sessions seriously driving fruitful outcomes.

Successful Implementation Of Bars: Real-Life Examples

A few conglomerates have successfully implemented and benefited from BARS. Here are a few real-life examples.

IBM Improved Diversity Sourcing And Garnered Improved Manager-Recruiter Relationships

IBM wanted to structure it’s hiring process and fine-tune talent acquisition. So they implemented BARS as part of their talent acquisition function to rate recruiters and hiring managers on the following criteria:

1. Accuracy of job-analysis.
2. Communicating with candidates.
3. Diversity sourcing efforts.

To understand how much efforts were taken by members of their TA team to recruit from different sources, the experts at IBM linked the following behaviours with the respective ratings:

1 (Low) : No diversity efforts beyond general platforms.

3(Mid): Occasionally sources from diverse platforms.

5(High): Regularly reaches out to diverse talent communities and tracks the outcomes.

This exercise not only caused an increase in candidate diversity but also improved recruiter accountability and enhanced hiring manager-recruiter relationships.

Deloitte Enhances Leadership Skills

Deloitte used BARS in its global leadership development programs to assess employee progress for:

1. Strategic thinking.
2. Communication.
3. Emotional Intelligence.

To assess their employees’ progress on strategic thinking, Deloitte implemented BARS and used the following behavioural benchmarks.

1: Focuses only on short-term tasks.

3: Considers medium-term objectives.

5: Align strategies with long-term goals.

By implementing BARS, Deloitte was able to identify potential leaders and extract desired outcomes from their L&D efforts.

Challenges of BARS (And How to Fix Them)

 

1. Difficult to Implement from Scratch

• Problem: Developing behavioural anchors requires a deep job analysis, which can be time-consuming.
• Solution: Start small. Instead of building and implementing a full-fledged framework immediately:
  • Pick 3–5 key competencies (e.g., Collaboration, Problem-Solving, Customer Service).
  • Use team feedback and past reviews to draft realistic behavioural parameters.

2. Not Easily Scalable for Large Teams

• Problem: Work environments evolve quickly, giving people less time to adapt and scale.
• Solution: Implement BARS with flexibility:
  • Allow self-assessment and peer feedback to complement manager evaluations.
  • Use AI-driven assessment tools to adapt BARS dynamically.
  • Keep behavioural anchors updated with evolving workplace expectations.

3. Can Miss Broader Aspects of Performance

• Problem: BARS focuses on specific behaviours, which may ignore growth potential, leadership, and innovation.
• Solution: Combine BARS with continuous feedback models, such as:
  • 360-degree feedback to assess teamwork and leadership.
  • OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) for goal alignment.
  • Project-based evaluations to capture real-world contributions.

How to Implement BARS in Your Organization

Step 1: Identify Key Competencies

Focus on 3–5 critical skills for your team, such as:

• Collaboration (Teamwork, Communication, Conflict Resolution)
• Problem-Solving (Creativity, Critical Thinking, Decision-Making)
• Critical Thinking (Frequent evaluation of work strategies, experimenting with varying frameworks to drive growth and conducting feedback sessions for better productivity)
• Customer Service (Responsiveness, Empathy, Effectiveness)
• Ownership & Initiative (Taking on New Challenges, Leadership)
• Adaptability (Handling Change, Resilience, Learning Agility)

Step 2: Define Behavioral Anchors

Use team input, past reviews, and industry benchmarks to define a list of specific behaviours based on which performance levels are assessed.

Step 3: Train Managers and Employees

• Conduct training sessions on how to use BARS effectively.
• Ensure consistency in evaluations by discussing real-world examples.

Step 4: Integrate with Your Performance Management System

Use HR tech tools, and performance dashboards, and implement AI-powered assessments as the one by HackerEarth to streamline and expedite evaluations.

Step 5: Continuously Improve

• Collect feedback from managers and employees. Conduct regular feedback sessions to assess the general temperament of your employees and introduce strategies that work for the employees and the overall health of the team.
• Process behavioural indicators annually to match evolving workplace standards.

How BARS Can Benefit In The Long Run?

One of the highlights of the BARS framework is that it is agile and adaptable. It converts review meetings into insightful sessions where employees are given a platform to understand their shortcomings and work on them, motivating them to understand and align their workplace practices with the organization’s goals. BARS paves the way for a more holistic approach, helping organizations retain talent.