TOP Grading

To enable a transparent and fair assessment of the team, and to define the right development measures for different employees.

Using the template, the team is assessed on a scale of 1–10 in two areas: alignment with company values (“value fit”) and work performance.

The resulting matrix groups the team into A, B, C, and D categories:

• A – Top performers who should be further supported and developed.
• B (High value, low performance) – Employees who fit the team well but need training, coaching, or development to reach their full potential.
• C (Low value, high performance) – Potential risks: while they deliver good results, they set poor examples through misaligned behaviour. Values are deeply rooted, so improvement here is difficult.
• D (Low value, low performance) – Employees who neither perform well nor fit the team’s values. Often best suited for intensive development programmes or opportunities outside the team.

Results can be shared with employees (with anonymised matrices) and used as a basis for feedback conversations. The matrix should be updated roughly every three months to make progress visible.