Because each bee in his hive was focused on the hive s goal of producing more honey, the bees had concentrated their efforts on gathering more nectar in order to produce more honey than ever before. They also worked together to help increase the amount of nectar gathered by the poorer performers. Because the hive had reached its goal, the beekeeper awarded each bee his portion of the hive incentive payment. The beekeeper was also surprised to hear a loud, happy buzz and a jubilant flapping of wings as he rewarded the individual high-performing bees with special recognition. They are generally described using nouns .
Activities are the actions taken to produce results.
They are generally described using verbs . Note that accomplishments can be measured at two levels in the organization the employee level and the work unit level. Employee accomplishments can be included in employee performance appraisal plans using all three types of performance elements critical, non-critical, and additional. Many agencies are working hard to develop employee performance plans that support the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. They would do well to try the second beekeeper s approach of sharing information about organizational goals with the hive, measuring and rewarding accomplishments as well as activities when they occur, and providing ongoing feedback on performance.