Typical Versus Maximum Performance

Typical Versus Maximum Performance

The distinction between typical and maximum performance is one way to classify job performance in industrial/organizational psychology. Typical performance is how an employee performs on a regular basis, while maximum performance is how one performs when exerting as much effort as possible.

Workers usually exhibit maximum performance when they are being observed. Therefore, some conditions that tend to foster maximum performance include work samples (often given to a potential employee during an interview), manager evaluations, and job knowledge tests. The results from these situations are the ones that are most accessible to supervisors; however, they are usually not reflected in an employee’s typical, or day-to-day, performance. This dichotomy makes it harder for managers to have an accurate picture of how an employee will typically act on the job. Therefore, an example of the importance of this distinction can be seen when a manager hires an employee based on high performance during an interview; the manager is essentially hiring the employee based on viewing their maximum performance, which may not be representative of their typical performance. Additionally, this distinction has led some organizations to take measures to get their employees to perform at their maximum level more often.