By Evans Tu (President & CEO, SYNNEX Group)

We all know that ability is the foundation for performance. Without the right capabilities, no one can perform well. Even when equipped with the necessary skills, if an individual is unwilling to put in effort and apply them, they will fail to deliver satisfactory results.

[Performance] = [Ability] × [Commitment]

Making use of your capabilities requires a considerable degree of commitment. You need to be willing to spend the time to fully engage and develop an in-depth understanding of the challenges you are facing. It is only when you do so that you can identify the key issues, apply the right methods to tackle them, and achieve good results. Commitment ultimately leads to high-quality performance.

However, performance requires not only quality but quantity as well. To achieve performance that is satisfactory in terms of both quantity and quality, you need to be willing to devote more time on it.

[Capability enhancement] = [Ability] × [Commitment]

Capability requires an ongoing process of practical application. It requires an accumulation of experience in face of different situations, a process vital for capability enhancement. Hence, commitment is also a prerequisite for enhancing your capabilities. In other words, without sufficient commitment, there is no way you can demonstrate good performance, and neither will you be able to strengthen your capabilities! If an individual carries out their work without commitment, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to demonstrate a high level of capability or deliver an exceptional performance!

Given that an employees' regular salary reflects capability, while their performance bonuses reflect performance, and given the idea that employee performances should be expected to meet a minimum baseline, it is important that employees realize that performance bonuses constitute as an "extra" payment made only to people who demonstrate an "extra" high level of performance. Employees also need to be aware a raise in regular salary is given only to those employees who demonstrate an increase in capability. The level of commitment displayed by individual employees should be an important factor for managers to consider when evaluating an employee’s annual salary and performance bonus.