What are success factors?
A success factor is any knowledge, skill, trait, motive, attitude, value or other personal characteristic that is essential to perform the job or role and that differentiates solid from superior performance. There are two types of success factors:

Behavioral:  These are the personal characteristics (i.e., skills, traits, motives or attitudes and values which relate to self-image) that describe how we perform the job or role, and are what differentiates superior from average performance.  They describe what superior performers think or do more often, in more situations, and with better results than average performers.

Technical:  These are the technical knowledge and skill we need to perform a job or role; they describe what we need to know or be able to do to perform the job or role, and are essential to effective performance.

The behaviors listed under each success factor begin with the most basic and move toward increasingly more complex behaviors. The target behavior level is where high performing managers and professionals at Buffalo State perform most of the time.  Below the target is the expected behavior(s) of all managers and professionals at Buffalo State.

The focus of this assessment is on professional development, not evaluation and it is essential to be as honest and objective as possible. It is assumed that everyone can benefit from development at some level. Some employees may need to acquire behaviors or skills to perform effectively on the job while others may want to refine or improve already existing skills.

Download the Success Factor Assessment Worksheet for Managers or Professionals. 

Success Factors Key:
	expected behavior
	target behavior
	behavior beyond target