Tracking and measuring employee performance metrics important for accessing the performance and productivity of your employees regularly. We have already discussed some important metrics that every HR team should measure. But really, besides effectiveness, quality of work, and the number of sales, there are some seemingly intangible but important metrics you want to also pay attention to.
That said, we'll be throwing more light on why it is important to measure employee performance metrics and ways to successfully measure employee performance metrics.
Measuring Employee Performance Metrics Today
Considering the evolution happening in the workplace recently, it is safe to say that measuring employee performance is becoming more sophisticated than before. As work in itself evolves and what makes for productivity shifts, there's the need to include more metrics when measuring employee performance.
For example, as of 2018, measuring metrics like quality of work and effectiveness to a large extent tells you about the productivity of a worker. In recent times, companies now use intangible metrics like leadership skills and adaptability to measure employees' performance. In other words, companies must develop employee performance metrics that measure the performance of their employees based on current trends that define their businesses.
Why Measuring Employee Performance Metrics is Important
Measuring employee performance helps management to understand how well employees are hitting their performance targets. If employees are doing fine, then the company is better for it. If their performance is below par, the metrics help management access the situation and decide the best course of action to take. Here, we discuss the advantages of measuring employee performance in more detail.
Defining Job Descriptions and Setting Expectations
There's no way you can measure what you have not defined. Employees must know what is expected of them, and this must be defined as clearly as possible to avoid misinterpretation. When employees understand the factors being considered during appraisals and reviews, it helps to direct their focus on the right things at work.
Another good thing about measuring employee performance is that it sets a standard within the organization, so every worker understands the acceptable level of performance at work. This can also serve as motivation to workers.
For Feedback
Today, some employees are willing to leave if they do not get adequate feedback from their supervisors or even the company. According to a survey by the Harris Poll, 24% of professionals might leave their jobs if they do not get adequate feedback from their managers.
In another survey, 68% of workers who get accurate and consistent feedback feel fulfilled in their jobs. In fact, more employees will confer staying with their current employer and improving their performance if they get continuous feedback from their managers.
Minimizes Employee Turnover
Employee turnover, if not checked or kept at a bearable minimum, will drastically impact any business — whether big or small. It costs money to scout, hire, train, and onboard new employees. Besides, when one employee leaves, it increases the workload of the remaining workers.
In this case, management can control the outcome by ensuring that employees get accurate and adequate feedback. In other words, failure to set clear expectations can lead to employees leaving their jobs for positions where they enjoy better feedback at work.
Improves Performance
Employee performance metrics are key indicators of how well employees are performing. It gives employees a clear idea of what to achieve, since they know what is being measured and the management, what to evaluate. As employees work to meet expectations, they essentially work their way upwards, bringing in more revenue for the business and improving the quality of work being delivered.
Employee Management
Employees can lie about their productivity or performance, but when measured against a yardstick, it can be easy to see if the claims of the employee are true or not. By evaluating the performance of an employee, management can decide what to do with poor-performing employees. This involves the employee’s raise, promotion, compensation plan, and bonuses, and layoff, where necessary. Based on performance reviews, some employees receive recognitions and awards in the workplace. They could also be featured on the company's monthly newsletter, serving as motivation to other workers.
How to Measure Employee Performance
Now that you understand the metrics to measure and the importance of measuring these metrics, you're probably wondering how best to measure your employees' performance at work. Here are proven methods that any employer can employ.
1. Determine performance standards and individual goals: As we mentioned earlier, ensure that there is a set standard against which management can access the performance of employees. For I stance, if each call center agent is supposed to close out 50 inquires every day, measuring performance, in this case, is a little easy because you only need to check the number of customers the employee has interacted with and grow well he or she solved each problem.
2. Monitor employee performance throughout the year: The true performance of an employee can be very well understood by evaluating the effectiveness of the employee within a year.
3. Criticize actions and not personalities: As you evaluate your employees, you want to be careful with criticism. It's advisable to focus on the performance of the employee i.e., their actions at work, instead of attacking their personality when they do something wrong.
4. Communicate feedback regularly: We cannot emphasize this just enough. If you're looking to keep your employees engaged in getting better, you must focus on improving the accuracy, quality, and frequency of feedback you provide them.
5. Encourage employees to track their time: If you have employees working remotely, do encourage them to track their time. Tools like Hubstaff and Clockify are great for tone-tracking.
6. Create and monitor their task lists: This is perhaps, the best thing that you can do when tracking and measuring employee performance. It helps you focus on what has been done and what needs to be done that hasn't been done.
7. Set deadlines for each assigned task: Ensure to attach a deadline to each assignment so that the owners of task tasks know when they're expected to submit them.
Conclusion
Employee performance metrics are the biggest leverage that management has to monitor and measure the performance of each employee in the company. Beyond defining the metrics to measure, it is very important management measures the employee performance metrics the right way.
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