We teach about the need to have clear, measurable, objective employee metrics and standards in place with which to hold employees accountable. One question we inevitably get is- What does that look like exactly?

You should first know that employee performance metrics come in different flavors, or types. Different job duties and responsibilities call for different metrics. Let's review some of those types here with examples.

1. Quantity of work metrics. Often it is easier to measure quantity than quality. These types of metrics include number of sales of a given product, number of units of a given product produced, insurance claims processed, phone calls made/ answered, lines of code written, etc. Quantity of work metrics are most often employed in manufacturing and sales jobs.  

2. Quality of work metrics. Quality is subjective, but still measurable. Think of what makes an employee’s performance of high quality to you. One way to measure quality is by lack of errors or defects in a product, so quality could be measured as a % of an output without errors. Six Sigma is a set of techniques driven by quality-control methodology that aims to do just this and has its focus on identifying and eliminating errors.

3. Time related metrics. Maybe an employee’s performance is more valuable to your organization if it is completed quickly, on time. Think about linking duties and responsibilities to the ability to complete projects on time, deliver packages on time, answer telephone calls within a certain time, file legal motions adhering to court deadlines, even the ability to arrive to work on time can be crucial to some jobs. Speed is of the essence in some jobs, consider metrics on how quickly job tasks are performed, or how quickly an employee can turnaround a customer request and resolve an issue. All these metrics have one thing in common, time.

4. Customer-related metrics. Sometimes employee performance can be measured using metrics gathered from your customer base. Think of customer feedback surveys after calls to your call center, emails sent by clients commending your employee for outstanding service delivery, etc.

5. Team or Organization metrics. These metrics have to do with team or department accomplishments. Employee performance doesn't have to be measured on an individual basis but can also be evaluated by team goals or metrics, how well members interact as part of a team, collaboration, and peer reviews.

If you would like to discuss how you can develop or refine employee performance metrics for your team, hit the button below and let’s talk. We’d welcome the opportunity to help!