The Definitive Guide to Employee Performance

Employee performance is one of the most well discussed topics in the business world. We often hear phrases like “evaluating employee performance” or “boosting employee performance”. But how can we evaluate or improve this key indicator for business success, unless we first deeply understand what it entails and why it’s so important?

Imagine a company. This company has been observing a drop in customer satisfaction, and an increase in missed deadlines. The company manager thinks the solution is to hire more people and increase the total number of working hours. However, despite these changes, the problems persist. What this manager doesn’t realize is that the real problem lies in not knowing how to properly measure, manage, and boost the performance of his existing employees. Instead of simply throwing more resources at the problem, he first needs to understand how his current employees are working, what challenges they face, and how they can improve.

That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive guide to employee performance. Within its pages, we’ll guide you through all the nuances of this concept, so you can understand, evaluate and improve your team’s performance. Shall we begin?

What is employee performance?

Employee performance is a metric that refers to the level of effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of each member of a team, as well as the quality of work they produce. In other words, it measures how workers carry out their responsibilities in the workplace, encompassing not only the amount of work done, but also its quality, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness with which those tasks are executed.

Why is it so important to measure employee performance?

Employee performance is a decisive factor for organizational success. Properly measuring it helps to identify areas for improvement, reward good performance, and even align individual employee goals with organizational aims. Still need more reasons? Here are some of the most important:

• Identifying strengths and weaknesses: By properly assessing employee performance, leaders and managers can get to know which areas professionals excel in, and which need further development. For example, a close analysis might reveal that an employee has excellent technical skills, but needs to work on their communication or teamwork. Based on this analysis, it then becomes possible to design personalized development plans, and assign roles to individuals to maximize their individual strengths.
• Decision making: This data is also critical in making decisions about promotions, salary increases, and layoffs. The lack of a performance appraisal could easily lead to subjective and potentially unfair decisions, or even result in employees’ skills and efforts going unnoticed, which could negatively affect team morale.
• Continuous improvement: Any organization that seeks to grow and excel needs to build an environment of constant improvement. Measuring employee performance provides a solid foundation for this, by helping employees to establish development goals, but also by closely monitoring progress toward their achievement.
• Strategic alignment: Success will also depend broadly on the degree to which employee efforts are in line with the company’s strategic goals. A failure to measure employee performance can prevent leaders from verifying whether individual activities and objectives are contributing to the achievement of these goals.

The top 7 Metrics for Evaluating Employee Performance

Measuring employee performance is a necessary and beneficial endeavor. And there are, in fact, many ways to do it. Here are 7 key metrics against which managers can effectively assess their employees’ performance levels:

1. Punctuality and Absenteeism

Recording punctuality and attendance is essential to understanding the reliability of individual employees. This is a commonly used metric in businesses, as it tends to clearly reflect an employee’s level of respect for their job and colleagues. A strong attendance record can also be a good indication of commitment and responsibility.

2. Teamwork

The ability to work well alongside others and contribute to group goals is crucial in any employee, and especially in interdependent work environments. A good team player supports their colleagues, shares information, and works openly towards common goals. This metric can be assessed through peer feedback as well as direct observation.

3. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

NPS is a metric used to define the level of customer loyalty to a business, and how that business is perceived by consumers. However, it is a tool that can also be used to measure employee performance. To do this, you’ll need to collect feedback from colleagues and supervisors, and the easiest way to do this is through surveys that determine the overall quality and suitability of the company’s relationship with its employees.

4. Percentage of goals or objectives achieved

Carefully tracking the progress of goals and objectives you set can give you valuable information on employee effort and productivity. Naturally, if you’ve set goals for your employees, you will at some point need to know whether or not they are getting closer to achieving them. If an employee is not moving closer towards the goals that have been set and deemed achievable, then it may be necessary to make adjustments to the approach, and determine what kind of support to provide them with.

5. Customer and peer feedback

Gathering qualitative feedback from peers, supervisors, and even customers (if applicable) can help leaders get a good idea of ​​their employees’ performance level. However, it’s important to keep in mind that each employee has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it can be difficult for some to separate bias or prejudice from reality. For this reason, when collecting opinions from others, the process must be done carefully and fairly, and never constitute the entirety of the performance evaluation.

6. Percentage of tasks completed

Another metric you can use to measure employee performance is monitoring how thoroughly they complete their tasks. In order for this to work, managers must keep track of the tasks assigned to their employees, and the percentage completion of those tasks. If an employee fails to meet deadlines, or is constantly late and therefore fails to fulfill their obligations, then this is likely a clear indicator of poor performance.

7. Quality of work

However, although an employee may complete a large number of their tasks on time, what truly adds value when measuring their performance is the quality of the work they produce. And measuring this quality is surprisingly simple: all that’s needed is a clear understanding of the work that is being assigned to them, as well as a consideration of what the positive and negative results of this work could be. With this understanding in mind, the impact of the employee’s work on the rest of the team and on the company’s results can then be observed.

Common challenges when measuring employee performance

Measuring employee performance is crucial in helping to implement strategies that can boost performance. However, in practice, this task is fraught with challenges that can influence both the accuracy and usefulness of the results. Here are some of the most common challenges:

Subjective evaluations

Performance evaluations can easily be affected by the subjectivity of those who carry them out. Personal perceptions, unconscious biases, or even the interpersonal relationship between the evaluator and candidate  can all distort the results. To help mitigate this issue, it’s crucial to implement evaluation systems that make use of multiple perspectives, as well as objective data that can’t be swayed by opinion.

Ambiguous definition of objectives

A lack of clarity in defining objectives can lead to inaccurate measurement of performance. Vague or poorly defined objectives both make it difficult to properly evaluate an employee’s success or failure. Setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-limited (SMART) goals is essential for accurate evaluations.

Inconsistency in appraisal criteria

Uneven application of appraisal criteria can also result in an inaccurate view of performance. This can often occur when different appraisers involved in a process use different standards, or when criteria change frequently. Sticking to a consistent and well-documented appraisal framework will help to ensure fair measurement.

A lack of relevant and concrete data

The absence of specific data on employee performance can make accurate appraisal more difficult. Anecdotal or insufficient data can often lead to erroneous conclusions. Using objective tools and metrics, such as KPIs and performance reports, provides a solid foundation for proper appraisal.

Resistance to feedback

Employee resistance to receiving feedback can pose another significant obstacle. This resistance can often be down to a lack of confidence in the appraisal process, or the result of personal fears. Implementing a constructive and development-oriented approach to appraisals can help you to overcome this barrier by removing the element of fear or doubt. It’s also important to learn how to give effective feedback. If you’re eager to learn more about the process, then this article may interest you.

How to evaluate and boost employee performance

Now that you know the key metrics for evaluating employee performance, as well as many of the obstacles you’re likely to face when measuring it, it’s time to evaluate and improve it. Contrary to what many think, this process is not overly difficult and below, we’re going to tell you exactly how you can achieve it through specific strategies:

1. Set measurable OKRs and individual objectives

OKR (objectives and key results) is a methodology used to set and manage goals. Working with OKRs is very simple. First, you need to determine a qualitative objective – for example, improving the customer service experience – and then align it with a set of quantitative key results – for example, reducing waiting time by 30%, and maintaining the problem resolution rate at 90%.

Defining milestones or goals like this is vital to help employees understand what is expected of them in a given period of time. But the process doesn’t stop there. Smaller individual objectives must also be established, as these help to increase the chances of achieving the overall goal. For example, an employee may wish to earn an ATC training certificate. To do so, they should set a series of smaller goals, such as dedicating an hour a day to progressing through the course, or seeking help from a more experienced peer. OKRs and individual goals help employees to set goals effectively and prioritize tasks, as well as stay focused and accountable, both which improve performance.

2. Implement sprints

You’ve probably heard of the sprint methodology before. It’s a well-defined technique that helps employees work together more effectively. How does it work? A sprint is a fixed period of time during which a team aims to complete a set amount of work or a whole project, and it works by ensuring that employees have a mutual understanding of time pressure. During a sprint, individual employees are assigned work that must be completed within an agreed-upon timeframe – usually 5 days. Understanding that each role needs to do its share of the work in order to help the whole team progress and rise to the challenge greatly increases motivation. It’s also an excellent way to measure and analyze what a team has achieved, what worked about their approach to the task, and what didn’t.

3. Use tools to help you manage

One of the reasons why many projects do not achieve the expected results is because they lack the correct tools – specifically, tools to help manage and optimize the various processes involved. Especially during the digital age, where both hybrid and remote work have gained more ground, technology can be a powerful ally in solving this dilemma.

Investing in project management tools, whether to help with training or tasks, is a highly effective way to help your team stay up-to-date. For example, an LMS could prove an excellent ally if you need to optimize a training project, with features for making calls and communications, as well as producing certifications and reports, that all contribute to reducing management times.

Moreover, learning management platforms are an ideal solution for measuring employee performance during training programs, helping you to identify needs, plan and roll out initiatives, and finally evaluate results through detailed analysis on participation, completion rates and grades.

4. Conduct performance evaluations

These evaluations are effective methods to objectively and comprehensively measure professional conduct in the workplace, as well as assess performance and productivity. In the past, they were once used specifically to measure compliance with expectations when performing a job role. However, today they are much more than that, making it possible to measure skills, aptitudes, the level of responsibility an employee has, and even their relationships with colleagues.

Employee performance evaluations are very common today, and although they can vary in character between different companies or sectors, some of the most common key performance indicators you might expect to encounter include: productivity, quality of work, compliance with objectives, level of initiative and proactivity, and various other metrics, which we’ll expand on later.

5. Carry out 360-degree evaluations

360-degree evaluations are a comprehensive tool that collects feedback from all layers and levels of the employee’s work environment, including supervisors, colleagues, subordinates and, in some cases, clients. By seeking so many different perspectives, this method provides a complete and balanced overview of employee performance, identifying strengths and weaknesses from multiple angles. The process helps to foster a culture of constructive feedback and encourages employees to develop interpersonal and professional skills.

6. Implement self-assessments

Self-assessments allow employees to reflect on their own performance and identify areas for improvement. This process stimulates self-awareness and accountability, giving employees space to recognize their achievements and the areas they need to work on. By complementing traditional appraisals with self-assessments, you can effectively promote a culture of continuous growth and personal development.

Learning to develop an effective plan to improve employee performance

Developing an effective plan to improve employee performance requires a well-structured strategy that properly addresses both strengths and weaknesses. Here’s how to do it:

1. Clearly define goals and OKRs

Setting clear and achievable OKRs (objectives and key results) provides employees with precise guidance on what is expected of them. We’ve already covered how to do this in the previous section. Define qualitative objectives along with quantitative metrics that, in combination, allow progress to be evaluated effectively and comprehensively. Additionally, ensure that these goals are aligned with wider company goals.

2. Create custom development plans

Creating personalized development plans for each employee helps them to address specific areas for improvement. These plans should include personal goals, necessary resources, and a clear timeline. Integrating targeted training, mentoring, and learning opportunities tailored to individual needs can also accelerate progress.

3. Implement management and assessment tools

Use advanced project management tools and learning management systems (LMS) to monitor progress and accommodate ongoing training. These tools allow you to observe and assess performance in real time, offer instant feedback, and adjust training plans as necessary.

4. Continuous, constructive feedback

Provide regular, constructive feedback to keep employees focused on their goals. Feedback should be specific, fact-based, and development-oriented. Encourage a culture of open communication where employees feel comfortable discussing their challenges and achievements. Do you have a remote work team? Don’t worry – in this article we explain how to give remote feedback just as effectively as in person.

5. Monitor and adjust the plan

Conduct regular reviews of the performance plan in order to assess its effectiveness, and make adjustments as necessary. Establish a consistent system to measure results and be ready to implement changes to goals or strategies if performance does not improve. Integrate flexibility into the plan to ensure that it can adapt to shifting circumstances.

6. Encourage ongoing training

Promote a culture of continuous learning by providing anytime access to training and professional development opportunities. Here again, an LMS can help you to deliver courses that are always up-to-date, as well as learning resources that keep employees on top of the latest trends and skills needed for their role.

How can a learning management system improve employee performance?

Companies that are always looking for new ways to optimize employee performance should be well aware of learning management systems (LMS). These types of platforms have become an essential tool for employee development and growth in the modern business landscape. An LMS not only facilitates access to training, but also offers a host of advantages that can significantly transform professional development in employees and, consequently, have a positive impact on organizational success:

1. Centralized knowledge

An LMS centralizes all available learning resources on a single, flexible platform for a whole team of employees. This facilitates open access to important information, encourages autonomous training, and ensures that all workers have the same learning opportunities, ultimately improving their performance.

2. Personalized learning

LMSs allow training plans to be tailored to individual employee needs. For example, an employee in a technical role can access advanced courses in their specific discipline, while one in sales will be able to focus more on negotiation techniques. In this way, each employee receives the training they need to achieve excellence.

3. Continuous monitoring and evaluation

An LMS comes complete with tools that help you to monitor employee progress and performance in real-time. Through detailed reporting and analytics, leaders can identify areas for improvement, recognize and reward progress, and adjust training plans as necessary.

4. Flexibility

Learning management systems offer great flexibility, allowing employees to access courses and training materials from any location at any time. This is especially helpful in hybrid or remote work environments, where physical access to training may be limited.

5. Feedback and assessments

LMS platforms also include tools to help leaders conduct assessments and receive continuous feedback. Not only does this allow the effectiveness of training programs to be measured, but also gives employees the chance to receive constructive feedback and improve their performance by focusing on specific areas.

6. Continuous training

An LMS promotes a culture of continuous learning by offering anytime access to new, updated courses and materials. This ensures that employees can keep up with the latest trends and developments in their field, thereby improving their performance and adaptability.

Conclusion

Employee performance really is the foundation of business success, and understanding how to measure and improve it is crucial for any organization looking to thrive and stay competitive. Throughout this guide, we’ve taken you through the importance of evaluating employee performance, the key metrics you need to use to do so, and finally a number of strategies you can use to boost performance. Now, let’s go over the big takeaways from this guide:

• Understand that employee performance is not simply a measure of the volume of work performed, but a thorough, comprehensive assessment that seeks to assess the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness with which tasks are carried out. This understanding will allow you to precisely identify areas of strength and weakness, helping you to make informed decisions for continuous improvement.
• Using the right metrics is essential for accurate performance evaluation. Parameters such as punctuality, teamwork, percentage of goals achieved, and quality of work all provide detailed insights into performance.
• Implementing strategies such as defining OKRs (objectives and key results), the sprint methodology, and the use of management tools can transform employee productivity and engagement.
• Performance reviews and 360-degree assessments are invaluable methods to gain a complete overview of employee performance. These assessments should be complemented with self-evaluations to foster greater self-awareness and personal responsibility in employees.

Finally, an LMS is one of the most powerful tools available to help you improve employee performance. It offers you the opportunity to centralize training, personalize learning, and provide continuous assessment for your team. The flexibility and ongoing training features offered by an LMS ensure that employees are always up-to-date, and well-prepared to face the challenges of the work environment.Looking for the ideal LMS to improve your employees’ performance? isEazy LMS is a platform that brings you all the features you need to manage and optimize your training processes and improve employee performance – and always without compromising on the best learning experience. Manage your team’s complete training cycle, streamline tasks, and optimize your training, communication and corporate knowledge processes, all in one place! Request a demo today, and discover isEazy LMS.

CONTENT CREATED BY:

Paula Cury Monteiro

Content Marketing Specialist at isEazy