The Role of Metrics in Performance Management

The behaviour and actions of employees affect how a company performs. Fortunately, data gained from metrics can help optimise performance management efforts. Tests of performance have been used for millennia.

For example, the ancient Romans and Greeks conducted tests on their soldiers to assess combat skills like swordsmanship and archery. Today, the armed forces use computer simulations to measure proficiency in handling infinitely more advanced weaponry. However, a suitably designed test can reveal far more about individuals than their aptitude on a battlefield.

Today, aptitude tests are more often used to predict how an employee or job applicant will react in various workplace scenarios. As such, these tests can provide some of the crucial information needed to optimise a company’s performance. These tests can assess mechanical aptitude where relevant and evaluate cognitive skills like verbal and numerical reasoning, spatial visualisation and vocabulary. However, while aptitude does affect performance, many other areas could require attention to improve a company’s performance.

The Need for a Holistic Approach to Performance Management

Several factors can affect how individuals and businesses perform, and only by examining each of these and modifying them where necessary can one ensure maximum improvement. We will now investigate those factors that affect performance and frequently need attention and the actions required to improve them.

• Motivation: While some people may do their jobs exceptionally well purely because they love them, most tend to work better when given an incentive. The latter is usually contingent upon them achieving one or more specified company goals. However, unless everyone is aware of and fully aligned with those goals and they are realistic, they can actually be a disincentive. Performance management specialists like Orgro can help a company devise more relevant and realistic goals and design improved incentive schemes to recognise and reward those whose personal efforts have assisted the company in achieving them.

• Engagement: An employee must fully engage cognitively, emotionally and physically with a task to perform it optimally. Unfortunately, many jobs essential to achieving a company’s goals are unnecessarily complex, inefficient or uninspiring. Even the most conscientious employee could find it hard to engage with such tasks. Orgro can solve these issues by redesigning jobs to boost engagement and smooth employee performance.

• Skillset: Sometimes, employees are assigned to posts without the necessary experience or skills to perform optimally. Nevertheless, they are often sufficiently productive to avoid undue attention. That’s neither good for the employee nor the company. Data from psychometric tests can identify their strengths and weaknesses and indicate where training or redeployment will maximise their value as an executive, manager or team member.

Professional Help With Performance Management

The business world and how we work are constantly changing, and the ability to adjust rapidly to those changes can determine who succeeds and who fails. Success requires a motivated, engaged and adequately skilled workforce. Experience has shown that, despite the best efforts of HR managers, help from an expert performance management team is the most effective way for a business to achieve its full potential.

The Orgro team can help your business optimise its performance and grow. If you would like to learn more about this or any of our services, please complete our online form and tell us your interests.