Regardless of the kind of products your business offers, it is necessary to accurately measure employee productivity. Achieving productivity in the workplace could prove challenging if the measures applied are not conversant with the kind of work the employees handle each day. According to a 2013 Gallup survey, at least 70 percent of workers in the U.S. are disengaged while at work. Some of the reasons quoted to cause this include distractions from uncontrolled use of smartphones, personal emails, social media and other demands in life, thereby making it difficult for the employee to focus on their work. Lack of interest often leads to mediocre productivity.
Accurately measuring the productivity of your employees allows you to gain insight into how productive, skilled and engaged they are. Below are some of the methods you can apply to achieve high levels of accuracy while measuring employee productivity.
Quantitative assessment of productivity
The first method of measuring employee productivity that you can embrace is the quantitative evaluation criterion, which highlights the number of parts or products produced by any employee within a specified period of time, say a day or one hour. This formula works perfectly for small businesses, but you could as well use it to manage a large group.
It is simple and time saving and delivers high levels of accuracy that can allow you to make vital decisions. It allows the use of technology like spreadsheet data to complete the calculations and to make comparison of data for different periods or seasons. While using the quantitative method, you should first come up with a baseline average of each worker against time then measure productivity basing your facts on this average.
Management by objectives
Using management by objectives offers accurate results, but you must explore ways that measure productivity based on how well the output of each employee is contributing to the achievement of your company’s targets and goals. If the goal is to achieve higher customer retention within a year, you might need to come up with training incentives that will motivate employees to help you achieve the goal. During annual evaluations, Brian Speier explains that you should note a reduction in the number of complaints from customers and a rise in compliments and notes of appreciation.
Time management productivity
Time losses impact the growth of a business a lot and unless this is regulated, it could prove impossible to achieve the goals set by the business. Using the time management method of measuring employee productivity, you can determine the productivity of each employee by coming up with records that show how much time they use in their work.
Accuracy in this process reveals the amount of time spent on meaningful projects as well as the amount of time lost due to things like negligence and sickness. With the results one gets from this goal, it is possible to come up with strategies that help to reduce time losses. Using time management is highly recommended for small businesses since there are fewer employees to monitor.