Knowledge and Skills in Monitoring Team Member Performance

Tracking team member performance is important. Talented employees want feedback to help them grow and improve, but beyond that, it simply makes sense to keep track of what’s going on at your business.

However, quantifying and measuring performance metrics is easier said than done. Traditional metrics such as productivity can present a moving target and can often be misleading. As Jeff Haden notes in an article for Inc, “measuring is important, but measuring what you need to measure and measuring it the right way is critical.”

There are a number of different methods to choose from for actually tracking performance metrics. The Houston Chronicle outlined regular appraisals, productivity tests, 360-degree feedback, and management by objectives as a few common forms of measuring individual performance metrics.

Certainly, there are a number of metrics that can be used when it comes to tracking how team members are doing, and the most effective ones will depend on your business and on different team member roles.

Here are five metrics for measuring team member performance.

1. Attendance 
First and foremost, it’s important to look at whether a team member shows up to work or not. Attendance is definitely worth tracking. We’ve talked about using time and attendance data for company growth before, but team attendance can
be a useful performance metric as well. Automating time and attendance is a great way to keep an eye on things. If a team member is consistently showing up late, leaving early, or taking an unusual number of sick days, they’re likely not showing their full potential.

Poor attendance can be caused by any number of things, including a lack of motivation, health issues, or burnout. There are a number of indirect costs of absenteeism, such as the extra pressure put on other team members who have to make up for missing coworkers, which can effect work quality and safety. Furthermore, if your organization is understaffed and team members are overworked in general, it’s best to address the problem as soon as possible to avoid putting team health and well-being at risk.

2. Helpfulness
We love helping our clients, so it isn’t surprising that we’d aim to include helpfulness on a list of team member performance metrics. Joshua Konowe of Konowe & Associates told All Business Experts that helpfulness is a key performance metric at his company: “At our company, we ask: ‘Who in your department (or another department) has been the most helpful over the past six months to you and your operational role?’”

He adds that posing this question to team members is “a great motivator, is totally anonymous, and identifies the real doers in the company—not just what management believes.’” Helpfulness is important for fostering a culture of teamwork, allowing your team to perform better when tackling difficult tasks together. It might be difficult to measure helpfulness, but Konowe’s method is a great place to start.

3. Efficiency

Team members need to be able to complete their work on time. They should have a good handle on the limitations provided by the time and resources available and should be able to prioritize to get things done as efficiently as possible. Look for missed deadlines or work that suffers as a result of cramming for deadlines for clues as to how efficiently a team member is working.

Attendance is important here too: if you see a team member clocking large amounts of overtime every day, you may need to speak to them about time management.

4. Initiative
It’s nice when those you work with ask what’s needed and where they can help. It’s even nicer when they see a need and take steps to meet it on their own. An employee that takes initiative is definitely a sign of team satisfaction and engagement.

Looking at team members who take initiative is also important for growing businesses and for rapidly changing workplaces that require people who can adapt and be proactive. Initiative-taking is definitely a difficult metric to measure, but a good place to start would be by keeping track of the times you see a team member taking initiative, either with a nifty app or with good old- fashioned pen and paper.

5. Quality
The quality of work your team members put out is perhaps the most important metric, but it is also the most difficult to define. Team members who care about what they do and are engaged at work will likely perform better, and it’s a good
idea to recognize resulting achievements.

Productivity is more complex than simply looking at the number of sales calls put out or the number of blog posts published. How many meaningful connections did your salesperson actually make with the new leads? How much
of your content actually gets viewed and shared by your audience? One suggestion is to measure the amount of work that gets rejected or needs to be redone as a proxy for the quality of work, but it’s best to pick and design the method that suits your business best.

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