Using Productivity Metrics

To Improve Employee Productivity

Garland Coulson “Captain Time”

What are Productivity Metrics?• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) relating to Productivity

Why Are They Important?• Martin works late every night

• Susan goes home on time to be with her kids

• Who is more productive?

Time Spent ≠ Productivity• What if Susan gets nearly twice as many sales

or twice as many phone calls completed as Martin while working only half as many hours?

Garland’s Real Life Experience• My desk was always empty• My co-workers had files stacked on their desk• My supervisors assumed I had less work so

assigned me more• Even though I was #1 in sales!

What You Measure – Gets Focus• My big board of sales

Why Don’t More Offices Do This?• Most managers don’t really know what staff

do• No one has really worked out what the clear

outcomes should be• No one has designed the activities to

specifically achieve these outcomes

How to Set a Metric

Determine desired output

01Determine how to measure the results

02Determine how to measure the activities that should lead to the desired results

03

Sales Metrics1. $ volume in sales generated

2. Close rate

3. Activities leading to sales1. Calls2. Emails3. Networking groups

attended

Efficiency Metrics• # of tasks processed• Average time to complete tasks• Delivery on time

Customer Satisfaction• Feedback• Waiting times

Training Metrics• Training courses completed• Skills improvement• Knowledge and skills testing

Individual Employee Goals• Specific for each employee

• MUST be measurable and controllable

• MUST be communicated to the employee

• Focus on a few key ones rather than trivial ones

Beware of Circumstances that Skew Results• Changes in local economy might

affect sales

• Single large projects that affect tracking

• Be adaptable and look at other metrics as well

How To Track Productivity Metrics• Spreadsheets• Task management systems• Support ticket systems

Making Metrics Part of Your Culture• New hires

• Show how they will be measured

• Performance reviews• Tie rewards to metrics

More help at CaptainTime.com