A company is only as good as the employees behind it—or in it, as the case may be. An accurate and consistent employee performance evaluation is key not only to individual success but also to the overall growth of an organization.
Employee performance metrics, not just for software developers, are essential when tracking how well an employee is performing. But it can be tricky to properly implement such metrics. There are many different standards that can be used, and the most effective ones will be based on the roles of your team members and your business overall.
Below are 5 of the best ways to measure employee performance in the workplace.
1. Set Timely Individual Goals
Individual employee goals can tell you a lot about the people working in your company. Whether or not the employee is meeting their individual work objectives can give you a clear picture of how they are performing, even if you do not have daily interactions with them. It also gives you a better idea of each team member’s initiative and attitude towards personal responsibility.
If you want to gain the most insight on employee performance by looking at their individual goals, let your employees set their own goals—ones that are both timely and measurable. And then use the goals they set for themselves as the standards that you hold them to.
2. Look at their Personal Habits
Observe the personal habits of your employees, as these can hugely affect their work performance. Common habits like chewing on pens, humming, or tapping out song tempos on the desk may be annoying, but they’re generally harmless quirks. It’s the truly destructive, unproductive habits that you need to be on the lookout for.
These negative habits include taking unauthorized breaks, being involved in office gossip, use of computers not for software development but for personal reasons, and any disruptive behavior. To keep such practices from being adopted by the other employees, be clear about what habits are acceptable in your company. It also helps if you release an appropriate behavioral code they can refer to.
3. Avoid High Amounts of Non-Measurable Numbers
Avoid telling people the exact number of their score when it comes to performance. Numbers can be meaningless without a source to reference, and the specific ones are not even actionable. Try changing things up and using your words instead. Explain where they are, what you’ve observed about them, how they fit into the grand scheme of the business, and so on. This gives people a better idea of how they are doing.
4. Reduce the Complexity of Measurements
You should not need an interpreter when measuring performance. Complexity just makes things needlessly difficult. Keep everything simple and stay consistent when doing the measurements. Be sure they’re clear, concise, and straight to the point.
When you have to deliver performance evaluations, it’s important that you watch your language, terminology, and explanations. You need to be sure that everything you say makes perfect sense and is 100% actionable in order for your employees to improve.
Read this to learn how to set proper benchmarks on software development projects
5. Think Win/Win Scenarios when Determining Performance
You need to stress teamwork and cooperation when conducting an evaluation. People need to feel that they’re being rewarded for all the work they do. Once they don’t feel valued in the team they belong to, they may feel the need to prove they’re better than the other employees. This kind of thinking can only lead to conflict, which is emotionally destructive at worst and counter-productive at best. You should therefore do everything you can to discourage this line of thought.
