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Performance Appraisals: Measuring Change

Everyone recognizes that process and performance measurements are important. Few, however, actually implement the needed measurements without a good reason to do so.

Talk of measuring improvement often falls on deaf ears unless the employee performance appraisal process is tied to a pay for performance program and accurate, meaningful measurements are required.

In the employee performance appraisal goal setting process, it should be clearly defined to employees that the goals they propose to meet during this appraisal period must be measurable insofar as possible and they must establish what and how measurements will be established.

To make measurements meaningful, a baseline has to be established initially. If, for instance, an employee sets the goal of improving process turn-around time by 3% or more, there must be a defined data point from which the improvement can be measured.

If you are not using metrics in your business, you are missing out on one of the best methods of learning about your processes and workflows. Time and cost savings can readily be established if you know which processes and flows are taking too long.

Most leaders have no real idea how long it takes to perform a process from request to delivery. Costing of the process may well be off by huge amounts as a result.

By having a measurement system in place, you can make it simple and easy for your employees to determine process improvements, to create goals for employee performance appraisals and create cost-saving employee suggestions.

First, a simple flow chart of processes should be defined. Then measurements should be placed against each of the sub-processes, or steps, in the flow.

Very often, the flow chart alone will generate a great idea about taking unnecessary steps out of the flow to speed process time.

Even if the employee's process is to publish Document X once per month, measurements can be placed to track number of time the publication occurred on-time, the time required to collect data inputs and time to create publication.

Then the process can be reviewed for potential improvement.

Empower your employees, through the employee performance goal planning and appraisal processes, to make and measure changes that can help the company as a whole.

By allowing the process owner to be totally accountable for the success or failure of their process, you'll likely find much more productivity and higher morale. You'll also have all the information at your disposal needed to address problems when they arise.

Copyright © 2006 by Bill Roche. All rights reserved. All material on this site (www.TopResults.com) is protected by U.S. Federal Copyright law. It may not be reprinted in any form, or hosted on any Web site, without explicit permission.

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Copyright © 1998-2008 by Bill Roche. All rights reserved. All material on this site (www.TopResults.com) is protected by U.S. Federal Copyright law. It may not be reprinted in any form, or hosted on any Web site, without explicit permission.