Why Building a More Effective Organization is a “Moneyball” Numbers Game
Managers have a lot in common with coaches. But which type of coach are you - the one who evaluates their team based on past games, follows their intuition, and has a ‘feel’ for the right play?
Or are you the kind that tracks the numbers and drills down into each player’s performance, going by measurable metrics rather than gut instinct?
Off the field and in the office, it’s the latter approach that puts you on top. Managers used to evaluate their teams based mainly on observation but with all the tech tools now at their disposal, there’s a better way. Taking a data-driven approach to performance management delivers accurate insights that can be converted into real wins.
Switch up how you measure performance
A study conducted by MIT Sloan Management Review shows that performance management is changing with the times, becoming “more data-driven, more flexible, more continuous, and more development-oriented.”
It’s easy to see why. Annual and quarterly reviews are a necessary part of employee engagement, but they’re no longer the best indicator of performance. For one thing, feedback in these sessions arrives too late. When you’re reviewing a team member’s efforts, you’re getting a picture of their past work, not their current performance or engagement in the business and are therefore playing catch-up.
In today’s fast-paced business environment, feedback needs to be more timely - giving it greater authenticity and relevance. Data collected and monitored in real-time gives managers a firm foundation from which they can set Key Performance Indicators, change behavior, and provide constructive guidance.
How to adopt a data-driven approach
Unfortunately for managers, there’s no all-encompassing definition of productivity as it depends on what your team’s objectives are, and the company’s wider goals. That’s why the first step for managers should be determining what exactly they’re going to measure - and how they’re going to measure it.
Rather than looking at results at the end of the cycle, why not gauge individual and team performance along the way? This gives a clearer picture of how your team is handling its workload on a daily basis, allowing you to respond to dips and hurdles as they happen.
When it comes to measuring performance, outcomes matter but so does engagement. There are many factors at play when assessing your team’s effectiveness.
Employee Productivity Monitoring solution Prodoscore collates and categorizes qualitative and behavioral data to provide managers with actionable insights into their department’s daily activities. Leaders can visualize both individual and team engagement from a single dashboard that provides a window into how their employees are using company tools and how they’re engaged with various team members. The platform creates an overview of productivity and engagement over time, highlighting dips or spikes.
With this kind of data-driven approach, you don’t just get insight into your team’s current performance, but also how they’re likely to contribute in the future. Over time, patterns can be identified and these can be used to create predictive models around your team’s behaviors and challenges.
Proactively managing performance in this way makes your organization more efficient, more competitive, and ultimately more successful. Get in touch today to see how Prodoscore can help you build your all-star team.
