Prodoscore Survey: A Majority of U.S. Employees Are Looking for Job Performance Recognition

Two-thirds of employees believe active coaching sessions would be helpful; more than half would replace annual performance reviews with coaching and regular engagement

Prodoscore, a leader in employee visibility and productivity software, today announced the productivity-related results of its survey detailing the attitudes of U.S. employees toward measuring job performance, visibility tools, coaching, and other work-related topics. Regardless of the company size or industry type, the findings revealed that a majority of employees (53%) are frustrated that their efforts go unrecognized, even as 77% of respondents believe that their managers know how hard they are working.

The survey also revealed that fewer than 50% find traditional annual performance reviews helpful in promoting job success. And a significant number of respondents – 75% – expressed interest in a tool that would highlight behaviors that lead to success so they can replicate them.

Prodoscore commissioned the study to put real numbers to trends it saw evolving over several years as work from home (WFH) arrangements gained traction, and that were amplified in the wake of COVID-19. With an overwhelming majority of respondents – 77% – currently working from home at least part of the time (vs. 61% prior to COVID-19), measuring employee performance and productivity has become an important issue to employers and employees alike. The number of employees working 100% from home has nearly doubled since March – 51% now vs. 27% pre-COVID.

Measuring employee performance

Working remotely has presented a host of challenges for employees – from juggling new family dynamics to the absence of daily interaction with colleagues and management to mastering technology. Despite these ongoing stressors, more than one-third (36%) of respondents find they are more productive working from home, 44% aren’t experiencing any difference, and only 20% state they are less productive. An overwhelming majority – 91% – appreciate the flexibility to manage their own schedule. 

On the subject of measuring employee performance with annual reviews, the majority of respondents stated they do not find them helpful, with only 33% excited to participate in the process. About 30% said annual reviews made them anxious, while 26% felt pressured to ensure their efforts were recognized, and 22% found the additional workload required to submit documentation and self-evaluation to be frustrating.

More than two-thirds (67%) believe active coaching sessions would be more useful than a traditional review, and a majority (54%) would be interested in replacing traditional annual performance reviews with active coaching and regular engagement.

Respondents are also interested in how they measure up when compared to their colleagues. A wide majority of them – 67% – stated that competition with peers motivated them to do better.

 “With the right tools in place, businesses can commit to making a long-term investment in a happier, more motivated and more productive workforce,” said Nadine M. Sarraf, CMO of Prodoscore. “Tools that create transparency between employees and leadership, and present opportunities for coaching are critical to professional growth – whether employees work in an office or from home. It’s clear from the survey and the conversations we have with customers that the concept of measuring performance based only on the end result is not fair. Productivity matters.”
View Survey Results Infographic

Survey Methodology

The survey was conducted in July 2020 in partnership with Propeller Insights. It polled 1,000 U.S.-based workers across diverse industries and included a mix of micro, SMB, and enterprise businesses. Most respondents were white-collar workers (79%), with 11% being gray-collar and 10% being gold-collar. The company announced visibility-focused findings in July.

About Prodoscore

Prodoscore™ is a company dedicated to empowering teams to be more effective and productive, validated with improved sales performance and time management metrics. By providing visibility into employee activities through a single, easy-to-understand Productivity Score™, a “prodoscore” is calculated to improve workforce productivity. Prodoscore works seamlessly with Google Cloud apps, Office365, CRM systems, and VoIP calling platforms, allowing it to be quickly implemented and maintained. Learn more at prodoscore.com.

Press Release initially published on Business Wire.