KPIs: Getting the Most from Your Employees in 2017
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are a measurable way of assessing an employee’s performance, allowing employers to set and measure tangible targets for staff – subsequently assisting with forecasting and maximising the workforce’s potential. With so many benefits, it makes sense to revisit your KPIs early in the New Year.
Before you introduce the topic of KPIs to your staff, make sure you’ve decided on a set of targets that are:
- Achievable
- Measurable
- Realistic!
Be careful: introducing targets that are unachievable and un-measurable is likely to produce the opposite results to what you’re aiming for, and could result in employees not agreeing to work to them as they know they can’t be achieved.
Getting started
First up, you’re going to need to tell your employees what you’re planning – as well as talking to them personally, you should also provide the information in writing too, whether that’s by letter or email.
It’s good to talk – so consult with staff and explain your reasons for introducing KPIs, letting them have their say and giving them the opportunity to come up with other suitable suggestions or methods that you might not have considered. During the process, make your employees aware that even though you’re introducing set KPIs, they’ll be constantly reviewed and updated.
Watch out for T&Cs!
Introducing a performance management system such as this could be deemed to be a change to existing employees’ terms and conditions. This means that if you unilaterally enforce this without staff consent, you could meet some resistance – and at worse, a potential litigation. Of course this doesn’t apply to new hires once the KPI system is in place, as there would be no changes to their terms of employment.
A few more points...
Putting targets into practice may apply at certain points of the year but may become invalid or ineffective after a set time e.g. if you implement sales target KPIs, these might be affected during slow trade periods.
When introducing KPIs, think about how you’ll take action if employees don’t achieve them. You should consider each employee’s circumstances for not reaching their targets individually, as their reasons may differ – and if you apply the same principles to everyone this could be deemed to be unfair.
If you need any further information on implementing KPIs, please contact the 24 Hour Peninsula Advice Service on 01 855 50 50.
