As a business owner or manager you may have found that it is harder to monitor an employee’s production than you thought it might be.
Depending on the type of job an employee does it could be very difficult to find out how productive they are during their 8-hour shift.
Jobs that have required tasks that are specific and can be measured by time are easier to monitor. As long as you know how many “widgets” should be produced in an hour and then measure how many actually are being produced. If the numbers are within the allowed normal amount, the employee is doing well, if they are below then you know that you have a problem.
It is when you have a job that has tasks that are not easily measured by time such as a receptionist, retail clerk, or an account receivables assistant, that it may be difficult to know if they are working to their full potential.
Many of these job tasks vary in time, such as one phone call can take more time than another or a customer issue will take up more time than a simple retail transaction.
Many times employers become frustrated because they have no real way to know if the employees are pacing themselves with their workload so that they do not have to work harder or are they really fully applying themselves.
If this is an issue in your place of business, there are a couple of good steps that can be taken to help figure out if an employee is being fully productive during their shift.
Time versus task – Have each employee record on paper for a day or two regular jobs tasks and how much time it took to complete them. After reviewing what was done, for example: how many phone calls did they answer and the average time per call, the time can be added up to see what was completed during the 8-hour day.
Task sheet – Have a list of regular tasks for the job position daily, weekly and monthly. Each day as a task is completed it is ticked off the sheet. It is also good to have these tasks listed in priority order. Was the employee able to complete all expected tasks? Did they have time to spare?
Many times employees are reluctant to complete one of the above because it is presented in a negative way such as, “ I need you to write down everything you do each day so I know if you are productive.”
Monitoring productivity is really essential for any business because time is money. Asking employees to help with evaluating productivity for business efficiency and ways to increase revenue increases their willingness to be part of making the business more successful.
Smart business owners and managers will monitor job positions for productivity every 6-12 months. By doing this they will not only be more successful with increasing overall productivity, but they will also be able to know what can and should be produced by each position each day.
How is productivity monitored at your place of business?
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