Small businesses have limited resources, so it’s important to make the most of all available resources, including your employees. Performance tracking helps you be as efficient as possible, and helps you meet your goals.
If you want to improve performance, it’s a good idea to use the right types of tools to support that.
Use special tracking software on company-issued devices
Performance monitoring software allows you to capture data that you can use to make important management decisions. Start by determining the types of data you want to collect and find a tool that will help you do so.
You can use monitoring software to track everything from app usage to internet activity to the time required for a task. If a team member seems to be taking too long to complete a task, you can learn from the monitoring tool that they are doing it in an unproductive way, and then you can work with them to get better.
Monitoring software can seem like an unnecessary expense, especially if things are already fragile. However, it can save you money because it allows you to use your organization’s most valuable resource. If you don’t feel like it’s in the budget, you can always use a personal loan to get your finances in order, so you have more money to invest in this equipment.
Create clear goals
Employees can’t improve if they don’t know what to do. Start by determining your organization’s core goals and ask yourself what tasks and projects need to be done to support these. Then you can figure out which metrics are most important to improve your specific priorities.
Use the right tools for project management
Project management tools help you determine whether the work is being completed. Adding the team to one of these tools will help you decide which employees do what. They also allow you to assign different employees to specific tasks.
Allow them to monitor themselves
You can do everything you can to check in with employees and follow up with them, but ultimately, it’s up to the employee to engage in the work. When a team member tracks their own time, they can see how much progress they have made on tasks and projects. You can use activity logs, comprehensive project plans, or checklists to help you stay on track.
When an employee can see how much progress they are making, they may be better prepared to pursue their goals over time, and generally be more engaged. They can use tracking reports to see where their time is going and where they need to adjust.
Make sure everyone knows their reports are visible to managers as well. When they know how they spent their time, they will be more responsible for their actions.
