How to measure productivity at work?

17 of October, 2022

One of the most challenging tasks for the managers of any company is to measure employee productivity. Are employees as productive as they can be or is there still room for improvement? It is clear that productivity and task tracking tools help, but it is undeniable that productivity is not a tangible value and different factors are involved. Here you will find out how to measure productivity at work. Keep reading.

How to measure work performance

Although productivity is subjective, it is possible to define objective indicators or metrics to measure work productivity to compare the performance of your employees. In order to do this, it is interesting to have a task management and performance review software. These parameters should always be adjusted to the worker’s role, and depending on the indicator we can talk about different types of work productivity:

• Productivity per hour: it refers to the total of goods or services produced in a given number of hours.
• Productivity by targets: this is associated with fulfilling the production targets of goods or services established for each worker.
• Quantitative productivity: instead of setting a target, an ideal productivity level is set for the employee and compared to actual production to evaluate his or her job performance.
• Productivity by customer satisfaction: it is measured using user surveys to check the quality of service and customer feedback.
• Productivity by sales: focuses on the sales and derived income generated by an employee.

In order to measure work performance based on these parameters, it is also necessary to establish mechanisms for measuring the main indicators. It is not enough to measure the units produced by a worker; it is also necessary to know data like the hours worked. This is the only way to make an efficient calculation. The more variables that are taken into account, the more complex the calculation will be, but also the more accurate it will be. However, there is no standard formula for measuring work productivity.

Work performance time basis

Establishing clear indicators is only the first step, and then a time basis must be established. The time basis refers to the period over which the work productivity of each employee will be analyzed. Will the evaluation of work performance be daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually? It is essential to delimit the time periods, as they also provide comparable data.

The shorter the period analyzed, the more useful the analysis will be, but the more complex the assessment of the data will be. In any case, the key is the ability to compare data between periods. For example, if a worker has a morning shift one month and an afternoon shift the next month, there may be differences in productivity. 

Quantitative productivity vs. qualitative productivity

All this serves to measure productivity in quantitative terms, but it is also important to measure work productivity in qualitative terms. If the analysis is limited to quantitative terms, workers who are giving their all may seem unproductive. The reason? Faulty work processes.

Therefore, when analyzing staff performance, it is also necessary to study the potential optimization of strategies and processes. At every stage of a production process, there may be areas for improvement.

At this point, it is worth considering the units from which no profit can be made. Who is more productive, an employee who produces 10 valid units per hour or one who produces 15, but four of them do not pass quality controls? These units that cannot be marketed must also be taken into account when measuring productivity.

As a result, companies are giving more and more importance to qualitative productivity. This is a situation that occurs especially in companies in sectors where measuring work productivity is more complex. Human resources departments or the company’s own management establish a series of incentives based on the quality of their employees’ work.

Formula for calculating work productivity

The formula Work productivity = units produced or sold / resources used is often used. For this, it is essential to properly measure all indicators, from time to consumption of raw materials or wasted units by not complying with quality requirements.

It goes without saying that measuring work productivity is essential for business growth. Organizational leaders should be aware of productivity tools like Sesame’s HR Software that will help them analyze data.

Cristina Martin

People and Talent Director | LinkedIn | | Web | +post

Professional with over 20 years of extensive experience in various areas of Human Resources (Recruitment, Training, Occupational Risk Prevention, and Personnel Management). Experience in the Management Department: Broad understanding of the company and HR.

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