Performance analysis focuses typically on how well each employee is performing key job tasks. HR can observe the employee’s performance on a regular basis to conduct a performance analysis. Traditionally, performance analysis has involved an employee and that employee’s immediate supervisor. Depending on the nature of an individual’s work, that employee’s peers, customers, and subordinates may also be in a position to provide information that can be used to identify that employee’s performance. In fact, an evaluation approach called 360 degree performance appraisal uses as many of the sources as possible to get a complete picture of an employee’s performance.

The sources for performance analysis data include employee performance evaluation, direct observation, and questionnaires as sources of information available for employee assessment.

Here is the guide that the organization must have these data sources for performance analysis and metrics for analyzing employee performance assessment.

1. Performance Appraisal Data – Include weaknesses and areas of improvement as well as strong points; easy to analyze and quantify for purposes of determining types of training needed. These data can be used to identify performance discrepancies.

2. Observation Work Sampling – More subjective technique but provides both employee behavior and results of the behavior.

3. Job Knowledge Skills – can be tailor-made or standardized so as to measure job-related qualities.

4. Survey Questionnaires – Preparing questions related to specific characteristics of the organization. These data can be useful in determining the morale, motivation, or satisfaction of each employee.

5. Checklists or Training Progress Charts – Up-to-date listing of each employee’s skills; indicates future training requirements for each job.

6. Training Sessions – Certain knowledge, skills, and attitudes are demonstrated in these techniques.

7. Rating- employee performance rating on a numerical scale of 1-5.

8. Assessment data - An intensive assessment program combining several of the above techniques.

9. One-on-one meeting – Meeting arrangement between an employee and that employee’s manager; this provides the manager’s feedback data.

10. Performance Review Data – Provides actual performance data on a recurring basis related to organization standards so that the baseline measurements may be known and subsequent improvement of performance may be identified and analyzed; this performance review is keyed to organization goals and objectives.

Conclusion

It is impossible to capture performance in one single employee performance metric. Most companies try to do this by asking managers and colleagues to review people’s performance, in a 360 degree feedback loop.

There should always be a balance between quantity metrics and quality metrics. This balance is measured in Work efficiency, as these metrics consider the resources like time and money (quantity) needed to produce a certain output (quality). It is hard to achieve this balance, which is one of the reasons a lot of companies struggle with rating employees and with the performance review practice itself.

The best metric is a combination of different qualitative and quantitative employee performance metrics, done by multiple people.

Performance metrics are often combined with recruitment data to predict which hires are most likely to be top performers. This is done by comparing candidates’ profiles with their performance a year later. Patterns in this data can be used as input to make better hiring decisions of new candidates.