BUSINESS AGILITY

Improving Productivity With Individual Performance Management Software

Alison Diana | Date: 07-01-11 | Comments

As employers demand even more from their workforces, collaboration and time-management tools become critical.

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Improving Productivity With Individual Performance Management Software
Looking to rebound from the economic downturn, employers around the globe are demanding more from their workforces. Yet it can be challenging for individual workers to determine, measure, and accomplish specific performance goals.

This year, CEOs have set high goals for corporate growth: Globally, businesses aim to increase by 5.4 percent in 2011, while in the United States companies are targeting 4.9 percent growth, according to a June report by the Hay Group. The U.S. economic growth forecast is 2.8 percent, the International Monetary Fund�s latest figures show.

To accomplish these lofty goals, top-management recognizes they must boost productivity by an average of 6 percent, the Hay Group determined. In fact, 69 percent of those polled plan to ask their employees to do more work. However, 54 percent of respondents are concerned their workforces are already stretched too thin, the study found.

�In response to the economic downturn, U.S. business leaders focused solidly on controlling costs. To fully harness the power of their employees, executives need to take a fresh look at how performance is really managed to ensure people are enabled to drive organizational performance,� Katie Lemaire, vice president at Hay Group, in a statement. �Now, as they look to improve business results and get more discretionary effort from their people, it�s time for them to shift their focus to performance management.�

Teamly CEO Scott Allison

Part of performance management involves setting individual priorities and goals�without micro-managing the workforce, said Scott Allison, CEO of Teamly, a London-based startup that expects to open-up a California office in the near-future, in an interview. Earlier this year, Teamly released its eponymous Web-based collaboration and time management tool for businesses and employees.

�At times it�s overwhelming trying to manage and track employees,� Allison said. �What we�re trying to do is help the individual feel on top of their work and get a sense of satisfaction when they�re ticking things off the list. The other benefit for the individual is it�s giving them a sense of achievement. What Teamly does easily and simply is to create a paper trail, but it�s a very lightweight paper trail.�

Rather than judging employees� performance by their visible level of activity, Teamly enables managers to ensure workers are busy performing the right tasks, Allison said. An employee could, for example, spend the day answering emails, but the company may need that worker to perform another task, he said. Rather than focus on a vast number of to-do items, Teamly specifies a few tasks.

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