I'm often asked how to measure people. Managers, executives and human resource professionals all want to know how to cascade company goals to individuals, and put measures in their performance agreements. It's the toughest question I am ever asked, because my answer isn't what they want to hear.

Certainly one of the biggest objections to measuring performance is the amount of time and effort it takes to do it properly. Executives, managers and staff alike somehow believe that it should be fast and easy, a trivial task they can just 'get out of the way' and go back to their 'real work'. It's because they believe in the same BIG lie.

Can you prove that measuring and monitoring people's performance actually does improve the performance of the organisation? I'll be you can't. A very fundamental dynamic prevents it.

In performance improvement, a few important terms are often confused or misused. So, exactly what are benchmarks, baselines, targets and standards? (more…)

We have lots of reasons not to measure performance: not enough time, not enough good data, not enough engagement from colleagues, not enough support from leaders, not enough clarity in our goals, not the right timing, and so on. These are all constraints. But they shouldn't be showstoppers.

There are still managers around who think that the way to make performance improve is to hit people over the head with KPIs or performance measures. We know they're doing far more harm than good, but what can we do to stop them?

There is a LOT of information out there about how to develop KPIs and measure performance. Most of it is impractical, unproven or doesn't work. How do you find the good advice, then? (more…)

KPI alignment is critical for successful strategy execution and lasting performance improvement. What exactly should KPIs align with, and why? (more…)