I have written previously on the low output that adds up to our low GDP. To recap, the average output of an adult Kenyan is $1,133.46 (2015) per year, Shs 312 per day, and that includes factoring the billions that mPesa, Safaricom, Breweries, BAT and banks generate.
If you are employing someone, I think you know that one of the reasons for our low productivity revolves around the huge need for extreme supervision in the work place. When the cat is absent, so speak, the rats literally take leave!
One way of improving the output of your employees without stepping up the extent of your supervision is to adopt the practice of crafting and managing performance on the basis of key performance indicators (KPIs), and basing performance reviews on them. That way, your job as supervisor will change from watching over your people’s shoulders to being available to help them technically and strategically.
KPIs are good for both the employee and employer. They provide an objective and quantifiable measures for a company to gauge, monitor and evaluate performance against its vision, mission and strategic objectives. They provide for the employee an equally objective and quantifiable set of expectations against which he/he can expect to be told “well-done” and bonus pay.
KPIs should not be just for senior employees. A housekeeper could be expected to dust windows once a day, and prepare meals for serving on time. A customer care attendant could be required to answer calls within three rings. And a manager could be expected to ensure no more than 10% staff turnover. In one organisation I am currently involved in, claiming a refund for travel expenses is tied to the achievement of the performance against which the travel was assigned.
Once designed and communicated, KPIs should also be integrated with the organisation’s performance appraisal schedule. At least twice a year, your employees should have an opportunity to obtain formal feedback as to how they are performing (a score sheet), and to provide feedback in respect to the challenges that could be affecting their performance. When properly scheduled and conducted, employee appraisals are an important tool for focusing the energy of employees towards the organisation’s key objectives and in turn boosting employee morale (as they see themselves performing as expected) and engagement.
Needless to say, for that to happen, performance appraisals need to be fair and transparent
Haron Wachira 