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3 project performance measurement myths
July 12, 2021 at 7:00 AM
A person with a pen and a person on a laptop reviewing strategy and conducting project performance measurment in Burlington, MA.

Accurately assessing performance is the key to success. There’s no other way to orient your company and find your direction. Effective project performance measurement is crucial. It’s the compass guiding your organization to your ambitions. At NFA Consulting, we’re the country’s leading strategic planning and growth consulting firm. Our tailored, strategic solutions help clients capitalize on every opportunity. Together, we’ll visualize where you want to go and design a map to ensure you get there.

Here are common myths about performance measurement:

1. Past performance forecasts future results

When considering how to forecast future results, many people look to past performance.

However, effective project performance measurement requires understanding that past performance isn’t the surest way to forecast future results. Encouraging employees to give and receive social feedback and closely monitoring it is far more beneficial.

Devising and establishing a system is imperative. It’s crucial to measure the frequency of peer-to-peer, intra-team, and team feedback. In conjunction with innovative technology, these approaches generate unparalleled insights.

The fact of the matter is traditional performance reviews and approaches are more of a detriment than a benefit. Worst yet, they yield inaccurate assessments and projections that result in mismanagement.

Luckily, with NFA, we’ll establish critical performance measurement positions so you can steer your company in the right direction.

2. You can judge an employee’s future performance by their performance the year before

Similarly, when trying to forecast the future performance of an individual employee, using last year’s performance as a reference isn’t a good indicator either.

Effective project performance measurement requires a different approach. Studying performance review data, researchers have discovered only one-third of high-scoring employees score as high in subsequent years.

Even more confounding, high-performing employees don’t always perform at their optimal level. Conversely, poor-performing employees don’t always perform poorly. Performance is labile, and work environments are constantly changing and necessitate continual learning and adaptation.

Ideally, employers will implement observable learning platforms. This increases engagement, retention, and performance. Even better, it exhibits a commitment to employee development and motivates them to perform at a higher level.

Appraising someone’s past performance to forecast future performance doesn’t tell the whole story. At NFA, we’ll help you gauge performance accurately to make meaningful improvements.

3. Tying KPIs to compensation increases performance

A common misconception is that the primary motivation for employees is money. This myth has led to ineffectual business cultures and models.

In the current corporate landscape, businesses leverage financial incentives to achieve enhanced performance. However, people are motivated by far more than money. People are motivated by things you can’t quantify in dollar amounts, like:

  • Acknowledgment
  • Respect
  • Self-fulfillment

Furthermore, when KPIs are attached to an individual’s pay, KPIs are manipulated to increase the chance of receiving a larger bonus. Instead, align your staff to your organization’s most essential success factors and evaluate performance regularly.

Otherwise, KPIs will be manipulated to maximize bonuses instead of performance, which ultimately means your business’ success will be a secondary concern.

Get in touch now for a consultation!

If measuring performance is proving to be difficult, at NFA Consulting, we can help. We provide essential project performance measurement in Burlington, MA that yields unrivaled insights into where you are and what you need to do to get where you want to go. We guarantee to capitalize on every opportunity, and our tailored services will optimize your organization’s efficiency and performance. Get in touch now to schedule a consultation! Arriving at your goals has never been as easy as it is with NFA.