Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

A key performance indicator, or KPI, is a factor that helps employers determine whether their employees' performance meets the job expectations and standards. KPIs vary according to the employee's position, title, qualifications and, sometimes, tenure with the organization. On an organizational level, KPIs are measurements useful in communicating how well an organization is performing. KPIs connect the company's performance to strategy, according to London-based organizational research provider Advanced Performance Institute. For individual contributors to an organization -- such as an HR assistant -- KPIs determine whether her performance is aligned with the departmental goals and activities.

An organization's human resources assistant often is the face of HR. The HR assistant is the person who greets callers looking for information on employment opportunities. He's frequently the go-to person employees’ call with questions about pay and benefits, or issues they might be having with a co-worker. Based on the HR assistant's duties, a number of key performance indicators determine whether he's meeting the organization's expectation and supporting the HR department's functionality.

Our expert team members are here to offer all-out support and guidance on any issue from assessing the performance to promote, motivate, retain and situational terminations based on the following points:

Meeting Goals

Measure whether employees met pre-established goals during the assessment period. For example, an employee might have specific goals such as completing an annual report, developing a new filing system or learning a new software program. You also may have goals that are more subjective in nature, such as improving attitude or developing more effective time management skills.

Teamwork

Teamwork is an essential component of many positions. Rate your staffer on his participation in group initiatives. You might find it worthwhile to seek feedback from colleagues when making this assessment, to learn about co-worker perceptions about contributions, sharing the work load, contributing ideas and meeting established performance parameters.

Job Skills

There are certain job skills necessary for the effective completion of job tasks and responsibilities. While this will vary from position to position, judge whether your employee is meeting standards in key areas. For example, if you’re evaluating a customer service agent, you might rate key performance indicators such as resolved customer complaints, telephone skills or average number of calls handled in an hour.

Communication

Communication is an essential part of every job and should be a key performance indicator in your employee evaluations. Rate how well your staffer communicates with management, customers and colleagues. This can be defined in terms of interpersonal communication skills, written and verbal skills.

Decision Making

If you’re assessing an employee in a decision-making position, rank how he fares in this area by evaluating major or difficult decisions that have been made during the previous assessment period. Consider whether an employee regularly approaches management or colleagues for assistance in choosing a path to pursue, or if she is confident and makes well-educated decisions on her own.

Work Habits

Assess the staffer’s work habits, including time management, meeting deadlines, arriving for work on time and being reliable. This will help you evaluate not only whether the staffer understands the responsibilities of his job, but carries them out in an efficient and consistent way on a daily basis.