How to Demonstrate Quality & Quantity of Work on a Job

As an employee, you not only want to do good work, but have your work be recognized both for its quality and for the amount of work you accomplish. Business managers also want to be well aware of how each employee is handling his or her job in terms of quality and quantity of work. Both workers and managers can use a variety of workplace tools to set expectations and document job performance.

Write a Job Description

Don’t assume that employees know what is expected of them merely by a job title. A receptionist in one office may have vastly different requirements compared to another office. Write a job description that clearly defines what the position entails, what skills and competencies are required and how the job fits into the department. This includes who a person reports to and who they may also manage.

The job description is not only shared on job sites while searching for prospects. It must also be included in the job offer and the employee handbook (or human resources reference manual) for employees to refer to it for clarity when necessary.

Establish Quality Requirements

Define quality in ways people understand. A figure skater doesn’t simply head out onto the ice and start doing turns and jumps. A figure skater understands what perfect form is and what she must do to accomplish a perfect score. Most figure skaters also know what average scores are for other skaters who are performing the same trick. The average scores are the baselines and skaters hope to work to exceed them.

The same is true for employees. Create performance reviews with sections that define quality. There are different standards for different jobs. A salesperson might demonstrate quality by having a low return rate. A tax preparer might define quality by the number of tax returns getting flagged for errors. Other areas of quality control might include how few rings it takes to answer phones, consistency of product preparation or giving customers a receipt with every purchase.

Employees should always have access to these standards so they aren’t surprised by performance evaluations. Review quality expectations in team meetings and training. Put reminders and lists where appropriate. For example, a reminder to hand customers a receipt is easily posted on a register out of customer view.

Set Quantity Metrics

Quantity metrics define how many units are being produced in a given period of time. High-performers are not simply producing quality units but are producing an above average number of items. As with quality requirements, quantity metrics need to be established. This is how employees keep score of their performance. Make sure employees understand how to quantify work. It is easy in sales to define quantity as units sold. But for someone not selling cars, quantity is defined by items produced or customers served.

Customer service representatives can count how many clients are served in a shift or per hour. Manufacturers count units created per hour per person. As with all other performance measures, train employees on average, subpar and superior performance numbers. Remind your team regularly and provide access to sample evaluations.

Tip

Choose an evaluation schedule such as annually or quarterly and be consistent in holding them. Let employees know when evaluations are approaching and what resources are available to review expectations.