Are You Measuring What Matters?

We all know that measuring what matters is a crucial aspect of any successful business, and understanding employee priorities is key to achieving this. By prioritizing employee needs and focusing on what matters most to them, companies can boost employee satisfaction, retention, and ultimately, overall performance.

In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of measuring what matters and why understanding employee priorities is critical to achieving success.

What is Measuring What Matters?

Measuring what matters is a way of tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) that are essential to achieving a company's goals. These KPIs can vary from company to company, but they typically focus on metrics like revenue, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and other important factors.

By measuring what matters, companies can gain valuable insights into their performance and make data-driven decisions that help them improve and grow.

Why is Measuring What Matters Important?

Sounds obvious doesn't it?

But for the sake of stating the obvious it helps companies focus resources where they are most likely to improve overall performance. By tracking key metrics, businesses can see where they are succeeding and where they are falling short, allowing them to make informed decisions that help them achieve their goals and adjust tactics en-route in response to the results.

Second, measuring what matters is important for holding teams accountable. When everyone is working towards the same KPIs, it becomes easier to track progress and identify areas where individuals or teams may need additional support or resources.

Finally, measuring what matters is essential for communicating success to stakeholders. Whether it's investors, customers, or employees, having concrete data to show progress and growth can help build trust and confidence in a company's ability to deliver results.

Understanding Employee Priorities

Understanding what matters to your employees is quite simply critical for optimal success. After all, employees are the backbone of any successful business, and their priorities and needs should be a top consideration for any company looking to achieve long-term success.

So, what are employee priorities? While they can vary depending on the individual, some common priorities might include:

• Competitive compensation and benefits
• Opportunities for career growth and development
• A supportive work culture and positive relationships with colleagues
• Work-life balance and flexibility
• Recognition and appreciation for their contributions

By understanding what the priorities are, companies can tailor their approach to employee engagement and retention, ultimately improving performance and achieving greater success.

Impact on Retention

Working with the Essex University Data Science team we have been exploring how Machine Learning and AI can be used to predict patterns of attrition, so that employers can spot these signs early enough to take remedial actions and minimize staff losses.

We began by looking to see which factors, based on levels and changes in satisfaction, were driving attrition. It became clear there were no golden rules or patterns to follow. Even within a single company there simply was no correlation between satisfaction on specific factors and attrition. 

We then changed our models to focus on individuals priorities, whatever they may be, rather than trying to identify specific factors or KPI metrics. The results?

We managed to build models that showed exceptional accuracy in predicting that someone would leave the company within the coming months. We have reproduced this for single companies, multiple companies and varying time frames. When you look at what is important to an individual and then consider satisfaction and changes, the patterns are clear to follow. It's obvious when you think about it of course, but having the proof and hard metrics is vital to confirm what we already suspected.

We continue to work on developing our models and surfacing this in terms of actionable data in our platform, and are keen to continue our partnership with Essex University Data Science teams in this extraordinary work.

So if I can leave you with just one question, if you are focusing on driving optimal company performance do you have a regular data feed on employee priorities?

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If you want to measure what matters most to your employees, we can help at Thymometrics. We support businesses with employee surveys and 2-way anonymous feedback solutions. You can find out more by contacting us on 01223 750 251 or email hello@thymometrics.com.

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