38 Employee Performance Metrics to Track Now!

Navigating the vast sea of employee performance metrics can feel a bit like steering a ship through a storm. The sheer number of options is overwhelming. What metrics should you track? How do you improve employee performance? Which tools should you use? 

But fear not! While daunting, it’s a worthwhile journey. Building the right employee performance systems is about ensuring your organization runs like a well-oiled machine, while keeping the heart of your business—your employees—engaged and thriving.

Let’s dive in.

Here are 38 employee performance metrics worth tracking now:

1. Feedback 

Feedback is a broad category that can encompass a number of metrics worth tracking. For example, this could include customer feedback, employee feedback and engagement surveys, 360-degree feedback, and reviews on external sites like Glassdoor, Indeed, and Blind. 

2. Job Satisfaction 

This metric refers to how content employees are with their roles, work environment, and the organization as a whole. It can be measured through regular surveys and one-on-one meetings, providing crucial insights into employee morale, work-life balance, and overall job fulfillment.

3. Employee Retention 

This key HR metric shows the ability of an organization to retain its employees over a specified period. A high retention rate often signifies a positive work environment and effective HR policies, while a low retention rate may point to potential issues with employee satisfaction, growth and development opportunities, or compensation.

4. Employee Turnover

Also known as attrition, this metric refers to the number or percentage of employees who leave the company within a certain time period. High turnover rates could indicate problems with job satisfaction, workplace culture, or employee engagement, and it can be costly for organizations due to the expenses related to hiring and training new staff.

5. Absenteeism

This refers to the frequency or rate at which employees miss work without valid reasons. High absenteeism could point to issues with employee health, job satisfaction, or engagement. Tracking this metric can help HR identify trends and address the root causes of frequent absences.

6. Net promoter score 

NPS is a metric traditionally used to measure customer loyalty by asking how likely they are to recommend a product or company. In an HR context, however, it can be used to gauge employee loyalty or satisfaction by asking how likely employees are to recommend the organization as a place to work.

7. Overtime per employee 

This metric represents the amount of time an employee works beyond their scheduled work hours. High overtime can indicate high workload, inefficiency, or poor work-life balance, and it could potentially lead to burnout if not managed properly.

8. Revenue per employee 

This measures the amount of revenue generated by each employee, offering insights into productivity and efficiency. It can be a useful indicator of the effectiveness of training programs, HR policies, and talent management strategies.

Say you’ve tracked organizational employee performance metrics and identified opportunities to improve your learning and development strategy. As you embark on that effort, here are some great learning and development metrics to consider:

9. Training attendance rate 

The training attendance rate serves as an indicator of your training program's appeal and relevance. It measures how many employees have signed up for training, attend individual sessions, and their participation in various courses. 

By tracking attendance over time, one can identify patterns, address potential issues of value perception, or optimize the marketing strategies for promoting the program internally. Learning management systems make it easy to collect and track this information.

10. Course completion rate

The course completion rate shows how many employees finish the training they sign up for. Low completion rates could signal misalignment between course expectations and actual content, causing attendees to drop out. 

By setting clear expectations about the course's benefits and its applicability to employees' daily work, organizations can enhance completion rates and overall effectiveness of the training.

11. Average time to completion 

This KPI measures the average duration from course enrollment to completion, indicating the efficiency of self-paced learning. If employees take longer to complete courses, it may be due to lack of perceived value, low prioritization, or other reasons. 

Understanding these reasons and implementing targeted solutions, like timely reminders or revising the training focus, can improve this metric.

12. Post-training assessment results 

Post-training assessment results measure how well your learners learn from your training. By evaluating the average scores of participants, you can gauge the effectiveness of the training. If the failure rate is high, it may indicate a need for improving the quality of training to ensure it effectively imparts knowledge and skills.

13. Learner satisfaction rate 

This KPI gauges the level of satisfaction among participants with the training program. A high learner satisfaction rate can foster increased attendance and learner engagement. To effectively use this KPI, it's crucial to delve into the reasons behind the satisfaction scores, providing room for adjustments and improvements based on feedback.

14. Learner retention rate 

This metric evaluates the ability of participants to retain and apply the knowledge gained from training, which is crucial for competency development. Measurement methods can vary based on the skill sets under scrutiny. 

Low learner retention may point to issues with engagement and effectiveness of training. Using real-world metrics where possible, like observing changes in specific behaviors or improvements in task performance, can be helpful. 

15. Job performance impact 

This KPI assesses the extent to which the training activities improve job performance. To establish a correlation between training and performance, it's important to define specific metrics relevant to the role or function before the training. Then, changes in these metrics post-training can serve as evidence of its impact.

16. Training ROI

Training ROI is a critical KPI that demonstrates the financial return on investment in training and development. Calculating this can be complex as it involves linking changes in profits or other financial metrics to training initiatives. But, illustrating a positive ROI can help secure ongoing investment in training and development initiatives by evidencing their value to the organization.

[FREE RESOURCE: LMS ROI Calculator]

You’ve got a good handle on organizational performance and learning and development. Now it’s time to supplement these with functional metrics unique to each of your teams. Here are some examples of metrics teams use to assess employee performance by function:

Sales Performance Metrics

17. Total revenue. The cumulative income generated by a salesperson or team.

18. Win rate. The percentage of sales opportunities that result in a successful deal.

19. Average revenue per account. The average income generated from each client account. 

20. Quota attainment. The percentage of the sales target achieved by a salesperson or team.‍

‍Recruiting Performance Metrics

21. Application completion rate. The percentage of started applications that are fully completed.

22. Quality of hire. A measure of the value new employees bring to the organization.

23. Candidate experience. An assessment of candidates' perceptions of the organization's hiring process.

24. Offer acceptance rate. The percentage of job offers that are accepted by candidates.

25. Source of Hire: The origin or platform from which a successful candidate was found.

Marketing Performance Metrics

26. Conversion rate. The percentage of users who complete a desired action, like filling out a form or making a purchase.

27. Cost per lead. The average cost incurred to acquire each prospective customer. 

28. Bounce rate. The percentage of website visitors who leave after viewing just one page. 

29. Website traffic. The number of visitors to the company's website.

30. Sales pipeline contribution. The impact of marketing efforts on the creation of sales opportunities.

Product Performance Metrics

31. Number of Defects. The quantity of faults or issues in a product.

32. Number of Returns. The amount of products returned by customers.

33. Churn rate. The percentage of users who stop using a product over a certain period. 

34. Active users. The number of users actively engaging with a product over a specific timeframe.

Customer Service Performance Metrics

35. CSAT. Customer Satisfaction Score, measuring how satisfied customers are with the company's services or products.

36. Net promoter score. A measure of customers' willingness to recommend the company's products or services. 

37. First response time. The average time it takes to respond to a customer's inquiry.

38. Average ticket handling time. The average time taken to resolve customer issues or requests.

Employee performance metrics FAQ

What are employee performance metrics? 

Employee performance metrics are specific units of measurement designed to evaluate an individual's job performance. These metrics vary greatly depending on individual roles, functions, departments, companies, and even entire industries. Metrics could range from business-focused indicators used primarily by executives and HR teams to functional performance metrics used by department heads in regular performance management. 

Why track employee performance at all?

It’s simple. Tracking employee performance serves dual purposes: encouraging continuous learning and growth while enhancing employee engagement. When employees feel stagnant in their roles, they’re likely to leave. To maximize your investment in your people and to foster their development, you need to clearly define what success looks like. Employee performance metrics offer a practical way to create a snapshot of where your employees stand concerning your business goals and identify areas for growth.

Here’s why else companies track employee performance:

• Improve productivity and efficiency 
• Identify employee training gaps and needs
• Recognize and reward high performance
• Inform HR decisions
• Align individual and organizational goals

What are the different types of employee performance metrics?

While the metrics you choose will be unique to your business and role, employee performance metrics will generally fall into the following categories: 

• Quality. Metrics that tell you about the caliber of work output, like product defect rates.
• Quantity. Numerical or velocity-related metrics, such as website traffic. 
• Efficiency. These indicators reflect productivity within a given timeframe, like weekly sales calls.

What tools can be used to track employee performance?

As we mentioned before, the universe of employee performance software is vast. There are many tools out there to help improve various areas of performance. Here are a few categories you might consider:

• Performance Management Systems (PMS): PMS tools oversee and assess employee performance through features like goal setting, continuous feedback, and performance reviews.
• 360-Degree Feedback Tools: These facilitate comprehensive feedback from various sources, offering a well-rounded view of an employee's performance.
• OKRs Software: These tools align individual and team objectives with broader organizational goals, tracking the key results achieved.
• Employee Engagement Platforms: These platforms evaluate performance through features like evaluations, surveys, and feedback mechanisms while also assessing employee satisfaction.
• Time and Attendance Tracking Software: These tools monitor employee attendance, work hours, and productivity, critical for roles where time management is vital.
• Learning Management Systems (LMS): Primarily for training, LMS tools can also track employee progress and performance in completing training modules.

Improve employee performance with Continu

You’ve tracked employee performance and identified areas for improvement. Now what? It’s time to upskill your workforce.

Enter Continu, a learning management system designed to help you train and develop employees. Teams like Slack, Upwork, GoPro, and more use Continu to elevate their employee training and keep employees growing. Book a demo with Continu today.