Performance-Measurement System, Essay Example

Data collection is an integral part of the job role of HR professionals. This data has a variety of functions, including the ability to deduce the efficacy of training policies, the productivity of the organization, and assessment of the organization’s structure and how this contributes or detracts from success. Occasionally HR professionals make the mistake of using the most convenient data rather than the most relevant due to either eagerness to obtain results or due to internal pressure to provide quick summaries of workplace performance. HR professionals should recognize the disadvantages that come along with reporting incomplete data and avoid doing so, regardless of workplace pressures.

It is important to understand that using an incomplete dataset for analysis of performance will contribute to an incorrect understanding of the organization’s status and what could be done to ensure that it is on the right oath. This extends to use of the wrong dataset because the wrong information cannot adequately summarize the goal process. It is important to take the time to ensure that the data correctly describes the problem being address and does so in a way that paints a complete picture of the issue. An example of this relates to the article “Means and ends: Effective training evaluation” (Griffin 2010). If a goal of the HR representative is to assess staff training, they must be sure to evaluate only the members that have undergone the training program and use employees who have not as a point of comparison. Deviation from this may process results, but ones that are not usable and indicative of the training measure put in place.

If the wrong data is used, it could make a company believe that its current practices are not working or that new practices are working. If the assumption is incorrect, the company will continue to make decisions that will hurt business. Referring to the example above, let’s imagine the HR professional used an incomplete or irrelevant dataset and found that this training method had no improvement over the previous one. If this is not actually the case, and the training program is really improving worker efficiency, the HR professional will be hurting the company by reporting that the training procedure confers no positive effect because it will likely be stopped and the training that had taken place will be a waste of time.

HR professionals could use data to tell a story because analysis of this data essentially summarizes the decisions that have been made and whether they are good are bad. Furthermore, this analysis will allow the HR professional to make educated decisions about what the company should do next based on past successes and failures. HR professionals could comfortable and confidently make decisions based on the most relevant data because previous results guide them towards new decisions. The article “Go and evaluate the positive, eliminate the negative” exemplifies this (Redford, 2010). It is important to use HR metrics to determine the policies that work and to keep them at the same time as using the metrics to evaluate the policies that don’t work and remove them from practice.

In conclusion, it is necessary to use relevant data and complete data because HR metrics and evaluation of performance are meant to guide the organization in the right direction. If a decision is made on the basis of poorly studied information, the company’s failure will be a direct consequence of the HR professional’s inability to gather and interpret data correctly which would likely end in expulsion from the organization. These analyses are extremely important to the success of the company and should not be taken lightly.

References

Chapter 5, “The Principles of Good Measurement” Few, S. (2007). Why most dashboards fail. Perceptual Edge, 1–2. Retrieved from http://www.perceptualedge.com/articles/misc/WhyMostDashboardsFail.pdf

Griffin, R. P. (2010). Means and ends: Effective training evaluation. Industrial and Commercial Training, 42(4), 220–225. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the ABI/INFORM Global database:
http://proquest.umi.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pqdweb?did=2050284701&sid=3&Fmt=2&clientId=70192&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Redford, K. (2006). Go and evaluate the positive, eliminate the negative. Training & Coaching Today, 10–11. Retrieved from the Walden Library using the ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry database: http://proquest.umi.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/pqdweb?did=1009608191&sid=1&Fmt= 4&clientId=70192&RQT=309&VName=PQD