A majority of UK organisations say they are now measuring and monitoring
people performance against the bottom line, and this is helping to motivate
managers.
New research, by Henley Management College and the Hay Group, among managers
within 212 public and private sector organisations – including those in the
FTSE 100 – reports that people measurement is on the increase and is not
demotivating managers, despite that perception among sceptics.
Seventy-four per cent of managers surveyed suggested that monitoring helped
to keep them focused on what was important.
Although 75 per cent of respondents across all sectors reported they felt
judged after their last appraisal, this did not appear to have a negative
impact on motivation – more than 90 per cent experienced motivation as a result
of their last review.
Seventy-two per cent said that ‘everything’ within their organisation was
now measured, while 66 per cent said the use of measures had increased.
The study asked managers if they thought their goals were aligned with
organisational strategy, and 65 per cent said they believed they were.
Elizabeth Houldsworth, director of teaching and learning research at Henley,
who presented the findings to the conference, said some of the initial results
came as a surprise to her.
"We felt at the outset that we were going to prove that hard
measurement gets in the way of motivating employees. However, the message from
managers is that measurement can be, and is being, balanced with motivational
work practices."
