It is commonly believed that only managers are interested in tracking the work of their staff. However, when it comes to a pay raise or promotion, employees want their work appreciated and the importance of their work recognized by the management.
Jack Zenger, the CEO of Zenger/Folkman, and Joseph Folkman the President of the same company, decided to find out how the company’s management can distinguish an outstanding employee from average. And using a time tracker is closely related to this task. The researchers polled 4158 employees within five years and compared “good” employees (who scored within 40-70%) with the “best” (who scored 90% and higher).
The study revealed that productivity of the “best” employees is significantly higher than that of the “good”: 89% vs. 46% respectively.
Here are 9 features in order of importance, that distinguish the best employees from the ordinary.
- Outstanding employees:
- Are not afraid to aim high and raise the bar for themselves
This is their main quality. Regular use of the time tracker will show that it is the best employees who set such goals that others consider “unwieldy”. And they don’t just set goals, they achieve results and tune others to the same wave. To perform and reach heights which are not expected of them is the hallmark of the best employees. What is the approach of less effective employees? Any manager who uses a time tracker might have noticed that less productive employees can really bide time. Their logic is that If you work fast and show excellent results, you will have the amount of work assigned to you increased and become overloaded with new tasks. Here is something for managers to think about: is it wise to “punish” your staff in such a way? - Actively interact with the team
The ability to solve complex problems and possession of professional knowledge is what respondents named among the main features of employees. But these are peculiar to both best and good employees. However, the ability to work in a team, to achieve collective results is the third quality that distinguishes outstanding employees from merely good. The time tracker will show you that some people prefer to work separately and independently from the team. Some believe that individual results will be noticed sooner. Obviously, it is influence of school where students received individual evaluation of their personal work and effort. In the professional field it shows a serious misunderstanding of the essence of an organization where only joint efforts allow to create something that is impossible for an individual. - Effectively represent their team (department) in other parts of a company
It requires determination, after all, to take on extra work of representing your team. - Celebrate change, not resist it
Most people are afraid of changes, but changes are necessary to move forward. The best employees accept positive changes quickly and easily. While monitoring productivity of employees with the time tracker, pay attention to this aspect which differentiates the most outstanding employees. - Take initiative
Ordinary employees usually wait for guidance from managers, but best employees do not wait for commands and act ahead of the curve – they offer help and express their opinions. The initiative is more than a simple execution of the current work. Using a time tracker for monitoring employees a manager will easily understand who is who in various projects: outstanding employees will be particularly active in most of them. - Always complete tasks they have agreed to
Some people agree easily to do any task but here they later “forget” about their promise. If this is in an employee’s power every started task must be completed. Regular usage of the time tracker will help you to find those who only promise, but do not accomplish. One of the main principles of leaders is to be consistent with their words. The best employees are very responsible and always do what they promised. - Consider complex situations thoroughly
The best employees don’t rely on luck and in case of doubt or technical sophistication they consider the issue very thoroughly. They do not expect everything to resolve by itself. Yes, thinking it over takes time, but the consequences of leaving everything to a chance may be too big. - Get over a failure easily
It is impossible to be right all the time. Everyone makes mistakes sooner or later. But the best employees recognize it easily, learn their lesson and just move on. They do not dwell neither on their own, nor on others’ mistakes. It is important to recognize mistakes and be willing to learn. - Give honest and constructive criticism
It is widely accepted that only managers can criticize. Usually nobody expects helpful criticism from a colleague but this is an outstanding employee who is ready to help with advice and comment. The main thing is that this criticism of a colleague is well-intended and is presented correctly.
A manager should be careful in monitoring productivity of employees and using the time tracker to notice and appreciate abilities of each employee, especially when it comes to promotion. It is important to assign a real leader, not fake. The time tracker CrocoTime helps with the objective monitoring of staff performance and shows who is really productive.