Frequently Asked Questions About Performance Management, Performance Appraisals, Employee Reviews, Appraisal Forms and More

What Does "Data Gathering" Mean In Terms of Performance Management?

If we are to make decisions about whether an employee has succeeded at achieving his or her goals (to review during a performance appraisal), it helps to go beyond a "gut-feeling". Data gathering refers to the process of collecting data, or information relevant to the employee's goals and objectives.

For example, if an employee has the following goal/standard:

Answer all phone calls within five rings.

it would be helpful if we actually had some hard data so we could determine how many calls were answered in less than five rings, and how many were answered after more than five rings. Then the discussion doesn't have to be based on gut feelings, but can be based on hard data.

This can help reduce disagreements, since the discussion can be about more than opinions.

However, data gathering can be costly and time consuming, so generally, it's best done with goals and objectives that are very important. Data gathering need not only be done by the manager. In fact, often it's part of the employee's job to gather some of this data.