Measuring staff performance kept us consistent through change

The problem

Customer acquisition firm mmadigital found it difficult to review staff performance as the company underwent rapid change. The business had transitioned from a traditional digital marketing agency into a customer acquisition business in 2016 and hit £900,000 turnover in its first year. But the firm didn’t have the structure in place to give consistent performance reviews to its growing number of employees.

The solution

The business wanted to establish targets staff across the business that they could deliver against, rather than creating goals on a team-by-team basis.

CEO Dez Derry started by putting a transparent financial model in place, which included goals for turnover and EBITDA. This was broken down into daily, weekly, monthly and yearly targets. These are used to help form KPIs for departments and employees. This made sure departments had the same focus and kept the metrics used to measure performance consistent across the company.

A scorecard for each employee was introduced to recognise good performance outside of financial targets. It looked at attendance, new ideas, morale, attitude and how much they help other staff members. These measures are used to trigger individual and team bonuses.

The results

Derry believes employees have become more engaged since they introduced the system and thinks they appreciate the transparency around business finances. The bonuses for individual and team performance have also introduced an element of friendly competition. The process continues to work as the company expands – the 20-strong team are on track to reach £4.5m turnover this year.

“It’s crucial to be fair and realistic when setting targets for staff,” Derry said. “Setting unattainable goals is frustrating and disheartening for the team and for you as a business owner. If you keep your team positive and motivated, your business will reap the rewards.”