Monitoring employee performance: The pitfalls for HR

A new study reveals that extensive employee performance monitoring can inadvertently lead to unmeasured tasks being deprioritized, reduced engagement, and higher employee turnover intentions. Led by Professor Martin Edwards from The University of Queensland, the research analyzed data from 283 UK employees across 23 industries and was published in The International Journal of Human Resource Management.

The study authors found that the more an organization measured employee behavior, the more likely the work not being tracked was deprioritized. This correlated with decreased employee engagement and a higher intention to quit within a month, especially when staff perceived their organization's processes as unfair.

Interestingly, the intensive performance metrics did not translate into an increased focus on the work that was being measured. Instead, when tasks were measured, they became targets, which could change employee behavior. Employees tend to withdraw from unmeasured tasks because the measured tasks are what they will be judged on, according to Edwards.

Unmeasured tasks are crucial to job performance and should not be overlooked. These include mentoring, assisting struggling colleagues, and flagging risks. Organizations should identify which aspects of the job their performance dashboards cannot capture, as these are the parts most at risk.

The trend towards digital performance monitoring is on the rise across various industries, including teaching, finance, engineering, healthcare, IT, consulting, and food service. Technology, particularly AI, has made it easier for HR departments to collect and analyze employee activity. However, AI-powered digital dashboards can still risk overlooking critical nonmeasured work.

Professor Tyler Okimoto, co-author of the study, emphasized the importance of organizational fairness in safeguarding against unintended consequences of employee monitoring systems. When employees trust that their organization's processes are fair, consistent, and transparent, they are less likely to deprioritize important aspects of their job just because they are not being measured.

Edwards concluded that while performance dashboards and monitoring tools offer benefits, improper use can pose risks to employee well-being and retention. Organizations must acknowledge and support the work that falls outside these measures to prevent valuable behaviors from being overlooked.