3 Ways to Improve Employee Performance

Do you know how effective your employees are?

Your employees are your frontline. Most of us have an idea of who we think our highest performers are, but there are ways to quantify their performance. That information enables you to set performance benchmarks, offer constructive feedback and continuous learning to your employees.

With the right information, you can implement a strategy to improve your staff’s productivity and increase your store’s sales. Success doesn’t come easy, but productive staff can make your job a whole lot easier!

Here are the 3 key performance indicators (KPIs) we recommend you track to improve your employee performance from today.

1. Sales per employee

Sales per employee help you quantify who your highest performing sales associates are. This enables you to prioritize scheduling the sales staff that generate the most sales. Calculate sales per employee with this formula:

To make your staff as efficient as possible, it’s important to know how they’re performing. Identify which employees are selling the most and when they’re scheduled. Cross-reference that data with your busy store hours to plan the most profitable employee schedule possible.

It’s important to take when and where an employee is scheduled into account when you look at this metric. For instance, some employees might work shifts that are busier than others, whereas others might have spent time working in the back-of-house and away from customers. Both of these situations will have an impact on that sales. Just make sure you know the reasons behind the numbers.

How can you improve your sales per employee?

The most efficient way to improve your sales per employee is by setting more aggressive (but attainable) sales targets for commissions, providing sales or product training, reward incentives, or setting them up for success with the right technology.

2. Conversion rate

Calculating your in-store conversion rate gives you visibility on your sales staff’s ability to get customers to buy. It’s one of the tried and true methods for seeing how good your staff is at selling. Calculate your conversion rate using this formula:

If the numbers show that you’re not converting at a high rate, consider reassessing how much staff you need per day, determining who your best salespeople are with staff reports, and optimizing your training programs to prioritize increasing sales tactics and efficiency.

3. Average transaction value (ATV)

This gives you visibility on how much customers are spending in your store, on average. Use this formula to calculate it:

A high amount can mean that either customers are buying more expensive items or that they’re buying a large volume of items. The right POS can tell you which it is.

This KPI can also give you valuable insights on how to improve your sales. If you have a low average transaction value, it could indicate that you need to either reconsider your pricing strategy or train your sales associates on how to upsell and get customers to spend more.

How can you boost your average transaction value?

Train your staff on how to upsell and cross-sell. If done correctly, it’s mutually beneficial for customers and your store.

What we mean by “done correctly” all boils down to context. Don’t try to upsell or cross-sell products that are irrelevant or clearly out of the price range of your customer. This comes off as pushy and self-satisfying, which is bad customer service. Rather, focus on adding value for the customer.

Example: If you run a shoe store, suggest several shoes at different price points. When they decide on what to buy, suggest accessories to accompany the original sale. This is an example of how you can a customer’s transaction amount while offering them more value.

Keeping tabs on your employee’s performance enables you to be a better leader, provide insightful feedback and plan relevant training for your staff. But having an overview of your employee’s performance is just a small part of being a retailer.

Luckily, we wrote a playbook.