Innovative Ways to Measure Team Productivity

I had a leader enamored with activity. He once told me that he expected, based on his calculations, that each CSM would enter 243 activities into our CRM per month. When I became the leader, we completely rebuilt our Customer Success team structure. As mentioned, the old model focused on tracking activities: number of calls made, response times, training, meetings held, etc. While these metrics were easy to measure, they didn't tell us if we were helping customers achieve their goals. Our new approach centered entirely on customer outcomes. Each CSM now owned specific customer objectives, measured through concrete business results: increased product adoption, faster time-to-value, and expanded use cases. The results exceeded our expectations: Team productivity improved by 35% as we eliminated low-impact activities  Revenue expansion from existing accounts grew by 32% Voluntary team turnover dropped to under 5% Shifting accountability from activities to outcomes gave CSMs full autonomy to design their customer engagement strategy (within reason). We implemented weekly outcome reviews where teams share success stories and problem-solve together. This replaced our old activity-tracking meetings which felt more like performance reviews than collaborative sessions. Team morale was our most significant uplift. When you trust professionals to make decisions and hold them accountable for results rather than checkboxes, they rise to the challenge. Activity does not equal achievement. For leaders considering a similar transformation (and you should): Start with clear customer outcomes, give your team autonomy to achieve them, and measure what matters. The rest will follow.

🛠️ Measuring Developer Productivity: It’s Complex but Crucial! 🚀 Measuring software developer productivity is one of the toughest challenges. It's a task that requires more than just traditional metrics. I remember when my organization was buried in metrics like lines of code, velocity points, and code reviews. I quickly realized these didn’t provide the full picture. 📉 Lines of code, velocity points, and code reviews? They offer a snapshot but not the complete story. More code doesn’t mean better code, and velocity points can be misleading. Holistic focus is essential: As companies become more software-centric, it’s vital to measure productivity accurately to deploy talent effectively. 🔍 System Level: Deployment frequency and customer satisfaction show how well the system performs. A 25% increase in deployment frequency often correlates with faster feature delivery and higher customer satisfaction. 👥 Team Level: Collaboration metrics like code-review timing and team velocity matter. Reducing code review time by 20% led to faster releases and better teamwork. 🧑💻 Individual Level: Personal performance, well-being, and satisfaction are key. Happy developers are productive developers. Tracking well-being resulted in a 30% productivity boost. By adopting to this holistic approach transformed our organization. I didn’t just track output but also collaboration and individual well-being. The result? A 40% boost in team efficiency and a notable rise in product quality! 🌟 🚪 The takeaway? Measuring developer productivity is complex, but by focusing on system, team, and individual levels, we can create an environment where everyone thrives. Curious about how to implement these insights in your team? Drop a comment or connect with me! Let’s discuss how we can drive productivity together. 🤝 #SoftwareDevelopment #Productivity #TechLeadership #TeamEfficiency #DeveloperMetrics

Behind every high-performing team is a thoughtful 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 focused on what actually drives success—not just what’s easy to count. In my research with teams, I’ve seen many leaders track the 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 things: tallying meetings held, initiatives launched, or tasks completed, without ever asking if those activities are making a meaningful difference. The most 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 use a different scorecard. One that balances three dimensions: 1️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁: Are we creating something valuable? Is our work 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵? 2️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: Are we getting 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 at working together over time? 3️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: Are team members growing in capability, resilience, and confidence? When teams track 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 and 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 alongside 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵, behavior naturally shifts toward deeper collaboration, reflection, and continuous improvement. One leadership team I supported started measuring “𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴” rather than just “𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦.” The result? Better decisions and better implementation. Because what gets 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥, gets 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥. And what we choose to track reveals what we truly 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 — 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿?👇 P.S. If you’re a leader, I recommend checking out my free challenge: The Resilient Leader: 28 Days to Thrive in Uncertainty  https://lnkd.in/gxBnKQ8n #Leadership #TeamDevelopment #HighPerformingTeams #MetricsThatMatter #ContinuousImprovement

The best-performing software engineering teams measure both output and outcomes. Measuring only one often means underperforming in the other. While debates persist about which is more important, our research shows that measuring both is critical. Otherwise, you risk landing in Quadrant 2 (building the wrong things quickly) or Quadrant 3 (building the right things slowly and eventually getting outperformed by a competitor). As an organization grows and matures, this becomes even more critical. You can't rely on intuition, politics, or relationships—you need to stop "winging it" and start making data-driven decisions. How do you measure outcomes? Outcomes are the business results that come from building the right things. These can be measured using product feature prioritization frameworks. How do you measure output? Measuring output is challenging because traditional methods don’t accurately measure this: 1. Lines of Code: Encourages verbose or redundant code. 2. Number of Commits/PRs: Leads to artificially small commits or pull requests. 3. Story Points: Subjective and not comparable across teams; may inflate task estimates. 4. Surveys: Great for understanding team satisfaction but not for measuring output or productivity. 5. DORA Metrics: Measure DevOps performance, not productivity. Deployment sizes vary within & across teams, and these metrics can be easily gamed when used as productivity measures. Measuring how often you’re deploying is meaningless from a productivity perspective unless you’re also measuring _what_ is being deployed. We propose a different way of measuring software engineering output. Using an algorithmic model developed from research conducted at Stanford, we quantitatively assess software engineering productivity by evaluating the impact of commits on the software's functionality (ie. we measure output delivered). We connect to Git and quantify the impact of the source code in every commit. The algorithmic model generates a language-agnostic metric for evaluating & benchmarking individual developers, teams, and entire organizations. We're publishing several research papers on this, with the first pre-print released in September. Please leave a comment if you’d like to read it. Interested in leveraging this for your organization? Message me to learn more. #softwareengineering  #softwaredevelopment #devops

THIS measures remote success (not hours) I left “strictly” in office life behind. My secret to remote work is measuring what matters. I'm not focused on: - Counting hours worked - Micromanaging tasks - Stressing over attendance - Following old metrics Instead: - I set clear goals - I value outcomes - I trust my team - I use the right tools - I encourage feedback It pays to measure productivity differently. What truly drives success in remote teams? When you shift your focus, it opens new possibilities. A path towards a results-oriented culture. Are you still stuck in outdated methods? Or ready to embrace a new approach? Key Strategies to Measure Productivity 1. Set Clear Goals and KPIs - Define SMART goals for everyone. - Align with the company's vision. - Use KPIs that fit remote work. 2. Focus on Output Over Hours - Measure what gets done, not time spent. - Look at task completion and quality. - Gather client and peer feedback. 3. Utilize Project Management Tools - Tools like Asana and Trello keep teams on track. - They help monitor progress without hovering. - Increase visibility and accountability. 4. Emphasize Quality of Work - Quality matters more than quantity. - Use feedback to assess deliverables. - High-quality work shows true productivity. 5. Encourage a Results-Oriented Culture - Shift focus from activity to results. - Trust your team to manage their time. - Regular check-ins keep everyone aligned. 6. Leverage Time Tracking Tools Thoughtfully - Use tools like Toggl to track time wisely. - Avoid being intrusive; build trust instead. - Balance monitoring with employee morale. 7. Break Down Tasks into Milestones - Divide projects into smaller tasks. - Set clear deadlines for each milestone. - Celebrate small wins to boost motivation. 8. Collect Feedback Through Surveys - Use surveys to understand team challenges. - Anonymous feedback encourages honesty. - Identify barriers to boost productivity. Best Practices for Implementation Build Trust and Transparency - Communicate expectations clearly. - Avoid surveillance that harms morale. Regularly Review Metrics - Monitor performance data often. - Adjust strategies based on trends. Tailor Metrics to Roles - Customize metrics for different jobs. - Focus on what matters for each role. Focus on results. Use technology wisely. Build trust. Then you can you can measure productivity effectively. Which ultimately leads to a thriving remote work environment. What are you thoughts about this?

🎉 We are thrilled to introduce 2 new metrics from our team at Worklytics: Fragmented Time and Interrupted Time! 🎉 Maintaining focus in today’s dynamic work environment is a growing challenge. Constant interruptions from meetings, emails, and instant messages are fragmenting our workdays, making deep, uninterrupted work a rare luxury. Our new metrics are designed to tackle this challenge head-on: 1️⃣ Fragmented Time: 💠 What it measures: The total minutes of short time blocks that are too brief to allow for deep work. 💠 Why it matters: Fragmented Time exposes inefficiencies caused by scattered schedules, where brief moments between meetings or tasks are too short to achieve meaningful progress. 💠 Opportunity: By identifying and reducing Fragmented Time, teams can reclaim these lost minutes and convert them into longer periods of Focus Time for more productive, uninterrupted work. 2️⃣ Interrupted Time: 💠 What it measures: The amount of time during the day where individuals experience constant interruptions, preventing them from focusing on important tasks. 💠 Why it matters: High levels of Interrupted Time indicate that employees are frequently disrupted, making it challenging to complete work that requires deep concentration. 💠 Opportunity: By tracking and analyzing Interrupted Time, organizations can identify the sources of disruption and implement strategies to minimize them, thereby improving overall productivity and focus. At Worklytics, we believe in empowering organizations to create healthier, more effective work environments. These new metrics are key tools in that mission—enabling leaders to foster a culture of focus and intentional scheduling. For the full announcement and a detailed dive into these metrics, check out the comments below. If you’re interested in discussing how these metrics can transform your team’s outcomes or would like an introduction to our work, feel free to shoot me a DM—I’ll find a time for us to chat. How will you leverage Fragmented Time and Interrupted Time to enhance your team's focus and outcomes? #PeopleAnalytics #HRAnalytics #TalentAnalytics #TalentManagement #HRTransformation