Improving your performance at work can help you qualify for promotions and strengthen your team. Many organizations use specific metrics to measure employee performance. In some cases, companies use a term known as work quality to describe how employees deliver on their tasks and perform regularly. Learn more about the meaning of work quality and review some work quality examples to understand this concept better.
What is work quality?
Work quality refers to the standard of work delivered by an individual employee, a team, or an entire department. Many factors play into the quality of someone's work performance, including the following:
- The ability to manage time effectively
- The capability to communicate and collaborate with others
- The professional knowledge possessed by the employee or team
By considering these factors and assessing the quality of the work done, an employer can determine whether to make changes or allow processes to remain in place.
Work quality often comes up during performance review season, as it's a valuable factor to consider when measuring an employee's overall performance at work. Some managers speak directly to their subordinates about the quality of their work during an oral performance review. In contrast, others have their employees answer questions regarding their performance and ability to complete tasks.
Work quality examples
Work quality measurements come in various forms; not all will apply to every employee. Review these work quality examples to determine which might apply to you or your team:
Work completion
When an employee receives a project assignment, a supervisor may assess the ability to complete all the tasks required when determining the quality of work. Work completion might also include evaluating how consistently employees accomplish their tasks and deliver high-quality work. If a team member struggles to turn in completed projects, requiring others to step in and make corrections or perform additional steps after submission, that individual's work completion rating will likely go down.
Conforming to work requirements
Adhering to a company's work requirements offers one way employers can measure the work quality an employee performs. In some cases, conformance with requirements can be non-negotiable for an employer, such as a company that offers heavy equipment operation services. Failing to adhere to the standards set forth by the company to protect its staff could injure an employee. In this situation, a zero-tolerance policy may be in effect. Some companies differentiate between functional and nonfunctional requirements and regulations.
Accuracy
Accuracy is an example of work quality that refers to whether the work done by an employee is free from errors. Accurate work can demonstrate attention to detail and a willingness to go back and check one's work to resolve any issues. In certain professions, accuracy is paramount, such as data entry, accounting, health care, computer programming, and editing. If you're looking for one of these roles, create a resume on CareerBuilder to get started.
Making decisions
The ability to make well-informed decisions efficiently is valuable in the workplace. When using decision-making to measure work quality, a supervisor might look at whether an employee can make decisions that relate to workload and responsibilities, and how often the employee asks others for advice versus making the decision independently. Another factor of this work quality example an individual's analytical skills an individual uses to make a decision.
Safety
In specific roles, safety is an essential measurement of work quality since rules are in effect to reduce the risk of accidents in the workplace. Construction workers, managers, manufacturing employees, and others who work with heavy equipment or potentially dangerous materials must adhere to safety measures to protect themselves and those around them.
When you work in a role where safety is vital, your supervisor may assess your commitment to following the safety principles to determine your work quality.
Communication
Transparent and effective communication among a professional team can boost efficiency and productivity in the workplace. Strong written and oral communication skills are certainly essential in most roles, but beyond having the skills, it's important to use them regularly at work.
When an employer uses communication as a measure of work quality, the employer might examine the following factors:
- How well employees listen to others
- How well employees can communicate with internal staff and external clients or customers via writing and speaking.
- Whether employees can listen to and implement feedback from their colleagues
- How well individuals communicate when asking questions, providing status updates, and submitting completed work.
Specific career fields, such as health care, manufacturing, or education, may require other measures of communication skills to evaluate work quality and performance.
Transparent and effective communication among a professional team can boost efficiency and productivity in the workplace.
Solving problems
Problems will come up in almost every line of work, and those responsible for the tasks need to know how to solve them. Problem-solving is a measure of work quality used to assess whether an employee can identify potential issues and come up with reasonable solutions. The willingness to take ownership of a problem and see it through to resolution can also factor into work quality assessments.
Employers also want to evaluate how well individuals can demonstrate resourcefulness and innovation in their approaches to problem solving. In this case, work quality examples that reflect an innovative framework to address challenges in business strategy or customer service should be something that employees keep in mind as they prepare for a performance evaluation.
Flexibility
Flexibility allows you to adjust to new needs and expectations in your role. When assessing an employee's flexibility as a measure of work quality, a manager might look at how quickly that individual can pick up a new skill or get up and running on a new software program. How you handle challenging or new situations can also influence your adaptability, and learning to manage stress while adapting to change is valuable in the workplace.
Knowledge of the job
All employees need specific knowledge to do their job more effectively. Job knowledge is undoubtedly a helpful measurement of work quality, as it shows whether an employee has taken the time to complete any required education and gain the knowledge needed to succeed. If you want to improve your job knowledge, you might consider taking additional training courses or assessing company policies and procedures.
Time management
Efficient time management involves prioritizing essential tasks and adapting to the needs of those around you at work. Managing your time can also help you eliminate distractions and focus on performing the tasks at hand. An employer might evaluate an employee's time management skills by looking at a typical schedule and how the individual prioritizes time. Based on this schedule, both the employer and the employee can determine how the individual's current workload affects work quality and job performance output.
Presence at work
Delivering high-quality work is practically impossible if you are never present in the workplace. Even remote workers need to be present by being online and responsive to their colleagues. Attendance is crucial in assessing work quality, as frequent absences often connect with low productivity rates. Everyone will miss a few days due to illness or other factors. Frequently missing work can indicate to a supervisor that employees aren't very serious about their job.
Measuring the quality of an employee's work can result in positive or constructive feedback, giving that individual the chance to grow and improve. Using these examples to determine the quality of the work performed in your workplace can drive the organization toward success.
Related reading for improving job performance
Building strong teams: What are the best team-building activities for work?
Strike a balance: Job seekers and employees value remote work.
Use these effective conversation starters for many work-related scenarios and boost communication.
