The SAIC organization does not directly tie customer satisfaction or loyalty to employee performance. Feedback providers largely consist of employees’ current and former direct supervisors. In this sense, feedback providers could incorporate customer feedback into employees’ performance reviews. In addition, employees and supervisors could incorporate customer feedback, satisfaction and loyalty into individual development plans. The individual development plans serve the purpose of mapping out career and professional development goals that are in alignment with the organization’s objectives (SAIC a). While managers have a tendency to use customer satisfaction and loyalty scores to define objectives and monitor performance, researchers have discovered that the idea of basing metrics completely on customer recommendations is insufficient (Morgan & Rego, 2006).
As a supervisor, I have considered the value of implementing performance metrics based on customer feedback. The organization requires that supervisors adhere to a standardized set of performance management policies and practices. Supervisors must complete mandatory training on these policies and practices every three years (SAIC b). In measuring the performance of direct reports, supervisors must consider information from all feedback providers, the position’s responsibilities, the previous year’s performance goals agreed upon by the employee and the supervisor, and the employee’s effectiveness (SAIC b).
The advantages of incorporating customer feedback and satisfaction into performance metrics is that it can contribute to a three-hundred and sixty-degree perspective. Employees can become more cognizant of how their actions and behaviors can have a direct impact on how customers experience the organization. Customer satisfaction levels can also influence whether an organization achieves its performance goals (Morgan et al., 2006). The disadvantages of incorporating customer feedback and satisfaction into performance metrics is its subjective and varying nature. Loyalty has little effect on the achievement of an organization’s long-term objectives (Morgan et al., 2006). This is likely due to the fact that loyalties can easily shift and be tied to environmental factors outside of the organization’s control.
References
Morgan, N. A., & Rego, L. L. (2006). The value of different customer satisfaction and loyalty
metrics in predicting business performance. Marketing Science,25(5), 426-439.
SAIC (n.d. a). Performance management FAQs for employees.
SAIC(n.d. b). Performance management FAQs for supervisors.
