Just about every business on earth collects team performance data in one form or another. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean they’re using it effectively, as less than a quarter of organizations track and communicate the business impact of data and analytics.
The right information is worth its (metaphorical) weight in gold. But, if it’s just sitting there, it may as well not exist at all. That’s why we’re here to explore how you can start using your organization’s performance data to keep people engaged and focused on delivering their best work.
A lack of data isn’t the problem
Normally, with a piece like this, we’d contrast the types of data businesses collect with the data they should be collecting. But your ability to collect data isn’t necessarily the issue.
According to Gartner’s 2025 Chief Data & Analytics Officer Agenda Survey, just 22% of businesses “[…]have defined, tracked and communicated business impact metrics for the bulk of their D&A use cases.”
In other words, 78% aren’t using team performance and engagement data to benefit their organizations. This is a major missed opportunity when you consider the data that businesses regularly collect, such as:
- Goal and OKR progress data
- Engagement data from check-ins and surveys
- Performance review documentation
- 360 feedback and recognition
Why you need data for team performance and retention
Your business can’t outperform its competitors on guesswork and good vibes alone. From ensuring fair performance reviews to preventing employee turnover, there are all kinds of reasons organizations need data-driven insights.
Managing individual and team performance
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first. Datadriven insights are essential for managing team performance. Without them, you’ll struggle to separate top performers from those who need support. That can disengage everyone. MVPs go unrecognized, while struggling employees suffer in silence.
Imagine your sales team has missed several targets and you assume new hires are the problem. When you review OKR updates, you see the slowdown is coming from two senior reps. Their performance data shows low adoption of key features in your new CRM. With that insight, you talk to them and enroll them in targeted CRM upskilling.
Monitoring L&D effectiveness
Speaking of upskilling, immediate performance management isn’t the only area that benefits from data-driven insights, or the only thing businesses struggle to measure. According to our sponsored ATD report, just 16% of respondents rate their organizations as proficient at L&D measurement and evaluation.
Put simply, most employers can’t identify the business impact of L&D. They don’t know whether a training course improves productivity or efficiency, which is both an investment nightmare for stakeholders and an employee experience issue. Effective training builds up performance and engagement. Bad training just makes people switch off.
Addressing engagement issues
We’ve covered how ignoring team performance insights hurts engagement. It blocks support for people who need help and leaves top performers unseen. The same applies to check-ins and surveys. Without follow-up, they feel like box ticking and employees lose motivation to be honest.
Without a data-driven engagement strategy, your people are bound to become… well, disengaged. It’s worth noting that disengagement cost businesses worldwide $438 billion in lost productivity.
On top of that, poor engagement will steadily drive your people out the door. According to Gallup, 51% of employees were watching for or seeking a new job in 2025, the highest level since 2015. The most common reason given was “greater work-life balance and better personal wellbeing” (59%).
How to build team performance and engagement with data
Now that we’ve defined the data problem, here are five ways you can use insights to improve performance and engagement:
1. Surface data during performance conversations
There are plenty of reasons people dislike performance reviews, but ambiguity and bias sit near the top. Without ongoing feedback, employees walk into review meetings unsure what’s coming. Will they be congratulated or excoriated? Managers, meanwhile, can be biased towards first impressions or recent events.
Bringing data from check-ins and goal updates into the conversation changes that. Employees arrive with a clearer view of their own performance, while managers can assess the full year more fairly. For example, you might question someone’s lack of peer mentoring, only to see from their check-ins that they spent the previous quarter upskilling new hires.
2. Act on check-in insights where possible
As mentioned, you need to act on insights from check-ins to build open and honest dialogue. Of course, not every request is reasonable. If someone asks for 100 days off a year and a draft beer keg at their desk, feel free to ignore it!
More often, though, employees raise fair demands, like flexible working or workflow changes that improve performance and work-life balance.
When you act on what your people tell you, it reinforces that:
- You’re listening to your employees
- This isn’t just a box-ticking exercise
- Speaking up gets results
3. Connect performance goals with business outcomes
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are popular as a goal methodology because they connect employee efforts to the aims of your business. Of course, it’s one thing to have these goals in place, and another entirely to make active use of them.
Any assessment of business progress should start with a review of each objective and its active key results. If a project doesn’t directly support one or more of them, you should probably scrap it.
Using OKRs like this is also a great way to spot top performers across the organization, outside of your team dynamics. Speaking of which…
4. Use team performance data to recognize MVPs
If there are clear top performers in your team, they’re likely the ones going the extra mile. Of course, if nobody ever notices their discretionary efforts, you shouldn’t expect them to keep trying. That’s why it’s vital to recognize your MVPs in a timely way.
Don’t just look at performance review data, either. Make sure you’re considering weekly goal updates and any peer recognition metrics at your disposal.
5. Run exit interviews to support retention
Voluntary turnover reflects a failure of management, but exit interviews offer one final opportunity. Once someone leaves, they’re more likely to be honest about what went wrong.
Ask why they’re leaving and what challenges they faced, then compare those insights with check-in data across your organization. Losing one great employee hurts but preventing ten more departures makes it worthwhile.
How Perform and Engage365 make the most of your data
At Zensai, we believe in a unified approach to performance and engagement. In fact, add learning into the mix and you get Human Success. So, it should come as no surprise that our platform can help you get actionable insights from your team performance and engagement data.
- Provide continuous performance management: Perform365 bridges annual reviews with employee check-ins. Besides enabling timely, continuous feedback, check-ins are their own weekly documentation you can easily look back on.
- Automate 90% of performance conversation prep: You can automate the vast majority of review prep by surfacing data from check-ins and goals in Perform365. This makes reviews more transparent and objective, ensuring everyone feels supported.
- Use dashboards to study trends in real time: Perform365 provides dashboards and Power BI reports for goals, feedback, and performance reviews, while Engage365 uses sentiment analysis dashboards based on check-ins, feedback, surveys, and recognition habits.
- Surface insights inside Microsoft 365: Our platforms are built to work in Microsoft 365. That way, it’s easy to view insights and share them across Microsoft Teams, so you can communicate with key stakeholders without leaving the flow of work.
You need data for team performance and retention
Even the most well-meaning leaders are often insulated from the realities lived by their employees. That’s why you need to eliminate as much guesswork as possible. It’s not enough just to collect data.
You need to regularly review insights, whether manually or with AI tools. Otherwise, you won’t be able to make objective decisions that genuinely support your people. If you’re still struggling to support team performance and retention, check out this article on transparency and performance, or download our continuous performance management guide.
Unlock the power of continuous performance management – Download your free eBook!
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