Macroergonomic Principles of Automated Performance Measurement

Abstract

Retail associate productivity has increased dramatically over the last 15 years with the use of ever more sophisticated scanners and point of sale (POS) terminals. Data warehouses enable businesses to store remarkable detail about each transaction. Analyses of these data tend to focus on the items sold and money collected. However, if these systems also collect timestamp data of important events during transactions retailers would then have the basis for measuring associate activity. This paper discusses the macroergonomic principles that must guide the design of cashier performance measurement systems in the retail setting. Following these guidelines leads not only to increased manager effectiveness, but also to more accurate measurement of activity. It can also improve associates morale and the likelihood of incenting desirable and productive behaviors. These principles are generalizable to other domains in which automated performance measurement takes place.