Trying to figure out if your team is actually getting things done—or just looking busy? You’re not alone. Plenty of managers and HR folks buy analytics platforms hoping for a magic dashboard that tells them who’s crushing it and who’s coasting. Reality check: it’s never that simple. But if you’re using Centrical, you can get some genuinely useful insights on employee productivity—if you know what you’re doing.
This guide is for anyone who wants clear, actionable ways to use Centrical analytics to measure real productivity (not just time spent clicking around). Whether you’re new to Centrical or you’ve had it for a while but aren’t sure what all those charts really mean, you’re in the right place.
Step 1: Get Clear on What “Productivity” Means for Your Team
Let’s get this out of the way: Centrical can crunch data all day long, but it’s up to you to decide what actually counts as “productive.” For some teams, it’s calls made. For others, it’s tickets resolved or projects shipped. Don’t just default to whatever metric is easiest to pull.
Pro tips: - Ask yourself: Does this metric actually reflect valuable work, or just activity? - Avoid vanity metrics (e.g., “logins per day” tells you nothing about real output). - Get input from team leads or frontline employees—they know what matters.
What to skip: Don’t let Centrical’s default dashboards distract you. Customization is your friend.
Step 2: Set Up Your Data Sources and Integrations Properly
Centrical isn’t magic—it needs actual data. This means connecting it to the tools your team really uses (CRM, helpdesk, learning platforms, etc.).
How to do it: - Go to Centrical’s integrations page and see what’s supported out of the box. Most common SaaS tools are covered. - For anything not on the list, talk to your IT folks about custom connectors or flat-file imports. - Double-check permissions. If Centrical can’t access real data, you’ll end up with empty charts.
What works: Automatic, real-time integrations. The closer you get to live data, the better.
What doesn’t: Manual uploads. They’re a pain and almost always get out of date.
Pro tip: If you’re not sure what data is coming in, pull a sample report and look for obviously missing info (e.g., blank columns, old dates).
Step 3: Pick the Right Productivity Metrics in Centrical
Once your data is flowing, it’s time to choose the metrics that actually matter. Centrical has a bunch of out-of-the-box options, but they may not fit your team’s reality.
Start with basics: - Completed tasks or cases (with quality checks, if possible) - Sales closed or leads converted - Customer issues resolved - Training modules finished (if learning is part of the job)
Dig deeper when you’re ready: - Average time to complete key activities - Peer or customer feedback scores (if tracked) - Cross-functional collaboration (if measurable)
What to ignore: - “Productivity scores” that mash up unrelated metrics into a single number. These can feel scientific but are usually just confusing. - Activity for activity’s sake (e.g., clicks, logins, time spent in system).
Pro tip: Less is more. A handful of solid metrics beats a wall of spaghetti charts.
Step 4: Build Simple, Useful Dashboards (Not Just Pretty Ones)
Centrical lets you build dashboards for yourself, managers, or employees. But it’s easy to go overboard and end up with a wall of graphs nobody looks at.
Keep it simple: - Limit dashboards to 3–5 key charts per role. - Use plain English labels (“Tickets Closed This Week” instead of “TCW”). - Add context: If a number is up or down, is that good? Bad? Compared to what?
For managers: Focus on team-level trends and outliers. For employees: Show individual progress, but avoid making it feel like Big Brother.
What to skip: Don’t clutter dashboards with “engagement” metrics unless they tie directly to actual outcomes.
Pro tip: Ask a couple of users to review your dashboards. If they say “so what?” after looking at a chart, cut it.
Step 5: Use Alerts and Triggers—But Don’t Overdo It
Centrical can send alerts if someone’s falling behind or crushing it. This is handy for course-correcting early, but you don’t want alert fatigue.
Best practices: - Set alerts only for meaningful changes (e.g., a 20% drop in output for a week—not just a missed target by a hair). - Avoid daily pings. Weekly or milestone-based alerts are less annoying. - Make sure someone’s actually acting on alerts, not just filing them away.
What to ignore: Don’t turn on every notification just because you can. If everything’s an emergency, nothing is.
Step 6: Analyze Trends—Don’t Chase Every Blip
It’s tempting to jump on every dip or spike in the numbers. Resist. Instead, look for real patterns over time.
How to spot what matters: - Compare week-over-week or month-over-month trends. - Look for changes that line up with real-world events (new policies, product launches, etc.). - Use filters to break down data by team, role, or location if you have a large org.
What works: Asking “Why?” when you see a change—don’t just accept the numbers at face value.
What doesn’t: Micromanaging based on daily swings. Productivity isn’t a heartbeat monitor.
Step 7: Combine Quantitative Data with Qualitative Feedback
No dashboard tells the whole story. Use Centrical analytics as a conversation starter, not the final word.
How to make it work: - Share reports with your team and ask for their take. “Does this match what you’re seeing?” - Cross-check numbers with customer feedback or peer reviews. - If something doesn’t add up, dig deeper—don’t just trust the chart.
Pro tip: If a metric looks off, it probably is. Data quality is always a work in progress.
Step 8: Adjust, Iterate, and Don’t Be Afraid to Kill Bad Metrics
What works one quarter might not work the next. Productivity metrics should evolve as your business or team changes.
How to keep things honest: - Review metrics every few months. Is everything still relevant? Is anything being gamed? - Drop anything that’s just noise or causing weird behavior. - Try new metrics on a small group before rolling out company-wide.
What to ignore: Don’t keep a metric just because it’s always been there. If it’s not helping, let it go.
Summary: Keep It Simple, Stay Skeptical, and Iterate
Measuring employee productivity with Centrical isn’t about chasing a mythical “perfect metric.” It’s about picking a few simple, real-world indicators that actually matter to your team—and being willing to change your approach as you learn. Don’t get distracted by pretty dashboards or scores that don’t mean anything to your business. Start small, stay curious, and remember: the best analytics are the ones people actually use.