By using work outputs, digital data and task completion as key measures, the new evaluation approach helps reduce subjective assessments, provides a basis for assigning and deploying personnel more appropriately, and improves the effectiveness of public administration and the quality of services provided to citizens.
Measuring officials’ capabilities through results
At the Party Building Commission of the Thanh Vinh Ward Party Committee, officials and civil servants are focusing on digitising Party members' records. Alongside other professional duties, the results of this digitisation work are incorporated into individual performance assessments. The volume of work completed, progress made and specific outputs serve as the basis for KPI evaluation.
Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, a specialist at the commission, said that before KPI-based performance assessments were introduced, some tasks were left unclaimed because no one wanted to take them on, resulting in lower work efficiency. However, some officials are now proactively volunteering for assignments. KPI-based assessments have encouraged staff across the agency to take greater initiative and responsibility in carrying out their assigned duties.
Nguyen Trung Dung, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Thanh Vinh Ward Party Committee, emphasised that civil servant evaluations previously relied heavily on qualitative assessments. Now, workloads, progress, the quality of document processing and task completion are monitored and quantified more specifically.
Every stage, from assigning tasks and updating progress to submitting work outputs, confirming results and scoring performance, is conducted on a digital platform. This enables agency leaders to monitor each individual's work progress in real time, promptly identify tasks that are behind schedule or fail to meet quality requirements, and direct appropriate corrective measures.
According to Nguyen Trung Dung, data accumulated monthly, quarterly and annually is also valuable for personnel training, professional development and deployment.
Through the performance of assigned duties, management agencies can identify each individual's capabilities, strengths and shortcomings, allowing them to assign tasks more appropriately and determine practical training needs.
KPI results provide one basis for personnel assessment and classification under current regulations, but must be considered in the context of the specific conditions and nature of each person's work.
Civil servant evaluations previously relied heavily on qualitative assessments. Now, workloads, progress, the quality of document processing and task completion are monitored and quantified more specifically.
Nguyen Trung Dung, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Thanh Vinh Ward Party Committee
In Hai Chau Commune, officials are assigned tasks according to clear criteria specifying who is responsible, what needs to be done, the expected outputs and deadlines for tasks recorded in the software.
After two months of implementation, Le Duc Phat, Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, said the KPI system was generally suited to the requirements of renewing methods for managing, monitoring and evaluating task performance.
Linking personnel assessments to specific work outputs has brought positive changes in officials’ sense of responsibility. Many have become more proactive in performing their duties, strengthened their commitment to self-learning and professional development, and increased their use of information technology in handling work.
These changes have helped advance the implementation of political tasks amid the operation of the two-tier local government model, which has brought heavier workloads and numerous new and challenging responsibilities.
To assess the system’s suitability before rolling out KPI-based performance evaluations for officials, civil servants and public employees across the board, the Standing Board of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee selected five provincial-level agencies and units and four commune-level localities, involving 70 affiliated departments, divisions and sections, for a pilot programme starting on July 1.
Le Truong Giang, Deputy Head of the Organisation Commission of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, emphasised that the core of this reform is a shift from assessments based on "comments" to those based on "results", from subjective judgements to quantitative measures, and from periodic evaluations to regular, continuous assessment.
Accordingly, each official, civil servant and public employee is assessed primarily on the results of their assigned duties, linked to specific work outputs and job positions. Alongside the KPI-based performance evaluation system for officials, civil servants and public employees throughout the political system, from provincial to grassroots levels, Nghe An Province is also implementing the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) model for officials under the management of the Standing Board of the Provincial Party Committee.
Matching tasks to the right people
Despite the initial positive changes, the pilot implementation of the KPI software has also highlighted the need to further refine the assessment framework. Tasks across different agencies vary in nature, complexity and levels of responsibility. Performance measurement must therefore reflect these differences to ensure fair evaluations.
Ho Ba Cha, Chairman of the Nam Can Commune People’s Committee, said some tasks remain difficult to quantify or define in terms of specific outputs. As a border commune, Nam Can frequently faces unexpected situations and emergencies. However, such tasks are often assigned directly by commune leaders through telephone calls or text messages and must be carried out urgently, outside office hours or even overnight.
As a result, civil servants do not have time to register these tasks in advance on the system, while collecting complete documentation and supporting evidence in the required format is also extremely difficult.
Practical implementation has shown that KPIs are not merely a tool for scoring individual performance, but are also beginning to demonstrate their potential to support results-based work management.
Le Truong Giang, Deputy Head of the Organisation Commission of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee
Sharing this view, Le Duc Phat said the distribution of workloads among individuals is not yet entirely balanced because of the particular characteristics of different fields. Some tasks arise frequently and in large numbers but involve relatively simple procedures. Others, such as advisory and general administrative work, produce fewer tangible outputs but require considerable time for research, coordination and a high level of responsibility.
In addition, task assignment, acceptance and monitoring currently involve both operational management software and KPI software, meaning information may need to be updated in multiple systems. This is because the systems have not yet fully synchronised their data and task-processing procedures.
Le Truong Giang stressed that practical implementation has demonstrated the potential of KPIs not only as a tool for assessing individual performance but also as a means of supporting results-based work management. However, to fully realise these benefits, the KPI methodology, the catalogue of tasks and work outputs, and the software must be improved in a coordinated manner. The catalogue and measurement methodology should form the foundation, while the software should serve as a tool for implementation and data utilisation.
He said that after two months of piloting, the Standing Board of the Provincial Party Committee had agreed in principle to extend the KPI pilot programme at agencies, units and localities for another two months, from October 1 to November 30. During this period, the province will continue refining the methodology, evaluation criteria, catalogue of tasks and work outputs, software and implementation procedures based on data generated in practice.
At a conference to study, disseminate and implement Resolution No. 08-NQ/TU of the Provincial Party Committee on building and improving the quality of commune- and ward-level officials and civil servants during the 2026-2030 period, Nguyen Khac Than, member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, emphasised that personnel assessment and deployment constitute a key area for breakthroughs. He called for decisive, substantive and effective implementation, avoiding formalism.
The guiding principle, he said, is not to seek perfection from the outset but to establish clear criteria, learn from practical implementation and gradually improve the system. The ultimate goal is to continuously improve the quality of public services, increase citizens' satisfaction and strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the government apparatus, meeting the province’s development requirements in the new period.
By piloting KPI-based performance assessments, Nghe An is gradually establishing a modern approach to governance that takes the results of assigned tasks as the primary measure of performance. This approach is expected to encourage officials, civil servants and public employees to continuously strengthen their sense of responsibility and improve the quality of services provided to the people, contributing to the development of a professional, transparent, effective and efficient public administration.
