Measuring Performance — Before It’s Too Late!
Do you sometimes feel you are doing the best you can yet you’re not sure if you are getting anywhere? Are you sometimes surprised by your business results at the end of the week, month or quarter? Rest assured, there are many like you!
It might be time to step back and assess the linkage between your purpose and how you measure progress, viewed both from the “inside out” and from the “outside in”.
Clarity comes from two things: what you are measuring and how you are measuring.
Let’s start with your “Purpose” as the cornerstone aspiration. Looking inside->out from your colleagues’ point of view, you’ve made it emotional, human, and aspirational. Looking outside->in from your customers’ and investors’ points of view, you speak to the mission-critical value they will realize by working with you.
Now, measuring progress against your purpose can be a challenge. For the quantitative perfectionists among us, it is sometimes uncomfortable - there is no single answer; it is challenging and you may see things you wish were not there! Be sure to include some qualitative benchmarks as well!
One thing’s for sure, engaging your team in defining measurement and the process surrounding it is key to embracing ongoing continuous improvement.
Here are some questions to ask yourself and the team to align your purpose with its measures:
People:
Do I have a shared visual of what achieving our purpose “looks like” or at least “doesn’t look like”?
Do we recognize or reward stellar behavior from our associates toward our purpose to reinforce achievement?
Process:
Do we know which processes and behaviors are critical to our customers?
Do we have a direct or indirect way to understand our performance against our goals for each process and behavior?
Do we monitor feedback from our customers on social media, in the community or with our partners (i.e., sales partners, suppliers, or service providers)?
Do we have a feedback mechanism from customers to objectively measure their buying behavior, loyalty or even their range of emotions?
Is our management engaged in sharing and interpreting our measurements?
Does management ensure priorities are set and resources are available to achieve success?
How do we take action proactively and reactively when we see issues?
Data:
Have we set measurement goals?
At what frequency is actual data collected?
Does our dashboard show progress against these goals over time?
Does each measurement have an “owner” that facilitates its collection and reporting?
Does the frequency and format allow us to have enough data points to see trends with time to react should our processes begin trending out of control?
Are our measurement dashboards available for all to see?
A strong, purpose-focused culture is one of the pillars of success. A culture that embraces measurement, action and continuous improvement against a clearly-defined purpose will win over one that is running blind — Get started today!
Beyond Next Level is available to help you measure progress against the purpose of your organization. Contact us today!