As much as we may dislike the need for measuring performance the fact remains that measurements provide a report card about how we use resources. We need some way to keep score about the results achieved using assigned resources in specific activities. We need to know if the use of those resources added value to the organization’s purposes and objectives. But before performance can be measured, expectations must be clearly defined. And herein lies the problem.
Too often expectations lack specificity and clarity and thus cannot be measured. Developing those expectations involves what I refer to as doing the up-front work: looking at the pieces, their interactions, and their impact on the organization’s purposes and objectives. Too often action precedes thinking about the consequences of the action. Look back at your own experiences and think how many times the lack of clearly defined expectations prevented you from accomplishing objectives in a timely manner. Defining expectations also involves thinking about how those expectations will be achieved. Just ask some simple questions that are often difficult to answer: Why are we engaging in this particular activity? What are the benefits if we’re successful? What is the organizational impact if we just decide to disregard it? What are the consequences of disregarding the potential knockouts, those pieces of the puzzle that cannot be found?
Meeting individual or group objectives may or may not add value to the organization. The marketing department develops a marketing plan for a new product rollout but the product is not accepted in the marketplace. The government attempts to develop a national healthcare plan (a major project but still a project) and fails. Extensive studies are made, accepted, and put on the shelf without any intent of implementation. Meeting project specifications, schedule, and cost targets may or may not be sufficient.
Is it possible that all individuals met their expectations but the department failed to meet its expectations? Yes. Is it possible for all departments of the organization to meet their expectations but the organization fails to generate the expected results? Yes. What if every department met its performance targets but the organization failed to meet its performance targets? Performance targets, whether related to individuals, departments, or the entire organization, must be integrated into some workable framework. So it’s important that managers think beyond following directives and put on the organizational hat and think about the impact their department has on the organization’s output.
Avoid those war rooms with the multiplicity of charts measuring every conceivable activity. Gathering data on a multitude of issues that have little if any relevance but might be nice to know has a negative impact on the staff. Besides, war rooms are time wasters. Also the selected metrics should come from available organizational information. You don’t need to appoint a metrics specialist. Most groups require no more than five to seven measures to describe performance. We could also argue that there is only one metric: Did you do what you said you’d do?