What gets done gets measured, with pitfalls
In this new world, we won’t always be able to catch the unintended consequences of our actions. What really drives behaviour? I’ve had the pleasure of leading businesses in a number of sectors and have seen the traditional reversal of the saying “What gets measured gets done” menacingly scrawled in permanent marker on white boards in all manner of workplaces.
I too was a disciple. Target the behaviours you want, pick the measure that you believe will show it’s working and – hey presto! – watch as the sales flood in, costs tumble and things are generally better.
I even adopted this approach as a parent. I remember lining up two of my kids in front of a “reward” chart when they were little. A vain attempt to get them to use cutlery, the potty, get to bed on time, you know the story. In response, I remember my oldest looking quizzically and responding: “Daddy, can you not pick things we already do?”
And there we have it, what gets measured does not in fact get done. We pick things that we believe will make changes we want, then make ourselves feel better by managing the numbers. But what gets done?
One example haunts me from when I ran a bank branch network. We came up with a great plan to get our staff to contact more customers that rarely came to branches to “meet their needs” ( sell to them!).
We set staff a target of a percentage of appointments to be with these customers as opposed to from traditional walk- ins. I remember visiting a branch and having a lovely honest chat with one of the team. She explained that a customer had walked in off the street to get a mortgage the previous Friday and she had declined to meet them ( her diary was clear).
Instead she said it needed to be booked in the following week otherwise she would miss her target for the week. So, what got done ( meeting booked the following week) got measured. In many instances, the customer would simply have gone elsewhere and we would never had known.
Another more worrying tale was when I was responsible for a group of motor repair centres where we were trying to encourage more standardised repairs that were safer and more efficient ( quicker!). Again, we came up with some measure of success: how quick teams were. I recall a site visit where I saw an alarming corner being cut that could have caused serious harm. Again, what got done ( less safe repairs) got measured, quicker. In both cases, staff were not trying to cheat or do anything dishonest, they were simply trying to deliver. The issue was mine for thinking that measures alone will get the best outcomes.
In both these instances, it was only when I was out in the business that I could see what was actually going wrong – the unintended consequences. Real success happens when you are clear on the values and behaviours that will help your customers.
With that knowledge, you can attract people that instinctively live and love those values and behaviours. If you give these talented people a clear sense of purpose, they will naturally do the things that they need and value.
When that gets done, you will be able to measure your real success.
• Chris Wilson, partner and co- founder, Opto Advisory