There's So Much Data, What Should We Measure?

Measuring and managing using metrics is essential to keeping your organization on target. But if you choose the wrong metrics or set unattainable goals, you could be doing more damage than good.

Likewise, becoming obsessed about selected metrics to the exclusion of other data points can lead to bad decision making and employee burnout.

It’s no wonder that management teams and boards get sideways on this exercise and question its value – and it's why it's critical to do it well.

Your strategic plan is the best place to start when setting metrics or KPIs because your plan aligns with your organization's core values, vision and mission. In other words, starting here encourages you to select metrics based on what matters most to your organization.

Once metrics are selected determine whether or not they are actually usable. Your team should determine if the metrics are unclear, too complex or difficult to explain. Sometimes metrics are selected that unnecessarily complicate operations or create excessive overhead.

Any one of these factors will make metrics difficult to track, measure or implement. Selecting the wrong metrics has been known to derail even the most well-intentioned management teams.

YOUR ACTION STEPS

First, look at your strategic plan with new eyes and think about how your plan translates into the metrics that allow you to measure your accomplishments. Ask the following questions to help you clarify and define key metrics:

• What five things will most impact the organization in the next 12 months?
• What does each area of the organization need to accomplish to achieve overall success?
• What are our subjective criteria for success in the next 12 months?

Second, evaluate each metric to determine if it is clear and specific. You want to avoid metrics that are too broad or ill-defined. Metrics should be so clear that an outsider could come in at the end of the quarter and check whether or not the objectives have been met.  

Finally, guard against selecting metrics that capture outcomes or output by selecting metrics that measure impact instead. This can be difficult because the easiest and most obvious metrics track outcomes. The metrics that measure output may lull your team into a sense of accomplishment because they feel busy and can point to the number of software sales made or the number of students served in the after-school program.

Good metrics do more than just provide a tally. They align with core values and purpose.

More meaningful metrics might be the number of software sales that meet profitability goals or are in key target markets; and the number of students in the after-school program with improved rates of attendance or reading scores.