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7 Deadly Sins of Performance Measurement - Frivolity
In this series, we’ve already explored the ‘sins’ of Vanity, Narcissism and Laziness, as detailed by Michael Hammer in ‘The 7 Deadly Sins of Performance Measurement (and How to Avoid Them)’. This month we turn our attention to Frivolity – which Hammer describes as possibly the most serious sin of all.
The devil is in the detail…
Frivolity involves arguing about the metrics details, rather than taking them seriously. It also includes the tendency to find excuses for poor performance, or passing the blame between departments, rather than tracking and tackling the root causes. It happens when people whose self-interest, hierarchical position or loudness of voice carry more weight than objective data. In such cases, even the most carefully designed and implemented metrics may be of little value.
Hammer comments that too many companies pay too little attention to operational measurement. They follow the path of least resistance, using measures inherited from the past or the first metrics that occur to them. He concludes that a serious commitment to performance improvement demands an equally serious commitment to designing and using effective operational metrics.
Are you being practical?
So how does this sin apply to Insight teams? In the insight world there’s a danger of focusing too much on techniques and details rather than on practical applications. For example, there has been a classic debate about the relative merits of using the Net Promoter Score compared with other measures of satisfaction and loyalty. Agencies love this sort of issue.
However, client-side teams should avoid wasting too much time on the academic details. Stand back and look at what will work best for your organisation – it needs to fit into your culture and approach. You may have to fit in with other divisions or countries for common reporting. But beware of chopping and changing, because lack of continuity with measures can cause problems if you’re monitoring trends.
Moving forward
The overriding question for client-side teams is: “Are you measuring things that can help your organisation to move forward?” Customer measures range from attitudes to behaviours, to transactions, to the bottom line and profit. These are linked in a chain.
Can someone in your organisation respond and make suitable changes if you see a deterioration in a key customer measure? For instance, if customer satisfaction drops, can you drill down and identify the problem and its cause? You’ll need to identify and measure the drivers of satisfaction. These may include operational measures such as time responses and availability – or service factors such as staff attitudes and approach.
Any measures you use need to be linked to action and improvement - otherwise there’s little point in taking them. Avoid fluffy and unconnected measures: and above all, don’t be frivolous when it comes to performance measurement!
