Measuring for Success: The "Science of Metrics" Tour

We've all heard it: "You can't manage what you don't measure."* But what do you measure? How? How often? To whom do you report the numbers? How often should you review these measures to make sure you're measuring the right things?

I'll tackle one of the questions in Boston on May 30th when I present Why You Need a Metrics Review as part of the "Science of Metrics" program, representing HDI's New England and Northern New England local chapters. Building on recent HDI research and thought leadership in the support industry, this presentation shows why many of the measurements used today are not as relevant anymore, why support centers need to shift from quantitative to qualitative metrics, and how important it is to understand and integrate with the strategic priorities of the business or institution. The business environment has changed; your metrics need to change, too.

Come join me and renowned service management thinkers Malcolm Fry, David Ratcliffe and others. It's only $25 to register, and who knows how much it will save your organization?

*Although often incorrectly attributed to Peter Drucker, this is from W. Edwards Deming 

The Metric Is Not the Goal

Yesterday at the supermarket, I received the card shown at the left along with my receipt. Christa was doing her job, making sure that customers knew that there was a survey and an associated contest. Many businesses run contests or offer other incentives to increase their survey response rates. It's not a great practice, but it's not uncommon, either. So far, not optimal, but acceptable. The problem begins with the words, "If you were HIGHLY satisfied with your experience today..." which implies that if I wasn't highly satisfied, I shouldn't bother completing their survey.

The goal here is clearly not to gather useful information about the store, the brand, the merchandise or the service. The goal is clearly not improvement. The goal for Shaw's is to have a high score. They've made the metric their goal.

The metric is not the goal: The metric is there to help you measure your progress toward your goal.

The goal shouldn't be to get a higher score. The goal should be to improve.

Shaw's does have an ongoing problem that was clearly evident in my shopping experience yesterday: They consistently run out of sale items early in the sale. My stop yesterday was prompted by a phone call from my spouse, who said, "If you're passing by Shaw's, they have X, Y and Z on sale today and tomorrow." I did get X, and Y, but they were out of Z, in every flavor and type. It's a three day sale, and I stopped in on day two. 

For the record, my first "real" job back in high school and college was in a high volume supermarket chain, where I started as a bagger, became a cashier and then went on to the customer service desk and later became a department manager. I know the difficulties of predicting demand for sale items, and I can forgive the occasional miss. In this case, I was surprised Shaw's had X and Y because they are so often out of sale items.

So, I decided to go online to the survey link for two reasons: a) Because I wasn't going to give them a 10, and b) Because I had something to say - stock more sale items.

But I did not complete the survey. Not because I knew that Shaw's isn't interested, but because they immediately wanted to make it about the checkout and the cashier, not about the complete experience of shopping at Shaw's. Not about any improvements I might suggest. Not about the quality of their brand products.

Shaw's, your customers can give you very valuable information. They can tell you about problems you may have overlooked, for one thing. But more than that, they can help you improve your products and services, and in doing that, win more customers in the bargain.

Are you listening, Shaw's? Well, no, you aren't; you're busy checking your score.

"I'm sure glad I didn't give them good service..."

Some years ago, I was chatting with a friend of mine who was co-owner of a popular dining and brew spot. As we talked, one of the wait staff came by and said to him, "See those guys leaving right now? I'm sure glad I didn't give them good service, 'cause they left me a lousy tip." After a few seconds and a swallow of his coffee, my friend turned to me in sheer disbelief at what he'd just heard. Suffice it to say that there was an opening on the wait staff very shortly thereafter.

Clearly, that waitperson had a complete misunderstanding of the whole relationship of service quality and tips, and did not understand much about cause and effect, either.

Poor service quality should not bear a direct relationship to dollars collected. I'm sure that you can think of an instance when you received good, personable service in a deep discount store, or from someone who was giving something away for free.

"I can't afford to give good service here" is a very lame excuse. Attitude and focus do not cost money. 

As a business person, you are responsible for the results of your business. (Duh.) If you are not conveying the proper sense of cause and effect, you need to rethink your focus.

Money follows service.

Are you getting "lousy" tips?

In Search of a Better Day

As anyone who watched the US Open knows, it has been very rainy here on the east coast. Up here in Maine, the wet weather refuses to leave, with the storm sitting close enough to the coast to keep it gray, misty and foggy—even more foggy than usual. I feel bad for the people who have planned their Acadia National Park visits for these wet weeks, but the bad weather does tend to drive people to the local stores, so there is an upside.

Maybe the weather has contributed to some less-than-perfect days in my work life, too. I'm unearthing evidence of tasks undone and loose ends untied everywhere I look. For some of the time, I've found that my mood has been as gray as the weather outside.

But every challenge presents an opportunity, and there are many opportunities for me to work with my team to improve. "Continual improvement is an unending journey," say Lloyd Dobens and Clare Crawford Mason.

At times like these, a leader must dig down to a new level of commitment to the goals of the team, and move forward. Take a step in the right direction, and then—as I have said elsewhere—take a second step in the same direction as the first.

Tomorrow I will meet with my team and hear from them something new they each have learned this week. Maybe it will be something they are excited about. Maybe we'll see the sun, at least for a while, and maybe, by day's end, the opportunities will begin to outweigh the challenges.

Give it some thought.