If It's Not Measured, It's Not Performing

In any high-performance endeavour, constant measurement is a crucial aspect of that activity. How else do athletes constantly achieve personal bests and then go on to break national and international records?

If we participate in a sport, it's second nature to track our performance because we understand that by doing so, we improve. Surprisingly, we are often less inclined to closely measure our business's performance and that of the people within our business.

“Surprisingly, we are often less inclined to closely measure our business’s performance and that of the people within our business.”

Each one of our team can benefit from measurement; they might appear to be doing okay, but if they are not being monitored against goals and standards, they are most likely underperforming.

The idea of measurement can feel cold and clinical, and to some extent, it is; numbers are not warm and friendly. Simply measuring performance in numbers is useful, but it is more effective as part of a culture. As business owners, that culture should include paying attention, showing personal interest, setting goals, accurate measurement, and regular communication.

Pay Attention

Our workspace and retail space are our platforms for performance; they are our playing ground for the game of business. We must make a conscious effort to see what is going on with our store, taking time each day to stroll through and pay attention to what is happening. We have often experienced driving a long distance and arriving at our destination without remembering the trip. We can do the same when we spend time in our business. We need to make an effort to switch out of autopilot from time to time, observing what is happening in our business.

“Our workspace and retail space are our platforms for performance; they are our playing ground for the game of business.”

Show Personal Interest

Take time to talk with the people working in our business; it will potentially uncover issues before they become a problem. It's also an opportunity to hear ideas that will improve our business. We don't want our people to be reluctant to talk with us; we might say our “door is always open”, but that infers we expect others to initiate the conversation. That responsibility is ours. Also, we don’t want our staff to get the impression that they hear from us only when things go wrong.

Set Goals

Every role in our business should be subject to measurable and achievable goals. Goals are fundamental to improving and maintaining performance. It might appear easier to set goals for salespeople, but it's not hard to set goals for everyone. What do you expect of your office people? What do you expect of your warehouse person and your installers? Do your salespeople have budgets to achieve? Make sure everyone understands what is expected of them and, as you start paying attention to your business, communicate with them about how they are going, good or bad.

“Every role in our business should be subject to measurable and achievable goals. Goals are fundamental to improving and maintaining performance.”

Accurate Measurement

All information we use to assess performance must be accurate; the value of the exercise will be significantly undermined if your staff have reason to be less than confident in the numbers you present to them. Depending on your business systems, accessing the information you need might be challenging, so stick to data that is easily accessible and in which you can have confidence.

The better your business systems are, the better the performance information you share with your staff will be. If your current systems are lacking in this regard, any investment made in a system that will quickly generate the data you need will be recovered as you improve the performance of your business. The analogy I often use is cars; it wasn’t that long ago that if your vehicle wasn’t performing, the mechanic would need to spend time identifying the source of the problem. With a modern vehicle, the mechanic plugs the car into a computer that precisely identifies the issue. We should be able to do this in our business.

Communicate Regularly

We must have regular discussions with everyone about how they are performing. Depending on the circumstances and role, these might be casual and brief, but don't make the mistake of reviewing performance only when it needs improvement. A chat when we do well encourages us and makes less positive discussions, when they arise, more palatable.

“Each one of our team can benefit from measurement; they might appear to be doing okay, but if they are not being monitored against goals and standards, they are most likely underperforming.”

As a business owner, you can set goals and measure your team against them regardless of your business system, but it's easier if you have a fully integrated business management system such as RFMS. RFMS allows you to quickly access and report the information you need to manage performance. If you want to see how RFMS might help you improve your business, we would be happy to arrange a demo and discussion.