Performance is What You Measure

Everyone needs to know how they are doing. Understanding performance is a fundamental part of leadership. The term performance gets used in many different ways, but ultimately it is the outcome of our actions and behaviors. Whether that is team performance or individual performance depends on the specific metrics utilized.Performance should directly tie back to your purpose and connect all pieces to further your cause. Effective performance measures will:

• Measure numeric values as well as behavioral activities.
• Evolve with the needs and times of your company, team, and product.
• Show a return on the invested capital - human and financial.
• State where you are at relative to goals, what else needs to be done, and the required level of urgency.

Take these 3 actions to optimize performance.

Measure what you seek to change

Define the desired outcomes as numeric or behavioral values. Then, build a system to measure those values. It can be a combination of values, but work to limit the number of measurements you have. The best measures will show outcomes of actions showing the direct effect of people’s behaviors. Lead Measures as defined in the book Four Disciplines of Execution are a good way to start down this path. Lead measures look at the actions that lead to Lag Results which show what has already occurred. After gathering a list of potential metrics that could be used, refine to the two or three that would have the most impact and stick to those. Keeping everyone focused on a few critical values will be more effective than looking at multiple results that could create confusion on what is actually trying to be achieved.

Behaviors Driven

What people do is the most important part of change and realizing real improvement. People make results happen, so it stands to reason, measuring their behavior would link to the final outcome. However, behaviors are harder to measure. In most cases we prefer metrics that are contained within a system and are accessible. Using lead measures will likely be more behavior driven and will require more manual result capture. But they will provide better information regarding what it takes to achieve the sustained outcomes you are looking for. For example, tracking how many times an associate asks for a sale will be a better indicator of behavior than just overall sales. In order to collect this data it must either come from self-reporting or observations. The benefit that comes through observing is the ability to coach as well as track performance. It also provides near real time feedback to help the individual improve the specific behaviors you are looking for. The obstacle is the time commitment and creating an environment of trust to conduct these observations within. Combining some of the self-reporting, observations, and systemic reporting may be the best way to get a full picture of behavioral and total performance.

Review and React

Regardless of the reporting methods you use, you will need a defined process for reviewing the data you are collecting and and using to make decisions. Trend data will provide much better information for use in adjusting your plans or strategy. Snap shot data, which is more often utilized in retail environments, can be misleading due to peaks and valleys of the results. Seeing the data over a sustained period of time will allow for more in-depth questions to be asked. It also allows for better review of other factors such as staffing changes, weather, or promotional activity. Once you have reviewed the data, make subtle changes that can be measured. Making too many changes at once can muddy the water of understanding what change had an impact on the results. Define the change you want to make then establish a time frame for the change and the expected outcomes. Finish by implementing as you would any new plan. This cycle repeats to ensure you can establish long-term positive results.Having your performance measures defined will let everyone know where they stand as a team as well as an individual. You cannot impact performance without making adjustments to the inputs of your business. Performance that falls short of expectations can be resolved by adjustments to either the plan, people, process, or a combination of the three. Work those to ensure consistently positive performance. We do not manage performance by itself, we manage our behaviors and the behavior of others that lead to the performance we see.How do you measure the performance of what is important to you? Click here or on the comments button above to share your thoughts.