Putting Your Measures to Work for Your Business
The previous article covered how balancing between qualitative and quantitative measures is important in order to have a well-rounded view of your business. I also discussed the use of leading indicators and lagging measures and how those work in conjunction to ensure you are achieving the outcomes you desire. Finding things to measure is rarely the problem retailers face. Although the current climate makes that more challenging, there is still no shortage of options for metrics to choose from. You want to determine the ones that will give you the right information to act on. It would help if you had measures that will work for you and your business.
As with most other vital initiatives, having a strategy for what you measure is a necessary first step. As I mentioned above, reports and metrics can be created for nearly anything. The more critical questions are should they be created and how will I use them? Here are three recommendations on how to approach your business measurement update.
Narrow your focus
Many retail leaders have never met a report they didn’t find useful, especially if it identified positive results. However, you cannot (and should not) have a report for everything. Yes, I know there is the saying, ‘what gets measured, gets done’, but everyone leaves out the second part of that: ‘except when you try to measure everything.’ That is when the statement, ‘if everything is important, then nothing is important’ comes into play. To be successful, select a few items that you can go after that are behavior-driven but quantifiable in measurement.
Having a narrowed focus on which metrics will yield you the most important data points will be far more actionable than analyzing and wading through dozens of reports. Align the reports and measurements to what you have previously defined as your business’s most critical elements right now. With a few very well defined reports that match the behaviors you want to occur in your teams, you will be better positioned to identify what is and isn’t working more quickly and consistently.
Observe and coach
Speaking of measuring behaviors, taking time to observe how your team works and acts towards the objectives will provide plenty of information as to the likely outcomes of your strategy. It won’t be about the numbers in the reports, especially at first. It will take time to coach the behaviors, and then the numbers will come. Done well, this can yield quick results. Observing and coaching does not need to be a metaphor for time and talk. By providing feedback early and often, associates will understand the expectations better and will work to succeed in the new requirements. Few people want to fail, but many do not receive the proper support or information to succeed. Coaching can be hard. It does take effort. This can be a real challenge in the fast-paced world we work in. But it will move the needle in the direction you want and need it to.
Disciplined execution
Stay. The. Course. This may be the most difficult thing leaders, especially in the retail environment, face. We all want instant gratification and results. With that impatience, some may be quick to change course and try something new, revert to old behaviors, or stop trying altogether.
Two scenarios typically play out - 1) we see early positive results and believe we have solved the problem. We celebrate and choose to move on to the next thing believing we have accomplished what we needed. 2) We don’t see early positive results and assume it won’t work, and we change the plan again, just before people really began to understand what we just asked them to do. Both are recipes for frustration on everyone’s part and the familiar refrain of ‘fad management.’ I have been guilty of both—and neither is too much fun or successful.
Addressing the first from above, don’t jump ahead. Master the new behaviors before taking on the next thing. Ensure you have the new actions and activities ingrained in everyone’s daily routine before declaring victory. Forget the notion that it takes ‘xx’ number of days to establish a new habit. There is no scientific evidence that there is a specific number of days required for any habit to become routine. It varies by person and activity. You will have to determine this for yourself and your team through conversation and observations. When everyone feels good about the new actions, you can move on and tackle additional items.
Moving away from the new plans too soon can also result in missed opportunities. Because it does take time for people to adjust to new requests, you need to ensure you provide that buffer of time (with the appropriate level of coaching and support) to allow the new ideas to take hold. Change management is a key ingredient to the success of any innovative approach to working styles or measurements. No one likes to feel uncomfortable in what they are doing or believe they are failing because a report is not indicating the results you were immediately hoping for.
As you are building out your plans for implementing new measures for your business, don’t set impossible goals and forecasts for your team. Keeping a realistic approach is necessary, especially when there are so many factors to consider. Everyone is experiencing this pandemic in different ways, personally and professionally. Keeping the balance between what your team CAN do and WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN is critical for lasting success. Working from a smaller group of initial goals and then building on them as you master each will yield far better results over time versus trying to do everything at once.
How will you put updated metrics to work for you?
I also recently discussed this topic and some of the ideas from this series of articles with Graeme Grant , CEO of Blueday, on their webinar Measuring Store Performance in Turbulent Times: Defining Your Key Metrics for 2020 and Beyond.
Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive FREE leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills all at no cost. JOIN NOW!
No spam ever - just leadership goodness.
Photo by Stephen Dawson via Unsplash