How to make the most of measures in objectives

The importance of being measured – how to measure objectives

What should you measure? And how should you measure it? These are two very important questions when it comes to setting goals, objectives and targets.

You know it’s important that objectives are SMART, (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bounded) but that’s no good if you are measuring the wrong thing or the wrong person is getting the information.

Example of the wrong measure

I was reading a book about measuring objectives recently. Yes, there are such books.

The thing that worried me was that the author was suggesting that all the information should be going to the manager. In only one casual aside did he mention that people might like to get the measures themselves.

He talks about the objective of reducing errors per 100 sales. `He suggests the Sales Processing Manager and the Customer Relationship Manager should be getting this information.

But he does not mention the people responsible for this task.

A typical mistake made by managers

So often managers put themselves and their processes between the person doing the job and the results they get.

If you want someone to improve their performance and level of skill, it’s vital that they get the information they need in order to do that.

Getting a report at the end of the week telling you that there were 5 errors in every hundred orders is almost useless. What you need is to know straight away if the order is correct or not.

Then you can work out what you need to do to get it right every time.
Even worse, putting all the information in the manager’s hands first is one of the biggest mistakes people make. It’s like being back at school and waiting for the results of your exams.

You can trust your people to get it right if they have the right information
If you get the information you need immediately you can work out how to do a good job every time. To keep this information from people is both patronising and stupid. It’s cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Get people to give you the information

Instead of operating in this schoolteacher manner, either make the information as automated as possible and give everyone access to it, or get the individuals to report the information back to you, instead of you giving it to them.

This will make it much easier for people to take responsibility for improving their performance and you will find they are much more motivated.