We Before Me by Rick Barrera

Author:Rick Barrera
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2020-06-01T13:14:39+00:00

Chapter 7

Metrics Matter

Ken Blanchard says that “Feedback is the true breakfast of champions.” Without feedback, how do you know whether you are winning or losing? How does the team know whether they are making progress toward their Daring Destination? My colleague, Chris Belle, puts it this way. He says there should never be any surprises. His mantra: “No Surprises.” Everyone should always know where they stand against team and personal metrics.

Many managers believe that metrics are simply a way of micromanaging employees. We Before Me Leaders know that everyone needs feedback to know if they are on track or off track to their goals…and just because someone is off track is not a reason for despair. It just means a mid-course adjustment is in order. Think of feedback as the gentle voice of your GPS telling you how to constantly re-route until you get to your final destination.

So how do you know which metrics to measure and how many are enough or too many. That, of course, depends on the size and complexity of your organization and your Daring Destination. I like to use a rule of thumb that no individual or team should have more than three metrics that they are directly responsible for, and there really should be just one metric that takes precedence over all others. I like to call this master metric, “The Metric That Matters.”

Lexus measures hundreds of metrics, but the “Metric That Matters” for Lexus team members is customer repurchase behavior. If they score high on all other metrics for a customer, but that customer chooses another car company for their next automobile, Lexus has failed.

It was that metric that caused Lexus to dramatically expand their lineup of cars. Many customers said they were very happy with their Lexus experience, but they needed an SUV or wanted a sports car as their next car. In the early years, Lexus just didn’t have those products, so they reinvented their lineup until they could deliver whatever type of car their loyal customers were looking for.

For a social media company, the “Metric That Matters” might be cost to acquire a new customer, the number of new users, the length of time that each user spends on the site, revenue per user or recurring revenue per month.

For a call center, the “Metric That Matters” might be first-call resolution, even though they might be measuring other metrics like call time, escalations, or case file completion.

It is never fair to team members to say that all three metrics are equally important because in any given situation on any given day, there may have to be trade-offs among goals. If the priorities are clear, team members always know which metric to drive and which can take a back seat temporarily.

Whenever possible, it is best if metrics can be tracked in real time, meaning that your team is getting immediate feedback on their performance throughout the day. Many call centers use screens with bar charts, pie charts or color-coded graphics to let the team know how they are doing in real time.

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