Before
entering into private practice, I worked for a non-profit organization
that decided to begin a new reporting protocol to track the services
used by our client population. That might sound reasonable, except
that a similar program was already in place, and the original reports
were not being replaced by this new, more time-consuming one.
Further, there was no clear purpose or benefit for the added
information. Our already over-worked team was shaken at the idea of
being asked to duplicate their time-consuming paperwork.
My
husband, an IT professional, has experienced different challenges with
metrics. He has been asked to track and report on the usage of each
piece of equipment (information that he notes has never led to change)
and each client interaction. The latter with the unfortunate focus (and
reward) being on the number of clients served. This client-service
tracking led some techs to reduce their customer service or take costly
short-cuts. In this case, the metrics incentivized poor service.
And
while working with clients, I have learned of similar challenges and
frustrations that were tied to seemingly irrelevant record keeping and
tracking. Some of these situations were at the core of staff member
conflicts, taking the form of insubordination, or inter-team
conflicts.
Looking at the above situations, the use of metrics brought
about an increase in workplace tensions and conflict, a lowering of
productivity and morale, and a reduction in customer service and
satisfaction. How did this happen? Aren’t metrics supposed to help us
improve processes, customer service, and profitability? As I see it,
yes and no.
Yes,
they can (potentially) help us improve these things, but no, they
aren’t always the right answer for accomplishing the goal.
Here’s
the limitation - Metrics cannot take the place of good management,
careful oversight, or involved, committed employees. They cannot make
necessary inferences and watch for confirmation of the results. These
qualities are why we prefer a person for customer service over an
automated system. And these human elements are at the core of
eliminating theft, building productivity, and enhancing customer
interaction. Humans have the ability to ask a question, seek more
information when needed, interpret, intuit, and comprehend. Data
limits this – and us.
If
we really want to bring about important change, or track concerns or
issues in the workforce, we need to communicate this to our managers
and employees. We must enlist their intelligence, creativity and
support in accomplishing the goals intended. We need to engage them in
planning, and conversely, we need to listen to their needs. To
accomplish our goals and build a strong team, we need to bring
about change in a cohesive way; One that allows for unguarded
information sharing, open communication and reciprocal trust. Only
then can we begin to work collectively to reaching our goals – and only
then will the goals actually matter.
