Page 34 - MetalForming August 2011

Use the Measurement
dependable means of focusing atten- tion where it needs to be.
Enables accountability. Numbers do not lie, and thus it is impossible to hide behind them. Organizations, departments and individuals must maintain defined standards when faced with the reality of measurement.
Facilitates feedback. It often proves difficult to discuss a person’s or depart- ment’s weak performance without them taking constructive criticism per- sonally. When this happens, the accused person(s) assume a defensive position and, ultimately, little produc- tive communication takes place. How- ever, by discussing departmental stats or a person’s performance record, the conversation flows freely because the focus has shifted to a neutral, third party—the number or measurement itself.
Increases problem prevention.
Measures by themselves are worthless. However, measurements can be used to identify negative trends before they blossom into full-blown problems.
Removes bias. Focus groups, inter- views and conversations all use sub- jective interpretation to reach conclu- sions. On the other hand, well-crafted measures are inherently consistent and objective, removing individual biases.
How Measurement Relates to Your Business
Robert Kaplan, of Harvard Univer- sity, famously states: “If you can’t meas- ure it you can’t manage it, and if you can’t manage it you can’t change it.” A simple translation of this sentence is: If you don’t measure something, you can’t manage it, which means you won’t be able to improve it.
The intangible drivers of leadership, communication and teamwork (LCT ) are key employee-performance factors that are not frequently measured. According to Kaplan’s theory, lack of measurement means these funda- mental building blocks of your organ- ization are not being managed nor improved.
Considering wages, benefits and training, what percentage of your oper-
The measuring cycle begins by measuring leadership, communication and team- work to create a benchmark from
which to track your progress. You
then must work to understand the meaning behind the resulting measures and their impact on performance. Then, share the information and its meaning
with the entire organization;
work collaboratively to tackle organizational challenges at the root, not superficially at the symptoms; and, finally, remeasure and begin again.
ating budget is dedicated to person- nel? One third, maybe more? How can you afford to ignore exactly how this asset is performing?
Interestingly, according to the book, Cracking the Value Code: How Suc- cessful Businesses Are Creating Wealth in the New Economy, by Boulton, Lib- ert and Samek, only 35 percent of exec- utives who expressed a belief in the importance of investing in their employees actually walk the talk.
Failing to measure the intangible drivers—LCT—can cost a company its competitive advantage. Too many exec- utives become lulled into a false sense of security by merely implementing standard industry measures. The flaw in this strategy: If you only measure, manage and improve the same items as your competition, you will not differ- entiate yourself. Use LCT to your advantage to ensure that your compa- ny ends up on top.
The Organizational Drivers of LCT
Whether you notice an increase in employee mistakes, a decrease in cus- tomer satisfaction or a drop in reten- tion, the root cause can be attributed to the quality of leadership at all levels of the organization; the effectiveness of internal communication; or the ability of employees to work well together.
More specifically, the cultural chal- lenge results from a combination of all three drivers due to the synergistic rela- tionship among them. Envision three concentric circles, with leadership in
the outermost circle surrounding and impacting communication, which influences the inner circle of team- work. While it is possible to isolate each intangible for the sake of conversation, in practice it proves impossible to dis- entangle them.
Consider this story about a compa- ny CEO working with an independent consultant to increase productivity. One day the CEO and consultant spied an employee raking the company’s lawn using a rake with only seven of its 12 tines. Obviously the employee’s per- formance was poor, leaving behind a considerable amount of leaves.
The CEO became enraged and asked, “Why would a supervisor allow an employee to work with such a poor rake?” The consultant replied, “Are you sure the supervisor is the only one to blame? To which the CEO answered, “No, of course not, you’re right—it’s my fault for not ensuring that all super- visors understand that the company strongly emphasizes the importance of their employees having the proper tools. I will meet with my managers this afternoon to make sure they under- stand that.”
To the CEO’s surprise, the consultant pressed further. “Isn’t there someone else who should take some responsi- bility?” The CEO shrugged her shoul- ders, not sure who else might be at fault. “What about the employee?” sug- gested the consultant. “Where is the
THE MEASURING CYCLE
32 MetalForming/August 2011
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