MODERN MANAGEMENT
The solution is to better understand
the “that” we want to measure.
What results will come from
achieving the goal? Performance
measures are evidence of results
we’re trying to create or improve.
The only place we can observe
evidence is in the world around us.
So if we can’t describe how we’d
recognise if a goal is achieved, we
won’t be able to measure it.
There are three tests that any
goal needs to pass before it is
measurable. And if a goal fails
any one of these tests, it’s an
opportunity to take a closer look at
it, and reword it to better say what it
really means.
Test 1: Is it action-oriented?
A goal won’t be meaningfully
measurable if it’s written as
an action, like this: “Undertake
extensive road condition
assessments; develop and
implement a Shire Council Road
Maintenance Plan.”
When we attempt to measure a goal
that is articulated as an action, we
end up measuring how much action
is happening, or whether or not it
happened. This goal was measured
by “10 year asset management
plan developed and considered
by Council”. Useful performance
measures tell us how much things
have improved, as a result of our
action. We all know that action
doesn’t guarantee better results. So
developing an asset management
plan doesn’t mean that road
condition is better.
Instead of writing goals as actions,
we need to write the results we
are trying to achieve. Of course
we still need to know what action
we’ll take to achieve that result, but
performance is about the result, not
the activity. The question is, what
results does that Council want from
a 10 year asset management plan?
Don’t confuse performance
management with project
management.
it is, how transparent it is, how
financially sustainable it is, and
how responsive it is. That’s several
measures, at least. And of course,
the weasel words would need to be
translated too!
Test 2: Is it weasely?
A goal won’t be very measurable
if it’s written in vague, weasely
language, like this: “Foster
opportunities for social interaction
in our community to enable greater
participation in community life.”
Each unique performance result
needs its own measure.
The ‘weasel words’ are foster,
opportunities, social interaction,
participation, and community life.
And they are weasel words because
they don’t have a clear and specific
meaning that everyone could
consistently interpret and visualise.
Five different people could have
seven different interpretations
of this goal. We must be able to
describe the differences we’d
observe if our goal was achieved.
A measurable goal
A goal like “Council and the
community actively recycle
and reduce waste” isn’t actionoriented, it isn’t weasely and it’s
not (badly) multi-focused. Right
away we recognise that we want
more waste recycled and less
waste produced. Both of these
we can observe, and so we can
measure them. The first measure
might be the percentage of waste
that is recycled, and the second
measure might be the tonnes of
waste collected. Measurable goals
are possible in local government,
and they’re necessary.
If we can’t observe it in some way,
we can’t measure it.
Test 3: Is it multi-focused?
A goal won’t be easily measurable
if it’s written as several goals
smooshed together, like this: “An
efficient, progressive, transparent
and financially sustainable
organisation which is responsive
to the needs of the community
through sound decision making and
leadership.”
Multi-focused goals are about
several different performance
results. We need to unbundle
these goals into distinctly separate
performance results. If the council
that owns this goal is serious
about achieving it, they’ll need
a measure of how efficient the
organisation is, how progressive
Stacey Barr is one of the world’s leading
specialists in business performance
measurement and KPIs. She is known
for her practicality in solving the most
common struggles with measuring
what matters. Her book ‘Practical
Performance Measurement: Using
the PuMP Blueprint for Fast, Easy,
and Engaging KPIs’ is available at all
amazon online stores. For more, visit
www.staceybarr.com.
October 2016
ModernBusiness
15