Measure It First, Then You Can Manage It
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. Companies may be
able to survive for a while if managers aren't using data to
make decisions, but they will eventually see their demise;
likely sooner than later. Those companies to benchmark off are
the ones who are not only surviving, but thriving! Pick your
favorite phrase: TQM, Process Management, Quality Circles,
Improvement Teams, Standards and Measurement departments or any
other title you prefer. The function is the same. Look at
baseline data - percentages, dollars, hours, quantities - and
continuously monitor the performance.
There should not be any task that a supervisor or staff members
perform that cannot be measured. If you can't measure it, you
can't manage it. Take a fast food restaurant for example. There
are a plethora of areas that can be measured such as days
without an accident, customer wait time in line, length of time
burgers are in the warmer, amount of money off in the drawers,
customer complaints, etc. Graph it out and keep a spread sheet
of your figures. Clearly you're looking for improvement. If
there was a decline, brainstorm, find the root cause and then
fix the problem.
The process is the same no matter what industry you're managing.
Whether you manufacture widgets, if you are the CEO of an
internet marketing firm or if you sell cookies, take a look at
all the steps involved in day to day operations. Assign values
to the process. Set goals. Review the results on a daily, weekly
or monthly basis. Remember, if you can't measure it, you can't
mange it. Charts and graphs are an excellent tool to visually
remind you of where you have been and where you plan to go.
In the midst of measuring your subordinates' performance, don't
neglect to measure and manage your own operations. Don't think
for a minute that your boss isn't looking at your performance.
And if you're the top dog, you had better be managing yourself
well, or you will never succeed at managing others