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Measurement
by
Charles Lamson
Once you have pinpointed the behavior and the result you would like to change, you are ready to begin measuring. If you have a reliable pinpoint, measurement is easy. The most basic measurement is counting. Pinpoints allow you to count, because the specificity of a pinpoint enables you to observe actions you would not otherwise see. As you will learn, pinpointing allows you to measure many abstract performances or states such as morale, attitude and creativity. Once you have established the precise behaviors you will accept as evidence of these qualities, counting them is a simple task.
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Why Measure?
Just as we manage organizational performance by data, we should manage human performance by data. If we pinpoint what we want from people, the next logical step is to measure their performance.
In many organizations, problems sometimes arise when we start measuring what people do. People may say things like "You can't measure what I do," "You don't trust me," or ""It's not fair." You might even hear comments about your micromanagement. These comments indicate that the performers may have had a history in which measurement has been an antecedent for punishment. This is understandable because a lot of what we measure is negative. We measure things like errors, defects, accidents, and waste. Quite naturally, people might not be delighted when someone suggests counting the number of errors they make. We want to insure that you look at measurement in terms of how it can be used to support positive change. In that sense, the measurement process is much more likely to be associated with reinforcement than with punishment.
One major reason for measuring in a PM (Performance Management) system is to increase the appropriate delivery of reinforcement. Measurement allows you to see smaller changes in performance than you could see through casual observation. Seeing these small improvements allows you to reinforce more often. This will guarantee faster change than if you wait until some final result has been attained. Certainly, measurement exposes poor performance, but knowing about poor performance helps us know when improvement occurs so we can positively reinforce the desired performance.
Another reason for measuring is to increase your own skills at influencing others. As with any skill, the more precise the feedback you get, the faster you learn how to get others to do what you want them to do. You will also get them to do it because they want to please you rather than because they feel coerced. When you measure the behavior you want to change, you will be able to see how quickly the changes take place. The data will also give you important clues as to whether these changes are the product of positive or negative reinforcement.
Progress requires measurement.
Measurement is the key to progress. In many areas of past human endeavor, progress was slow until effective measurement techniques were devised. The telescope and microscope, for example, generated great advances in astronomy and biology because they allowed better and more precise measurement than was possible with the naked eye. New measurement technologies have accelerated progress in science, technology, and business for the same reason. Similarly, human performance benefits from advances in measurement because it permits us to detect subtle changes in behavior.
If you do not measure, you usually cannot tell if performance is getting better, getting worse, or staying the same. Under those conditions, improvement results from chance, rather than from rational planning and evaluation.
Feedback and reinforcement require measurement.
Feedback - useful information on performance - is an essential part of Performance Management. Therefore, the effective application of PM requires measurement. Feedback depends on data - data obtained by measuring relevant performance. How are people to know how they are doing if their performance is not measured?
Optimal performance also requires reinforcement. Measurement increases the effectiveness of reinforcement because data helps you separate real from apparent change. Without measurement you may think there is an improvement when there is not - or vice versa. Without data, you may reinforce the wrong behavior, or reinforce at the wrong time. In other words, data helps you plan what and when to reinforce. By watching the data, even small improvements can be detected and reinforced when appropriate.
Measurement also helps you identify positive reinforcers by giving you a way to measure the effect of various reinforcers on performance. You may think you have an effective reinforcer to apply to someone's behavior, but if the behavior doesn't increase, then what you are using is not a reinforcer. By measuring the effect of the intended reinforcer on behavior, you can discover this earlier than you would without measurement.
Data also will inform you of when the value of the reinforcer you have been using is beginning to lose its effect through satiation. If the performance begins to decline over time, data will show that the value of the reinforcer has changed. With data, you can correct the problem before a serious deterioration in performance occurs.
Measuring increases credibility.
A popular saying among some quality professionals is, "In God we trust; all others bring data." They say this because solutions are often found by analyzing data, so those with data are more likely to have solutions. People perceive individuals who support their points with data as being objective and persuasive. Furthermore, those who offer solutions are more likely to command respect and have more influence in decision making. Ultimately, when people disagree, the one with the data is most likely to prevail.
Measuring reduces emotionalism and increases constructive problem solving.
Using objective unbiased data on performance reduces emotionalism. People get upset when they do not understand why someone says they are not doing well. Measurement helps us communicate the specifics of performance. If people understand why you have made a particular decision about performance, they are more likely to calmly discuss and accept the decision, because they understand that your action is not arbitrary, but based on fact. 
Managing effectively requires performance data. If you do not have data to support your assessments, you may appear opinionated, subjective, and irrational. When data is continually collected and openly displayed, performance trends become more apparent. This allows the performer to take action to correct problems sooner than would be possible if they did not have measurement.
The introduction of Statistical Process Control (SPC) methods of Shewart (1939) as cited in Deming (1986) and others has made it possible for companies to make significant improvements in quality. With these measures, managers can separate variance in the process from variance in the performer. Therefore, when these measures are available, if performance is down as a result of variation in a process that is out of the performer's control, performers are less likely to be blamed. Another significant benefit of SPC is that the data tells performers when to take action to keep their process in control.
Data also increases the probability that you will make the right decisions about promotions, suspensions, performance appraisals, and of course, positive reinforcement. People who have the appropriate data have a clearer basis for devising effective solutions to problems. For example, displaying data at crew, shift, sales, or other meetings puts the focus on performance, not on excuses.
As a necessary condition for developing and maintaining optimal performance, measurement is one of the key attributes of Performance Management.
*SOURCE: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: CHANGING BEHAVIOR THAT DRIVES ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS, 4TH ED., 2004, AUBREY C. DANIELS & JAMES E. DANIELS, PGS. 131-133*
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