Should Performance Measurement Go On The Backburner When Times Get Tough?

<h1>Should Performance Measurement Go On The Backburner When Times Get Tough?</h1>Author: <a title="Stacey Barr" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/stacey-barr/37633.htm">Stacey Barr</a> Measuring performance takes time, effort and money. You have to stop your "real work" to figure out what's worth measuring and set up the data capture and reporting to measure it. So in times like these, when everyone's cutting budgets, downsizing and cancelling non-core projects, should performance measurement go on the backburner too? Imagine that you do stop investing in performance measurement now, because times are tougher. You've cut your training budget back, so you're not developing people's measurement skills. You've cut back staff numbers, so everyone's too busy doing real work to measure anything. You've turned your attention to doing something (anything) to adapt, and measuring feels like it's slowing you down. Companies and organisations that think this way apparently must also think that performance measurement is not urgent, not core, and not essential to making the best of bad times. They must see measuring as a cost and not as a lever. Here's why they're wrong: 1. In tough economic times, companies and organisations have more constraints, so they need to perform better to get the same results. Everyone knows, just like they know the sun rises in the east, that you can't improve performance unless you measure it (and measure it properly). 2. There's waste in everything, whether it's a core function or not. When times get tougher, it's the waste that has to go, not the highest costs. It's the fat that must be shed, not the muscle. Only by measuring to pinpoint the waste can you be sure you're not shedding important muscle. 3. What becomes urgent in economic downturn is the speed with which companies and organisations can adapt. The faster they can take control of performance, and identify and strip out the waste, the less they allow the downturn to take away from them. When you measure, you reach your goals faster. TAKING ACTION: What are your own opinions about this? Should performance measurement take a backseat until times get better, or not? Let's get some discussion going on my Measure Up blog.About the Author: Stacey Barr is a specialist in organisational performance measurement, helping corporate planners, business analysts and performance measurement officers confidently facilitate their organisation to create and use meaningful performance measures with lots of buy-in. Sign up for Stacey’s free email tips at <a href="href"><a href="http://www.staceybarr.com/facilitators" target="_blank">www.staceybarr.com/facilitators</a></a> and receive a complimentary copy of her renowned e-book “202 Tips for Performance Measurement”.Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/">ArticlesBase.com</a> - <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/should-performance-measurement-go-on-the-backburner-when-times-get-tough-1096289.html" title="Should Performance Measurement Go On The Backburner When Times Get Tough?">Should Performance Measurement Go On The Backburner When Times Get Tough?</a>

Measuring performance takes time, effort and money. You have to stop your "real work" to figure out what's worth measuring and set up the data capture and reporting to measure it.

So in times like these, when everyone's cutting budgets, downsizing and cancelling non-core projects, should performance measurement go on the backburner too?

Imagine that you do stop investing in performance measurement now, because times are tougher.

You've cut your training budget back, so you're not developing people's measurement skills. You've cut back staff numbers, so everyone's too busy doing real work to measure anything. You've turned your attention to doing something (anything) to adapt, and measuring feels like it's slowing you down.

Companies and organisations that think this way apparently must also think that performance measurement is not urgent, not core, and not essential to making the best of bad times. They must see measuring as a cost and not as a lever.

Here's why they're wrong:

1. In tough economic times, companies and organisations have more constraints, so they need to perform better to get the same results. Everyone knows, just like they know the sun rises in the east, that you can't improve performance unless you measure it (and measure it properly).

2. There's waste in everything, whether it's a core function or not. When times get tougher, it's the waste that has to go, not the highest costs. It's the fat that must be shed, not the muscle. Only by measuring to pinpoint the waste can you be sure you're not shedding important muscle.

3. What becomes urgent in economic downturn is the speed with which companies and organisations can adapt. The faster they can take control of performance, and identify and strip out the waste, the less they allow the downturn to take away from them. When you measure, you reach your goals faster.

TAKING ACTION:
What are your own opinions about this? Should performance measurement take a backseat until times get better, or not? Let's get some discussion going on my Measure Up blog.

Stacey Barr is a specialist in organisational performance measurement, helping corporate planners, business analysts and performance measurement officers confidently facilitate their organisation to create and use meaningful performance measures with lots of buy-in. Sign up for Stacey’s free email tips at www.staceybarr.com/facilitators and receive a complimentary copy of her renowned e-book “202 Tips for Performance Measurement”.

Rate this Article:

0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s)

Re-Publish

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/should-performance-measurement-go-on-the-backburner-when-times-get-tough-1096289.html

Article Tags: performance measure, metric, kpi, key performance indicator, business goals, balanced scorecard

Related Articles
Related Q&A

Latest Management Articles
More from Stacey Barr

Freelancers: The Art of Setting Your Hourly Rate

By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP | 01/12/2009
By Ray Myers, Jr., PMP Your success in winning new projects may be due in-part to the rate you charge for your services. Set your rate too high and you won't win the business. Set your rate too low and you'll be leaving money on the table. Somewhere between the high...

Participate Or Not To Participate In Tenders

By: Dr.Irfan Ahmad | 01/12/2009
Always record clearly the date for return of tender documentation. If you are deterred by either the terms or specifications expressed in the tender, don’t withdraw unless you consider it fully justified. Write to the issuing authority fully explaining your concerns and request clarification.

Responding to Tender Notice

By: Dr.Irfan Ahmad | 01/12/2009
Never withdraw from any stage of the tendering procedure without offering a full written explanation. To do so could lead to your firm being barred from future opportunities.

Making every word count – business document templates for the modern world

By: Miriam Taylor | 01/12/2009
Importance of creating business documents that are accurate and have the authority in any arena could not denied at all. we take the hassle out of making sure your legal documents are accurate, conform to legislation and, most importantly, can be understood easily by everyone who uses these documents.

Employee Motivation Techniques - How to Achieve Peak Performance Through a Change Initiative

By: Stephen Warrilow | 30/11/2009
The term "employee motivation techniques" is in my view a little misleading as it implies a tactical "quick fix" approach. Whereas to achieve a peak performance from your people and in so doing, to create a genuine source of competitive advantage demands a strategic approach that embraces leadership style, corporate cultures and the supporting business and management processes.

ADKAR Change Model - An Evaluation of Its Strengths and Weaknesses

By: Stephen Warrilow | 30/11/2009
The ADKAR change model was first published by Prosci in 1998. Prosci is the recognised leader in business process design and change management research, and is the world's largest provider of change management and reengineering toolkits and benchmarking information...

Barriers to Effective Communication in Change Management - But Do They Feel What You Are Saying?

By: Stephen Warrilow | 30/11/2009
The single biggest barrier to effective communication in a change management situation is quite simply the disconnection between the change leader and those who are or will be impacted by the change. Here are 5 proven barriers to effective workplace communication in change management.

Managing Change in the Workplace - 4 Key Steps to Incremental Change

By: Stephen Warrilow | 30/11/2009
In managing change in the workplace it is extremely important to draw the distinction between "incremental change" and "step change". Here are the 4 key steps to managing incremental change in the workplace...

From Strategy To Action: A Checklist For How To Make Your Business Plan Executable

By: Stacey Barr | 30/11/2009 | Management
Thinking big isn't often the problem for entrepreneurs and small business owners. We like to dream and aspire and reach for higher heights. But with this strength, comes a consequential weakness. The problem is turning our lofty goals into reality.

Targets That Take Your Business To The Next Level

By: Stacey Barr | 17/11/2009 | Management
When most business owners set targets, they think about how much profit they want to make next year, how much revenue they need to make to get that profit, and many sales will generate that revenue. And almost as many business owners will decide which strategies will achieve those targets. But these aren't the kind of targets that truly grow your business.

The 8 Steps to Build Buy-in to KPIs

By: Stacey Barr | 16/11/2009 | Management
You're not truly implementing performance measurement - nor getting the gains it will deliver - if you don't have your staff, your colleagues and your managers engaged. Nor do you have to wait until they are engaged before you get started!

Five Metrics To Find More Leverage And Grow Your Small Business

By: Stacey Barr | 03/11/2009 | Management
If you're not happy with the income your business is making, don't rush out and jump on the latest income generating bandwagon. Take stock and see where you can leverage untapped potential already there within your business.

3 Types of Performance Measure Relationships

By: Stacey Barr | 03/11/2009 | Management
If you think about when organisations work well, it's because all the parts are coordinated together and managed as an integrated whole. And that's a very good reason why we ought to treat our performance measures the same.

What's So Special About Lead Indicators?

By: Stacey Barr | 19/10/2009 | Management
Most performance measures or KPIs tell you what happened. But if we're really going to manager company or organisational performance, we need to know something about what's going to happen. And that's what lead indicators do. They are a special breed of performance measure or KPI because they have predictive power.

Are Your Website Visitors Bonding or Bouncing?

By: Stacey Barr | 19/10/2009 | Management
One of the hippest website metrics is Bounce Rate, and with good reason. It measures the percentage of website visits that exited your website on the page they entered on.