The Metric Is Not the Goal

Pavlov totally got us. He understood how goal oriented we are, how determined to do whatever it takes to ring the bell, grab the brass ring, cross the finish line and, most important of all, claim our reward.

There may be no more evident manifestation of this in business today than in our attempts to improve customer satisfaction. We know that benefits of pleasing customers are worth it: happy customers mean repeat business which means increased margins. All of which adds up to bigger bonuses, promotions and greater opportunity.

But more often than not we just can't help ourselves. We get so caught up in the game that we forget which is the means and which is the end.

As a result we find ourselves focusing on the number without thinking hard enough about what it represents. And that is most emphatically not just hitting the bid then kicking back. In fact, the problem is pervasive. Our entire executive compensation structure is built on a similar set off misrepresentations.

So the next time someone at a restaurant or a car dealership or job review asks you to give them all 5s or 7s or 10s or whatever the magic number may be, it might be interesting to them what they think that is accomplishing. JL

Roy Atkinson comments in The Think Zone:

The metric is not the goal: The metric is there to help you measure your progress toward your goal
Yesterday at the supermarket, I received a card along with my receipt. Christa was doing her job, making sure that customers knew that there was a survey and an associated contest. Many businesses run contests or offer other incentives to increase their survey response rates. It's not a great practice, but it's not uncommon, either. So far, not optimal, but acceptable. The problem begins with the words, "If you were HIGHLY satisfied with your experience today..." which implies that if I wasn't highly satisfied, I shouldn't bother completing their survey.

The goal here is clearly not to gather useful information about the store, the brand, the merchandise or the service. The goal is clearly not improvement. The goal for Shaw's is to have a high score. They've made the metric their goal.

The metric is not the goal: The metric is there to help you measure your progress toward your goal.

The goal shouldn't be to get a higher score. The goal should be to improve.

Shaw's does have an ongoing problem that was clearly evident in my shopping experience yesterday: They consistently run out of sale items early in the sale. My stop yesterday was prompted by a phone call from my spouse, who said, "If you're passing by Shaw's, they have X, Y and Z on sale today and tomorrow." I did get X, and Y, but they were out of Z, in every flavor and type. It's a three day sale, and I stopped in on day two. 

For the record, my first "real" job back in high school and college was in a high volume supermarket chain, where I started as a bagger, became a cashier and then went on to the customer service desk and later became a department manager. I know the difficulties of predicting demand for sale items, and I can forgive the occasional miss. In this case, I was surprised Shaw's had X and Y because they are so often out of sale items.

So, I decided to go online to the survey link for two reasons: a) Because I wasn't going to give them a 10, and b) Because I had something to say - stock more sale items.

But I did not complete the survey. Not because I knew that Shaw's isn't interested, but because they immediately wanted to make it about the checkout and the cashier, not about the complete experience of shopping at Shaw's. Not about any improvements I might suggest. Not about the quality of their brand products.

Shaw's, your customers can give you very valuable information. They can tell you about problems you may have overlooked, for one thing. But more than that, they can help you improve your products and services, and in doing that, win more customers in the bargain.

Are you listening, Shaw's? Well, no, you aren't; you're busy checking your score.