Why Do We Need to Measure?

Peter Drucker said: ‘Measure, measure, and measure! What you can measure you can manage.’

Measurement makes things more scientific. It gives a reference point, upon which to base future measurements on. Performance is about measuring up to expectations: goals, targets, standards, and outcomes.

Meeting sales targets; delivering impeccable customer service at a 6-star hotel; receiving more documented compliments than complaints; sending an internationally sent parcel, on-time. These are moments to measure the performance of staff and his/her organisation.

We need to measure staff performance or else it would not be fair, when it comes to the reward and recognition stage. It used to be ‘An honest day’s pay for an honest day’s job’. Today, we factor in results, attitude, standards and ranking as part of the gestalt of employability. A staff’ bonus, incentives and promotion is closely tied in with their performance – and these potential monetary gains are major motivators for even more enhanced performance the next time.

If we do not measure performance, our credibility and reputation is called into play - our staff’s future is in our hands. We need to honour our positions of authority and power and show that we can lead our team with a sense of purpose, responsibility, fairness and competency.

If there is no more ‘iron rice bowl’, what else is left? Is it time that we assisted staff to fashion a new career based on fairness, performance, discipline, thoroughness and generosity?