Metrics why measure

As associations work to increase member value, there is an increasing need to measure effectiveness with respect to programs, marketing campaigns and personnel performance. Since association work often involves staff and volunteer leaders working together on a common goal, it is helpful to have tools in place to guide and evaluate this work.

Following is a discussion of some methods currently being used to evaluate performance. Performance measurement is an important cornerstone for any organization and can help ensure that:.

Performance measurement needs to involve both senior management who understand the long-range goals of the organization, and front line staff who know the kinds of measures needed for thoughtful decision making. The biggest challenges in measurement are not in the collection and analysis of data, but in interpretation of results and making decisions based on the information.

Education is an essential part of all measurement. Knowing what to measure, how to measure, how to use measurement and how to link these measures to other knowledge of organizational performance are critical to the successful use of performance measurement. Provide training to the teams in how to do this and set up a process for reporting, reviewing and improving. Today, there are many business performance measurement systems in use, several of which can be adapted to nonprofits and associations, depending upon the desired outcomes of the organization.

One system recommended by several experts in the application of performance metrics to the nonprofit and association field — the Balanced Scorecard Metrics BSC — will be described briefly within this statement.

Leadership is critical in designing and deploying effective performance measurement systems. Clear, consistent and visible involvement by senior executives and managers is a necessary part of successful performance measurement and management systems. A conceptual framework is needed for the performance measurement and management system. Every organization needs a clear and cohesive performance measurement framework that is understood by all levels of the organization and that supports objectives and the collection of results.

Effective communication with employees, process owners, customers and stakeholders is vital to the successful development and deployment of performance measurement systems. It is the customers and stakeholders of an organization, whether public or private, who will ultimately judge how well it has achieved its goals and objectives. And it is those within the organization entrusted with and expected to achieve performance goals and targets who must clearly understand how success is defined and what their role is in achieving that success.

Both organization outsiders and insiders need to be part of the development and deployment of performance measurement systems. Accountability for results must be clearly assigned and well-understood. High-performance organizations clearly identify what it takes to determine success and make sure that all managers and employees understand what they were responsible for in achieving organizational goals.

Performance measurement systems must provide intelligence for decision makers, not just compile data. Performance measures should be limited to those that relate to strategic organizational goals and objectives, and that provide timely, relevant and concise information for use by decision makers at all levels to assess progress toward achieving predetermined goals.

Compensation, rewards and recognition should be linked to performance measurements however this linkage should be positive not punitive. According to Paul Arveson, in his article Translating Performance Metrics from the Private to the Public Sector 1, there are differences in the application of performance management systems from the private sector to the public sector.

He explains the differences in the following chart association specifics have been added and are noted in parentheses :. One article, written by Francie Dalton, details the application of a metrics-based management system, which she defines as a form of managing processes, outcomes and performance that relies on three components:.

A metric is a meaningful measurement taken over a period of time that communicates vital information about a process or activity, leading to fact-based decisions. Metrics are usually specialized by the subject area.

In business, they are sometimes referred to as key performance indicators KPI. Performance metrics should be constructed to encourage performance improvement, effectiveness, efficiency and appropriate levels of internal controls. Since it is not resource-effective to measure everything, organizations should therefore select and monitor the key metrics.

Choose metrics over measurements so you continue to push the limits of what is possible in your dealership. Once you change your mindset from measurement to metric, consider the best metrics to use for your business.

These outcome metrics are studied after the work is already completed. Typical outcome metrics are the examples mentioned above: traffic or revenue growth month over month. Knowing what happened to your traffic or revenue compared to previous timeframes is helpful for knowing what to do in the future.

Performance metrics are analyzed on an ongoing basis to make sure your work is on track to hit the target. Fortunately, performance metrics help you make changes to alter the ultimate outcome.

Instead, I also measured the speed of my start out of the blocks. If I could get out of the blocks faster, I knew that my overall time would also get faster. A typical performance metric would be something like the number of phone calls made to potential leads to reach the outcome metric of increasing leads in the sales funnel.

In project management, metrics are essential in measuring project progression, output targets, and overall project success. Some of the areas where metric analysis is often needed include resources, cost, time, scope, quality, safety, and actions. Project managers have the responsibility to choose metrics that provide the best analysis and directional insight for a project. Metrics are followed in order to measure the overall progression, production, and performance.

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Your Practice. Popular Courses. Investing Fundamental Analysis. What Are Metrics? Key Takeaways Metrics are measures of quantitative assessment commonly used for comparing, and tracking performance or production. Metrics can be used in a variety of scenarios. The number of organic visitors for a relevant keyword might be a good KPI.

A company might start promoting a low-cost or free product as a front end, making money on the back end product. It helps to choose an appropriate marketing method and eliminate ones that are not cost-effective. Once the efficiency of various marketing and PR methods are compared, a company might decide to replace expensive advertisement in a magazine with targeted CPC campaign in AdWords.

It helps to define the right pricing for a product. Knowing the cost to gain a new customer, a manager can decide on the pricing of a new product or on the maximum discount that he can afford.

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