Inspired by Stacey Barr’s 2016 Article of a similar Name. Louise Watson is the PuMP Partner for Canada, licensed by Stacey Barr.
There are certain goals that makes it seem almost unethical to set targets that are NOT zero or 100% (known as perfection targets). It can feel awkward to say that this month we are targeting 5 employee injuries, making it seem OK to have workers being injured. On the flip side, it can also feel super unrealistic to say that zero employee injuries is the only acceptable target.
Other examples of these types of perfection targets that appear in measures:
- Net-zero emissions
- 100% compliance with safety procedures
- 100% adherence to a regulatory requirement
- Zero defects in final product
Yet, do “perfection” targets like these cause an anxious and demotivated workforce because anything less than perfect feels like a failure? Could this focus on perfection also drive poor measurement behaviours “to keep numbers down”? For example:
- Changing how a workplace injury is classified
- Manipulating how data is collected
- Discouraging employees from reporting injuries that “don’t seem very serious”.
How can we handle this tension between targets for improvement and targets for perfection?
First, let’s remember that the true purpose of performance measurement is to inspire and motivate improvement within our workplaces, and that any level of improvement is a win. If an organization has reduced workplace injury rates from 10 to 5 injuries, it is still an improvement to celebrate.
Second, targets should be aspirational of what we want for our teams, our organizations and our communities, not a mandatory number to “hit”. Most of our goals won’t require “perfection targets” but for those that do, we can position a zero-target or 100% as our numerical intention which inspires our pursuit of improvement.
Perhaps a practical way to handle this tension within our strategy improvement is to consider:
- A goal is written in words, and in our words, we can speak in absolutes.
- A performance measure is designed with numbers and statistical calculations that can reveal gradual improvement over time.
For example:
Energy Company’s Goal: Our operations never hurt people
And then we design a measure that tracks the energy company’s progress towards its aspirational target.
- Electricity injury rate: Target 0
- Electricity death rate: Target 0
Our conversation then becomes about celebrating improvement within our measure, as we move closer to our aspirational measure of perfection.
Let’s now hear from you….
- What kinds of perfect-performance, or Zero or 100% targets show up in your organization?
- How do people feel about having them?
Email your thoughts, examples or questions to hello@adurastrategy.com and Louise will answer!
: Are they ever Acceptable?){kind=link}