YMCA Regina puts PuMP® into Practice

John Bailey is the General Manager of Regina’s YMCA, and he attended the Toronto PuMP® Blueprint workshop in March this year.  I was so glad when John sent me an email in June and shared how well his measure teams’ first four steps of PuMP® had gone. He didn’t wait around to perfect his learning on PuMP®.  Nope, he jumped right in so he could practice!  Read more about John’s experience.

“By the end of the Toronto PuMP® workshop, I knew that the YMCA was closer to fulfilling its vision for delivering on its initiative for better measures. Given that our organization had an end-of-June timeline to have our measures in place, we started the project as soon as I passed the certification exam.  Even though we have a Balanced Scorecard with multiple objectives, we decided to focus on the two strategic objectives that needed the most work based on what I learned at PuMP®.  

I led two measure teams through PuMP® Steps 1-3 and then we worked together over four weeks to plan Step 4, the Measures Gallery. The process was really great!  One measures team was able to dive right into the process and move quickly. The other group had a much tougher time and struggled more. So it was great for me to work with both teams.  What really helped me learn PuMP® at a deeper level was the preparation I had to do for each Measure Teams’ meeting; and as a result, it really forced me to get a solid handle on the content.

The gallery went really well with frontline staff, senior managers, outside stakeholders and even a couple Board members attending.  All in all, 36 people came through, and they provided 47 items of feedback over two hours. It was busy!

Being our first Measures Gallery, we weren’t really sure how it would work for us, so we kept it simple and followed the PuMP® guidelines with open space and plenty of snacks. We sent the invitation out one week before our event date.

The feedback from the Measures Gallery led us to change the language in one of our measures and really clarify our process on another.  In addition, it reinforced the need for better measures and focused our efforts on creating a rollout that will allow for effective change.  The Measures Gallery feedback has allowed us to better address the skills, incentives, resources, and action plans needed to make sure our implementation is as effective as possible.  The fact that this feedback was from both the Board and front line employees has immense value.  

Over the summer, we are meeting every couple of weeks to work through PuMP® steps 5-8 so that we can be setting targets in September.  It is so exciting to have target settings be one of the last things we do and to have that target be based on measuring our performance as opposed to “best guess”.

There are always areas where it is harder to replace the old habit with the new habit.  I have to make a case to replace our current reporting tool with the PuMP® report format.  I know the PuMP® format will deliver more impactful information so I am creating some sample XmR charts using existing data from measures currently being used by the Board and placing them side-by-side with the report they are familiar with. I am sure the examples will drive the point home!”

Congratulations John!  I can’t wait to hear more in September! 

John Bailey is the General Manager of Community Development and Childcare of the YMCA in Regina, SK.