As an organisation matures, greater control over a growing number of metrics becomes critical to your success.
And while modern reporting capabilities offer us so many different ways to”slice-‘n’-dice” your data – all of those reports can become an unnecessary distraction from what matters.
To be effective, it is important that every organisational department or function focuses on metrics that support broader business KPIs; that they drive the right behaviour, high quality standards and culture. Unfortunately however, many businesses don’t effectively translate these metrics into smaller groups and successfully make them a living, breathing part of their day-to-day.
I recently had the opportunity to help a customer to put critical business metrics front and centre within their Maintenance Team. To achieve this, I built exception-based dashboards for their Short-term Planners. We set up lead metric indicators that allow the team to easily identify what needs to be immediately actioned to proactively address issues and keep the team aligned with the businesses KPI’s.
The key to these indicators is that they are all live, actionable and responsive. Graphical dashboards are also very effective for communicating priorities efficiently, and generate a healthy sense of achievement by tracking success amongst the group.
Now, when the Planner starts their day, they open to their live dashboard and look for any red indicators for priority action; once the Planner has actioned something, the dashboard is immediately updated.
Not only does this report help the Maintenance Team address priority issues to satisfy the business, but this immediate, positive visual feedback is something that drives a positive culture and sense of achievement within the Unit.
Measuring performance is great, and technology offers us so many metrics that it can become overwhelming. It is important however, to focus upon the right indicators that will drive the right behaviours and attainable goals, so that your crew get their job is done, proactively address matters before they become an issue, and business goals are achieved.