Having a metricationist on your team opens up your organization to a wide range of possibilities.
The use of metrics can mean the difference between an average company and a great one. A metricationist can help take your company to an optimal level of quality.
Overview: What is a metricationist?
A metricationist is a person who computes or uses metrics.
3 benefits of a metricationist
There are some clear benefits to utilizing a metricationist for your organization:
1. Focus
Having someone on your team that deals with metrics helps the team focus on the things that are most important to the organization.
2. Reflects and supports strategy
A metricationist can help reflect and support all of the various strategies of all of the components of a company.
3. Unique insight
With the proper metrics, you can indicate the company’s priorities as well as have a window into its ethos, ambition, and performance.
Why is a metricationist important to understand?
The role of a metricationist is important to understand for the following reasons:
Gives direction
Having an understanding of what a metricationist can provide gives you access to knowledge about where your company has been, the direction it is headed, if anything is going astray, and when a target is reached.
Decision making
Understanding a metricationist can aid in important decision making for your organization.
Improving your business
Understanding what a metricationist can provide is a sure step towards improving your business.
An industry example of a metricationist
A manufacturing company is planning an expansion but is at a loss as to what its targets should be. In order to determine what the targets should be, how they are quantified, and how to understand when they are reached, the CEO decides to bring in a metricationist. The metricationist first encourages the team to let them focus on metrics that are clearly defined, so that benchmarks will be easy to understand. An easy way to accomplish this is to focus on the SMART model. This means keeping metrics simple, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based.
The metricationist is then introduced to senior management and discusses with them the metrics that are being proposed to focus on. The purpose for this is that applying new metrics can often receive resistance from staff, so safeguards will need to be put in place. Next, the metricationist goes over what data will need to be collected and that the necessity of it being standardized across all of the departments of the organization. Also, it is discussed with the entire staff about the need to be completely honest in the metrics in order to help create real change.
After setting up the metrics, the metricationist checks in periodically to see how the process is holding up. After making the necessary adjustments, in six months time, the organization feels like its expansion is running smoothly.
3 best practices when thinking about a metricationist
Here are some best practices to consider when bringing in a metricationist:
1. Have metrics set carefully
Be sure that your metricationist is helping set up metrics that are safe and careful. For example, reaching metric goalposts should require dangerous situations for the employees.
2. Secure buy-in
The implementation of any new metrics will require buy-in from your staff.
3. Make sure that the data is attainable
It is possible that a metricationist may look for data for a metric that a company does not have the tools or processes to accommodate.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about a metricationist
How many metrics are too many for a metricationist to set-up?
It is important to make sure that whatever metrics are agreed upon and set up are actually going to be used. Fifty metrics are too many if only five are going to realistically be utilized. Five is too many when only two are going to be used.
Should metrics be concrete?
If continuous improvement is a goal (and it should be), your metrics will need to be able to be revised over time.
Should the metrics that are established by a metricationist be easy to attain?
The aim of metrics is to improve an organization, so targets should be set that are a bit of a challenge.
A metricationist can help show the way
Having a metricationist take a look at your organization and set up metrics to measure performance against can be an important step toward taking your company to the next level.
