Oh boy! An entire blogpost dedicated
to why the United States should switch over to the metric system. Wait, why is
there an “s” at the end of metric? No, this isn’t a post about switching over
to the metric system of measurement. Honestly, I am pretty sure everyone that
has ever traveled outside of the United States would agree that the switch is
long past due, and the only reason, I believe, that we haven’t yet made that
fateful transition to the base ten method, is the expense associated with
changing all of the speed limit signs. Of course, we also have to change all of
the speedometers as well, although most modern cars have the capacity to
switch, or have dual displays. No, this post is all about the use of metrics as
they apply to a job site.
I have already talked a lot about
how the education system has become so bogged down with standardized tests,
that the teachers don’t even have time to teach anymore. Well, unfortunately
education is not the only field that has been burdened by the cold, unbiased
judgement of a job metric. Take fast food restaurants for instance. They are
measured on how quickly each person is moved through the line. Now, of course,
it is fast food, so I understand
wanting to emphasize quick service and ensure that your employees are trying to
maintain that standard, however, there are many situations that may chance
happen, and the metrics never reflect these circumstances. For instance, what
if one man decides to order one hundred fifty-four combo meals out of the blue,
because he is feeding an entire staff, and a last-minute change in schedule (or
lack of common decency) didn’t allow for him to give advanced notice. Surely the
staff cannot be expected to get this man through on time. And, even if his
particular datum is disregarded, the labor dedicated to his order would still
take a toll on the rest of the orders slowing down the overall time.
More ridiculous than these measures
of output however, are expectations of input metrics. Sales, for instance. Many
corporations put expectations on their businesses to make continually growth.
First of all, one cannot control the level of demand for a particular product
or service for a particular geographic. Secondly, an expectation of continual
growth equivalates to infinite growth. Even if your service is so efficient and
your quality so superior, that you take control of the entire market, you will
eventually level out. You can’t rightfully expect someone to visit the same
store four times in one day.
Let’s talk about the problems with
these metrics. As I have already said, they do not account for extenuating
circumstances, and explanations of such bad data typically fall on deaf ears.
More severe than that, is the effect the metrics have on the employees. Job
stress is too often related to meeting unrealistic metrics with undersupplied
labor allowances. This equates to jaded employees and an overall decrease in
moral. A decrease in employee attitude, of course leads to, and here is the
kicker, dissatisfied customers, and an overall decrease in business.
This becomes even more problematic when
these metrics leech their way into more sensitive areas, such as healthcare,
public safety, or, as I said before, education. The problem with metrics in
these fields, is that, while the customer might always be right, the
patient/patron/student should always come first. Businesses have to put
themselves first sometimes in order to stay profitable, which is, obviously,
crucial to maintaining a running business. Public services, however, even if (unfortunately)
privatized, still have an expectation to act in the best interest of those they
serve, as it rightfully should be. I, personally, feel that none of these fields
belong in the private sector, but until that day changes, I still will hold
them to a higher standard and can only hope that the free market will side with
me on that.
-AMS
No comments:
Post a Comment