Managing risks and controlling costs, it’s a question of culture.

Risk, according to one dictionary definition, is

“The possibility of suffering harm or loss”.

Failing to manage risk hits the bottom line; contrary to widely held opinion there is no conflict between managing safety and quality and maintaining profitability. Relying on regulation, supervision and box ticking is extremely expensive and is not wholly effective; it is the decisions that people take “at the coal face” that affect results, and corporate culture and management behaviours influence those decisions. As Aristotle succinctly observed in 300BC,

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”

How to Help People Measure Results, Not Activity

Measure Up reader, Kenneth, works in a hospital and has this measurement challenge: "Different people want to follow up on different things. The nurses, for example, think it is crucial to follow up on how many phone calls they answer. I reckon it is because they want evidence to show management how they spend their time at work. But I do not think this is a critical KPI or success factor for our hospital. How do I draw the line? Do I need to draw the line? How can you get all people to accept this? The bigger question here might be: Who should have access to KPIs?"

Let's start with an answer to Kenneth's last question: Everyone should have access to KPIs. Everyone needs feedback on how well their efforts and collaborations are getting the intended results, and contributing to the hospital's strategic direction.

How to link Reward to your Business Goals

A new benefits strategy can revolutionise the way that your employees are managed, encouraged and incentivised. Yet many companies fail to recognise that if you get your Reward System right then Employees become much more focused on their own performance. If staff know what they need to do to achieve business goals and, crucially, how they can improve their own package by being more productive – you’ve cracked it.

The constant change that surrounds most industry sectors these days requires that you regularly review your business goals and it makes sense to review the Reward Systems at the same time. I can’t go into all the ins and outs of the process in this short blog (you will have to hire me for that) but I will give you a few things to consider