3.7 Measurement
Although measurement is covered last in this guide, that doesn’t mean that it should be
considered last. Measurement should be considered during the planning of change and before
any action is undertaken. Measurement serves multiple purposes. It should motivate employees
to perform desired new activities. Ideally, employees will be intrinsically motivated to perform
these activities if they are interesting and challenging to perform. However, performing them
must be reinforced by an unambiguous connection to monetary or career-enhancing rewards.
Measurement also should provide guidance toward goal achievement and alert managers to the
need for mid-course correction if the change effort strays from its intended path. To assure that
it performs this function; measures should be taken frequently and at critical milestones in the
change process. Ultimately, measurement should allow an assessment of the degree to which the
change effort has achieved its intended goals.
Ideally, the right mix of activities and outcomes will be measured. Measuring only activities
suggests that planners know in advance what all the right activities are. This may not permit
employees enough improvisation to develop the set of activities that best fits the intended task.
Measuring only outcomes may allow employees to “game the system” and perform some
activities improperly or ignore them altogether. Also, some outcome measures might be made to
look good at the expense of others. All measures should be transparent and make sense to those
who will be held accountable for them. Those collecting these measures should be able to assess
activities and outcomes reliably and unambiguously.