Reporting - Do we measure the right things?

Reporting drives our actions. What we report, we do. But we need to be conscious of how we communicate these. Reporting Total Recorded Injuries with a goal to reduce this number can result in less reported injuries rather than less injuries! Similarly, reporting manufacturing quantities drives higher numbers of items produced, but does the quality suffer?

Businesses have a number of KPIs and OKRs which managers and leaders need to report on. But how do these interact? and what priorities do they carry? Does improved numbers in one compensate total disregard for another?

Balancing these can be a major challenge for leaders, and the “squeaky wheel” often becomes the focus. People wellbeing may be included, but where does it sit when other deadlines and targets need to be met? What is the message when these targets are missed due to a leader putting the welfare of their staff first?

Communicating the reports from the top needs to carry a true message of the relative importance of each, and this needs to be backed up with actions when there is conflict.

What is the overall objective of the business? Is people safety and wellbeing above financial results? If so, this should be the first measure in the suite of reports. First and foremost, the other KPI/OKRs are not possible without the employees. Looking after them and reporting on incidents and actions taken to ensure their safety should sit at the top of the reporting suite. When this happens, the business thrives in all the other factors as well.

How do we report on this? There are many Leading Indicators, but a few examples include:

- Reporting success of turning incidents and near misses into learning opportunities and correcting the issues and processes rather than focusing on the number of events reported.

- Reporting on training of staff to ensure that they have the skills to do their jobs effectively.

- Reporting on good behaviour and rewarding it.

Reporting these to the wider organisation sends a message to all employees of their importance and their value to the business. If they feel part of the business, then they will also be interested to hear how it is being successful in terms of profitability and business expansion.

Suddenly their “what’s in it for me” includes success of the business.