- 19 April 2024
- Paul Clarke
- Case Studies
Numbers are personal
There’s a saying that, in business, ‘numbers only hold meaning when they relate to a goal’. For someone running a business, these are numbers that show how well their efforts to run the business are turning out.
They can trigger strong feelings – of happiness when there’s an up-tick, and of concern, along with a desire to do something, when they turn south.
What are these numbers and why do they hold meaning? This is where it becomes personal. For example, here are three Clients we are working with at the moment:
The MD of a logistics firm, who wants a set of counts that reflect how well his transport drivers are doing their job. This includes how well they drive and how diligent they are at keeping their vehicles safe. These counts matter. Every up-tick in the numbers means less risk – to his drivers and other road users, to his business, and to his reputation.
The MD of a Communications and PR Agency, who wants to know how much each Client is adding to her profit. Also, how much of her staff’s time is being charged to Clients. These help her to recruit the right number of staff and maintain stability. Too many staff – Clients get a good service, but at the risk of falling productivity and a drop in Client profitability. Too few – productivity has to increase otherwise service levels fall and Clients leave.
The Head of student recruitment at a FE College, who wants counts that tell her whether she will have enough students to fill courses in the next Academic Year. If the rate of recruitment falters she needs to know quickly how to fix the problem. Every student is worth an amount of revenue. If she gets it wrong and there’s a shortfall in revenue, the College may have to do less for their students, cut costs and suffer reputational damage.
These numbers are unique to each business leader. However, they need to be understood by everyone to whom they relate. This means knowing:
- Why a change in the numbers matters.
- What you have to do to make them better.
- There’s something in it for you if you can keep the numbers heading the right direction.
Having something in it for you can be straight forward. The Logistics Firm, for example, has a rewards scheme based upon performance metrics covering all aspects of a Driver’s job.
Otherwise, rewards may depend upon the quality of Leadership in the business e.g. having an MD who calls out and recognises those who do most to keep the numbers high.
How to use numbers to influence.
- You, the Business Leader, must pause for a moment and do some imagineering. Can you describe a set of numbers, produced daily perhaps, that would help to answer a critical question about the business? What would it mean if those numbers went up or down?
- Turn your description into a set of lines sketched on a piece of paper (the MD of the Comms and PR Agency produced a whole set of sketches which she steadily refined down to a select few). This is to visualise the numbers to make them easy to understand and explain. Test your ideas out with Colleagues.
- Open up an Excel workbook and see if you can turn your sketches into real charts (using make-believe numbers to begin with).
- Replace the make-believe numbers with some real ones and see what the charts look like. How would you want changes in the numbers to be flagged – and for whom? What new information would you want to appear and how should it be displayed?
- Describe how you would want people to respond to every flagged change. Find those people and get their input.
- Don’t rush. Give yourself plenty of time to play, engage others, seek opinions.
- Only then, look for technology to make it all work – and if you need help, find someone who understands the process you are going through and who is excited by the outcome you are striving for.
If you would like some help making the numbers in your business come alive for you, we are exactly the Agency you are looking for. Contact us to find out more.