Are you measuring what matters?
As you may have heard, Venezuela’s President, Nicolas Maduro, created “the Vice Ministry for the Supreme Social Happiness of the Venezuelan People” back in October. I learned about it this past Monday listening to NPR.
Now before you laugh this off, from what I heard on NPR, many international development experts agree – happiness matters…
“…They insist that traditional indicators like gross domestic product are inadequate and that happiness and well-being are key for measuring human progress. And, these arguments are catching on. The United Nations now publishes an annual world happiness report. In 2013, that report placed Venezuela first among South American nations and 20th overall.”
So, thinking about this, I wondered how association execs are measuring their members’ happiness. After all, over the past year or so there’s been growing industry buzz about measuring member “engagement.”
Do you care about member happiness?
This raises the question about measuring what matters. How do you know which metrics really contribute to your organization’s success? And, then, what’s the best way of capturing those metrics and doing something to move the needle?
So, with the New Year many of us are launching new initiatives. It’s our job to move the needle… Lose weight, save more money, write more blogs, sell more memberships, expand training programs, boost engagement and grow revenues – heck, let’s increase happiness too.
By now, most everyone knows that the first step in performance improvement is measurement. Simply keeping track of some aspect of your association’s performance (or life) is all that’s required to change it for the better.
Unlike the fundamentally simple process of eating less or saving money, to truly evaluate and improve the performance of your association, you may be measuring multiple sets of data. And, when you start looking at multiple sets of data, and sharing your insights with other colleagues, someone – it may be you – is going to ask “why?”
When people ask “why,” they’re digging deeper and making your measuring process more complex. This is good… Well, it’s good if you have access to the data needed for assessing the “why.” One other thing, when you get this collaborative analysis going, you definitely won’t be happy if you have to wait around for some colleague who’s a SQL (say “sequel”) guru to tweak your query. You’ll want to do it yourself. Over and over again until you get the answer you’re looking for and know – really know – which metrics matter.
Are you happy yet? Are your members happy? What will the New Year bring? Will it be 20% growth in certification revenues, 20% bump in annual meeting attendance – or will you be satisfied with more Twitter followers, Facebook likes and members in your LinkedIn group?
It all depends on your definition of happiness.
One surefire way you can measure what matters is by using Association Anywhere as your AMS. With enhanced reporting capabilities, it empowers a curious association pro like you with all your organization’s data and the tools needed for getting beyond why and moving the needle.
Ah, happiness! Measuring what matters and raising the bar.
Best Wishes for a Successful 2014!
Published by Arj Devadas, Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Male bluebird image by: Bluebird
