Metrics for the sake of metrics can harm your business. Use the right metric for the right reason.

I can compose numbers all day long. Everything we do can be measured for one reason or another. The problem is that we have to remember that for our metrics to be creditable, verifiable, and evidence-based we have to ensure that we are creating metrics for the right reason.

Dr. Mile Harry told us that we don’t know the issues unless we measure. He also told us that we don’t measure what we don’t value. Rather than puling numbers out of the air we need to measure our processes to determine how they are performing. The data collected must be directly attributable to the problem at hand. If we are looking at the cost of hire i.e we do not want to be considering the data regarding the cost of the software to run your applicant tracking system. While the number has value it does not in the context regarding the cost of hire. More pertinent would be the cost of advertising the position, the cost of staff to review applications.

Choose your data points carefully and ensure that they are truly selected for the right reason, at the right time and in the right context.