Reference no: EM132219452
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Key Performance Measures and the Business Culture
Key performance measures are important for any business that is concerned with how competitive it is against the competition, and how it can improve to gain more of the market share. In my organization, one of the most important results that we need to be concerned with is how our customers, or applicants want in order to be competitive with the other military services and provide our recruits the benefits they are looking for. One key performance measure that is forward looking and predictive is demographic models of urban areas and rural areas with respect to test scores and education.
In recruiting, the jobs that applicants can apply for, and thus the options available to them are almost solely based on test scores of the Student Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or SASVAB (Military.com, 2018). This test measures mechanical and technical knowledge, reading comprehension and math skills among others, and acts primarily as a career exploration tool for high school and college students (Military.com, 2018). So a key performance indicator for recruiters to adjust areas for future recruiting is high school test scores which can be forward looking because it is possible to project the trends in test scores. These scores give a semi-direct correlation between the successes of the school system, which in terms of the value chain, translates directly into the higher scores necessary to give applicants into the armed services more choices for jobs they can be trained for. The success of recruiters can be attributed to how many benefits they can give the applicants, which are greater if they score high on the SASVAB, and therefore this measurement ties directly into the placement of the recruiters based on high school test scores to ensure the best possible strategic advantage for the recruiters.
The next key performance measure in recruiting is quality of applicants, in other words, based on historical trends it is possible to discover areas where the quality of applicants is increasing, such as in areas where a military-friendly environment meets qualified applicants. Quality, when combined with turnover rate and then compared to geographical area can show trends on if the quality being recruited in an area is increasing or decreasing, thereby giving the leadership the strategic ability to focus on areas where quality is increasing to maximize their competitive advantage (Smykal, 2016). The value chain for this performance measure is the quality of the enlistment, which means the applicant stays longer and is happier.
The final key performance measure is the offer acceptance rate, a metric designed to show how many qualified applicants end up enlisting once they are qualified (Smykal, 2016). This indicator also has future predictive abilities, because even though they may have higher scores, and come from an area of historical success, this is a predictor of changes that the other two measurements do not show, such as a sudden culture shift. As a strategy, this indicator is integral to show management what areas are not being marketed to affectively, because there is a disconnect between the recruiters and applicants and can therefore be used to relocate recruiters or marketing assets to compensate appropriately. This aspect measures loopholes in the typical value chain of good recruiting areas and high test scores not producing as predicted.
Business culture can enable its business strategy easily by initiating proven key performance measurement systems and then monitoring them closely, but not interfering. If the business culture is such that it micromanages its strategy based on the smallest change in performance measurements then it is missing out on potential opportunities that can be created by waiting to see the overarching trends that present themselves. Financial performance can definitely be affected by reacting too quickly to changing performance measurements, such as when a company alters a product due to bad publicity, only to discover it was an isolated problem and not the overwhelming opinion of its customers. By waiting and seeing the trends, it’s much easier to pinpoint which issues are temporary versus those that should be changed for the long term. In the case of my organization, the business culture promotes ingenuity and long term planning so utilizing key performance indicators that are future predicting are much more in line with our culture.
The cultural norms that permeate the Georgia Army National Guard are loyalty, a sense of purpose and integrity, and thus these are highly valued within the daily organizational operations. As such, behavior that goes against these norms is punished, either through removal or reassignment, in the case of an individual, or a complete overhaul of standard operating procedures in the case of a larger unit in addition to removal of the person or person’s responsible. It is important to uphold the values of the organization, which can be found in the Army Values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. This focus on values helps to ensure the organization maintains its purpose and direction as a fighting force in defense of the American people, and that it continues to produce leaders of character and trustworthiness for generations to come, and thus perpetuate the longstanding order that it inherent in military services.