Measuring Success
How is the success of an organization measured? Often success is measured by numbers - how many people are served or products are sold or how much revenue is made. While organizations may be clear on their mission, vision, goals, and maybe even the results they would like to see, one area that I’ve found to be easily and consistently overlooked is how goals/objectives, practices, and outcomes are consistent (or inconsistent) with each other and contribute to success. A question I would like to encourage you to think about is how evaluating progress supports organizational health. As well, consider how you can achieve growth or change by the clarity of your message.
Over the years I have observed this missing link when providing mental health/human services supports more often than not, whether it was for-profit hospitals, non-profit community organizations, or largely government-funded agencies. Although identifying the right goals or questions and the strategies or services needed to achieve outcomes make up the foundations or building blocks of an organization or business, it is unfortunately frequently neglected. On the surface, it may not appear this way - some organizations, especially those which receive Medicaid or other government funding, are familiar with the task of filling out copious amounts of paperwork, even questionnaires that capture demographics and other information about the services individuals are receiving. Yet, when taking a deeper look it becomes clearer that despite these efforts, the most important questions remain unasked and unanswered. Are targets (population, outcomes) being reached? What’s working? What needs to be improved? Are resources being utilized effectively/efficiently? What information is needed and how is information used to achieve goals and outcomes? Is a difference being made and what is its impact? Are alternative solutions needed, and if so, what additional supports are needed or that can or should be outsourced?
It is the absence of these questions and the reality of the answers these questions would produce that has motivated me to advocate for change to support growth. I believe regularly measuring success contributes to the health of individuals (clients and professionals) and organizations as a whole. The information gathered from the ongoing evaluation of leadership, services, and administrative protocols and procedures better informs practice. Not only is it important to close the gaps between goals/objectives, practices, and outcomes, but it is imperative to understand the true impact of efforts. It is my hope that Healthy Messages can be a source of existing data on what makes human services and mental health services in particular successful as well as a resource for related research tools. Additionally, Healthy Message seeks to help shed light on the need for systems of gathering and sharing information and provide solutions for crafting, implementing, and improving healthy messages.
As a leader, how do you measure success? What’s important to you in evaluating growth and change? Please also keep an eye out for opportunities to participate in research from Healthy Messages. Your contribution will help to support efforts to craft, implement, and improve healthy messages for individuals, organizations, and systems at large.
I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to share a comment or reach out if you’d like to connect, have questions, or are interested in partnering.
Healthy Messages™ helps professionals, leaders, and business owners in human services improve, craft, and implement communication within and across systems.
Learn more about Healthy Messages™ mission, vision, and outcomes.
Taking Stock
It is time to embark on a New Year - 2021. This is the time when it’s tradition to identify new goals, new ways of thinking, and new ways of being. It’s also common for people to think back over the year that is about to end – successes, challenges, maybe failures, and everything in between.
It is a good thing to evaluate areas of growth. It is also a good thing that we can do this often, more than just once a year. A mentor of mine used to encourage me regularly to think about what I learned each day. There is always an opportunity to learn something new, personally and professionally.
Evaluating progress is especially crucial for organizational success. In my experiences in mental health and human service organizations, I have observed it is not always a priority to have an ongoing quantitative and/or qualitative review of goals and services, and if there is an effort to do so, it is not always fully or consistently integrated into processes or utilized for making changes or improvements. Yet, it is necessary to ask some extremely important questions:
What are your goals?
What services support your goals?
What communication is utilized to support growth?
What are your outcomes?
What are the challenges?
What is working well?
These and other questions unique to your business or organization are crucial for measuring growth and success. Similar questions can be reflected on for personal and professional growth. It is never too early or too late to take stock of where you are and where you want to be, and what it might take for you to get there.
Throughout the year or at different seasons of your life, it is normal to face challenges, setbacks, and disappointments. During these times, we are often putting our efforts on navigating these issues and may not take the time to see the strengths or qualities we possessed in overcoming difficulties.
What skills, gifts, and/or abilities do you possess?
How can they help you to achieve your goals?
We want to take stock of these as well because they are the personal resources we have to support our growth and success.
All the best to you and your families for all of the new seasons in your life!
I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to share a comment or reach out if you’d like to connect, have questions, or are interested in partnering.
Healthy Messages™ helps professionals, leaders, and business owners in human services improve, craft, and implement communication within and across systems.
Learn more about Healthy Messages™ mission, vision, and outcomes.