Know the Score: Why Defining Success Criteria is Crucial to Automation

All over the business world, organizations are tackling how to ensure they have the right people in place to drive their teams forward. While the hiring process at any given organization may not be front page news, it certainly is in professional sports. We are in the midst of the offseason shuffle for Major League Baseball, with free agent deals, player trades, and staffing changes occurring across the league. While we’ve already talked about the value of making smart investments like teams have to do with payroll, it’s important to note that not every team has the same goal. Every organization, in sports and business, has their own metrics of success. Some are primed to win titles. Some are primed to develop young talent for when that championship window opens. Each team has a unique set of circumstances.

If you haven’t assumed my love of baseball yet, there is an equal love for baseball movies. Moneyball, the Brad Pitt baseball classic where he plays Billy Beane, jumps out as a favorite. There is a scene, complete with Jonah Hill as an young analyst, where the Oakland Athletics brain trust is discussing how to replace key free agent departures. During this scene, each person voices what they should be seeking to replace, from the number of lost home runs and hits to certain intangible qualities. Beane, Brad Pitt’s character, disagrees on their metric of success and instead focuses solely on two things: Runs Scored and On-base Percentage.

Whatever your specific goal may be, very rarely is the goal “buy an automation tool”. The investments in any technology only make sense when they address specific metrics of success. Only then can you optimize the processes that achieve those goals to be impactful for the organization.

Now, this article is not meant to debate the merits of statistical analysis and player evaluations in baseball. But, what makes this scene so relevant to the work I get to do every day is this: No project, investment, personnel decision, etc. can be made without first agreeing on what the specifics metrics of success are. Otherwise, like in Moneyball, you have a room full of people that disagree on everything in an unproductive conversation.

It’s not just a matter of wins and losses for baseball teams, either. According to Gartner, using the wrong metrics to measure success is one of their 10 Common Mistakes in Automation. I’ve made the analogy before about planning automation projects and driving directions: When you are looking up directions for where you want to go, you only know two things. You know where you are currently and where you want to end up. That’s it.

If you and your teams are not clear on what success looks like, how can you adequately make a decision on the people, platforms, and process to achieve said success? It is critical to make sure that each key stakeholder is aligned on what success means to the team. Often, key metrics of success can change over time, which only reinforces the need to communicate and collaborate on those key metrics in the first place.

My last piece of advice is to start with the problem you are trying to overcome. Do you want to reduce days outstanding for AP by a certain percentage? Do you want to reduce the turnaround times for certain reports or audit activities by a set period of time? Are you looking to complete more onboarding steps per team member per day? Whatever your specific goal may be, very rarely is the goal “buy an automation tool”. The investments in any technology only make sense when they address specific metrics of success. Only then can you optimize the processes that achieve those goals to be impactful for the organization.

Whatever your goals may be, Konica Minolta is here to lend a hand. We won’t debate the merits of certain baseball qualities, but our mission is to provide world class service to help organizations achieve their desired outcomes. So ask yourself, ?what would you like to achieve today?

Joe Russo is an Intelligent Information Management Account Executive with Konica Minolta, a Hyland Software Platinum Elite Partner and a 2020 Kofax Partner of the Year. Joe has previously contributed to the The OnBase Blog and The Hyland Blog. His work has also appeared on Mic.com, The Fraternity Advisor, and Factory of Sadness, a Cleveland sports website operated by Fansided