"Stories and Spreadsheets" - Measuring ROI

It’s a tough old world out there when business dictates more and more that you need to prove the ROI on anything you do before you do it. And then after you’ve done it, justifying that your investment in ‘said thing’ is creating an impact.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s important. Super important and in my experience, it changes the conversation when you can prove out business metrics and speak to business results at the top of the tree. In my world, when you can see the impact of a recognition strategy correlate to better customer service, attrition or turnover.

However, there are so many other things that matter that are much harder to measure and which also contribute to these same business metrics. We need to help our leaders take into account the intangibles. To really see them.

Going back to my world: the pride, the loyalty, the connections, the teamwork, the care, the thought, the impact and the stories that sometimes only see the light of day through your recognition strategy. I have the great privilege to be able to read, see and be part of some of these stories ranging from the simplest of ecards to nominations for changing the way business is done. What resonates in all of them is the fact that the person sending the recogniton felt moved by this person or team – who they are or what they did.

For the most part, these stories are so human, real and genuine and for any leadership team to sift through them, I would imagine to be a super positive part of their day. To realise that there is so much great work going on across the business. To recognise the fact that each and every day people show up to do their best, to make a difference, to be part of a team, to represent the company.

If you have a recogniton strategy, does your CEO ever get to see these stories or only the business metrics associated with it. If they don’t, maybe you need to find a way of increasing the visibility of these stories – I challenge anyone not to walk away and feel humbled by all of the inspiring stories that happen every day across most companies in the world!

It popped in my head the other day that we should think to look at the Return on Not Doing It (RONDI in my head!!!). If global industry research tells us that recognition has a disproportionately positive effect on all aspects of workplace culture - on engagement, on productivity, on innovation then shouldn’t we trust that this research is a good place to start. To look at what other companies are doing and ask not just what the ROI is but how it has fundamentally changed how conversations are happening across the business – how its enabled great stories of connection to come out, how its helped embed values purely by giving people the tools to share a thought, a smile, a kind word.

I love meeting with clients and them digging deep to find the stories that will make me cry – stories of people in organisations just like yours going out of their way to make a difference for someone. How do we measure the ROI of that? We can, of course, if you have the metrics to enable us to make those correlations but will a number on a page ever truly show the true ROI on how it made somebody feel – in that moment and how it made others feel as that recognition was given.

This sketch really stood out for me as I did some reading before penning this article taken from a Forbes article by Liz Ryan (referenced at the end).

We need to just remain mindful of the fact, that some of the most important things in life cannot be measured, you just know that its making a difference. It’s a tough one to take to the boardroom – here stories rule. The art truly is to do both – combine the ROI with the human element. Find your own stories told by your own people of the true difference that is being made every day and look for the numbers to prove it. They have to go together.

We live in a world where we switch the TV on and there is bad news everywhere. It’s easy to get sucked in. At work, we have the opportunity to focus on all the great work that is happening. To highlight and celebrate those who elevate themselves, their teams and the company. To focus on the positives and inspire each other onwards. We need to of course be thinking about the ROI but let’s also think about RONDI! My new best friend!

Thank you Liz Ryan for your original article! https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2014/02/10/if-you-cant-measure-it-you-cant-manage-it-is-bs/