The tyranny of metrics

  • Published
  • By Col. Mike Morgan
  • 90th Space Wing vice commander
F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. --  Whether we like them or not, metrics are a fact of life, and they track much of what we do in the Air Force. Many deal with our primary mission such as weapon system alert rates, crew readiness rates and present for duty rates. However, many more have to do with ancillary responsibilities, and those are the ones that typically get us into trouble.

From the government travel card program to deployment error rates, it's amazing how many metrics are tracked across the Air Force, comparing major commands with major commands, bases with bases, groups with groups, and squadrons with squadrons. Human behavior is such that no one wants to look bad when compared with their peers, and in particular, no one wants to be "Tail End Charlie." Metrics can be viewed as a negative motivator, but I offer a different view.

Metrics give us focus and allow us to set priorities. Many of us ask "How good is good enough?" Metrics do exactly that. The metric for self-aid buddy care, for example, is maintaining a 90 percent currency rate. If we didn't have that metric, we may try for 100 percent, which would drive small, frequent classes conducted in a very inefficient manner: "Hi, welcome to the base. Are you current on self-aid buddy care? You're not?
Well, stop in-processing, and we'll get you right into a one-on-one class."

Metrics really do help, and I offer three recommendations to help us meet the metrics that are established for our programs.

First, know what metrics you are responsible for and track them yourself.

It's amazing how often we get bit on a metric we didn't know existed. Shame on us for not paying attention. Invariably, it's in an Air Force instruction, policy letter or message traffic, and no one noted or tracked the requirement.

Second, plan to exceed the metric. Whether it's achieving a slightly higher percentage or accomplishing an action a month or two earlier, don't wait until the last minute. Build in "management reserve." If you use the same suspense as required by higher headquarters, then last minute leaves, deployments or bad weather will likely cause you to miss the mark.

Third, make sure you have a rock-solid process to take care of the requirement in an enduring manner. Many units worked hard to meet the air expeditionary force affiliation goal of 95 percent only to find themselves below the mark a few weeks later because they had not established a process to assign new arrivals to an AEF.

The best-run organizations have processes that take care of meeting metrics with little or no leadership involvement. When processes are broken, leaders must expend their energy meeting last-minute requirements, and that's unhealthy for everyone.

By knowing our requirements, planning ahead and having enduring processes, we can turn the tyranny of metrics into a much-anticipated opportunity to show others we are on top of our game and doing the best we can to meet our leaders' expectations.