Published October 21, 2024 | Updated October 21, 2024 | 6 minute read
John Doerr’s Measure What Matters outlines the case for Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) – the goal and measurement system famously used at Intel and Google to drive massive growth.
Even if you’re not ready to go all in on a cascading OKR structure at your organization, there’s one underlying practice you can start implementing today that can make a world of difference: measuring the impact of your change initiatives.
Measuring and managing progress is especially tricky with culture change. Even though the research states clearly and unequivocally that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” culture change is notoriously hard to track – partly because it’s about shifting intangible or difficult-to-measure things: mindsets, beliefs, behaviors.
If we can’t prove that a complex (and costly) culture change is having the desired impact, how can we argue for its continued prioritization?
Many organizations rely on engagement surveys to measure culture change impacts. But these surveys carry limited value on their own. Without an accompanying detailed explanation, it can be difficult to pinpoint the drivers of an employee’s felt experience.
Engagement scores are just one piece of the puzzle. We need to zoom out on the surrounding factors, for a more complete view of the short, medium, and long-term impacts of the culture change.
My August pal Keara Mascareñaz has generated a brilliant framework for measuring the impacts of culture change efforts, inspired by the structures we use for OKRs.
I’ve developed this model into an Impact Measurement Tool you can use to make sure your culture change initiative is on track to deliver your desired results!
The Impact Measurement Tool
Culture change initiatives contain a multitude of interdependent factors that influence employee experience and engagement in direct and indirect ways.
These factors live so far “upstream” of the ultimate business outcomes that measuring the direct relationship between the two can seem downright impossible!
Our Impact Measurement Tool reframes this puzzle as concentric circles of influence, rather than linear cause and effect.
Each circle corresponds to the level of influence or leverage we have as change managers over these areas. The closer you move to the center, the more control you have.
In the innermost circle we have Inputs, which comprise direct leadership efforts to enact the culture change.
The middle circle is Outputs, which comprise team response to those efforts.
The outermost circle is Outcomes, which comprise measurable results within the organization.
When you’re designing your culture change program, you can specify key metrics in each circle to gauge how successful your program is overall.
Keep reading for more detailed examples of each circle, along with a real-life case study to illustrate each category!
Culture Change Impact Measurement #1: Inputs
The Inputs circle is where change managers have the most leverage and sway. This circle can include any measurable effort you make on behalf of initiating or sustaining the culture change.
Examples include:
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How many resources (e.g. practice cards, manuals, tutorials) you make available
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How many live trainings you offer, and at what depth/scale
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How much strategy and background intel you author & distribute
The Inputs circle can also track the quality of your delivery. How thorough were your asynchronous tutorials? How much personalized feedback and coaching did you incorporate into the training?
In August’s recent culture change partnership with a large tech company, we helped the client structure this inner circle along two lines: design and training. We measured:
- How many pilot tests we conducted of the training program itself, and the quality of feedback we received from those tests
- How many talent leads we trained up, ensuring that almost 100% of the team received our final training program
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Culture Change Impact Measurement #2: Outputs
The Outputs circle is where change managers can most directly measure the efficacy of their Inputs. This circle can include any direct response from team members targeted by an Input.
Examples include:
- How many people attended the training
- How many people inquired directly about the initiative
- How consistently/inconsistently are people using the new materials/protocols
- How many people are adhering to the new ways of working
In our client partnership example, the culture change initiative was focused on improving hiring practices. We therefore used the Outputs circle to measure:
- How many people attended the trainings, and how those folks were distributed across the wider hiring apparatus (e.g. how many team leaders attended vs. contributors)
- How applicants responded to the new system, via new scorecards integrated into the applicant tracking system
- How many applicants employ our newly added fields in the application process
Culture Change Impact Measurement #3: Outcomes
The Outcomes circle is where change managers have the least leverage – but these are the measurements the business likely cares about most.
Examples of successful Outcomes include:
- Improved employee engagement survey results
- Decreased time lapse between Input and Outcome
- Increased profit margin
- Fewer accident/incident reports
When the Outcomes circle isn’t delivering your desired results, the solution lies at the center Input circle where you can exert more change.
With good tracking of metrics across all three circles, you can more easily pinpoint the primary “upstream” factors contributing to a given Outcome.
In our tech company culture change partnership, our Outputs circle included:
- Internal partnership survey results
- External candidate experience survey results
- Hiring outcomes, including:
- Diversity of folks in the pipeline
- Making sure people are moving through the pipeline at a higher rate
- Getting more offers accepted
Measuring culture change impacts is not only possible – it’s essential.
What gets measured is what gets done – so let’s commit to a better way of measuring the incredible impacts of culture change.
When we measure the impact of culture change initiatives in a clear, consistent way, we can actually boost their value by backing up their intangible benefits with hard data.
The key isn’t to simplify these metrics into linear cause-and-effect relationships, but to use a circular/overlapping frame that clarifies the interdependent nature of Input, Output, and Outcome.
This circular Impact Measurement Tool renders the value of culture change undeniable. I hope it empowers you to effectively measure the impacts of your next culture change effort!
Reach out to me anytime to explore how August can partner with your organization to bring about transformative change, together.