“What gets measured gets managed” is an often quoted maxim in business. But it is a potentially dangerous approach in situations of complexity, subjectivity and perception. SERVICEBRANDs are a case in point where the people element and emotional engagement are such fundamental parts of the customer experience. The aspects that are easier to manage (eg did the employee say “Welcome to XYZ Hotel”) are less important than the elements that are more of a challenge to measure (eg did the employee make you feel welcomed and valued?). However, the easier to measure aspects are what some organisations focus their attention on…..almost of the mindset that the other elements will simply not exist because they are not being measured!
There is another saying in this space: . “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts”. I trust that you will give the person who said this some credit for knowing his stuff: it was Albert Einstein…………….. and this quote opens a recently published article on the subject of “Research and the value of values” .