Tracking progress – Data Issues
Tracking progress - Data Issues
Baseline Information
In order for the team to be able to set a meaningful 30-Day Goal that represents significantly higher performance, it would be useful for them to know the baseline performance of the GBVF Health Check Survey issue they are being asked to focus on.
Often this can be clear from the Health Check survey results.
For example, if the focus is on unsolicited sexual advances, the survey would indicate the percentage of staff experiencing or observing these behaviours on a weekly basis or over the past 3 months. This could serve as a baseline, with the goal being to reduce this percentage significantly as a result of the 30-Day Project. As part of setting their SMURF goal, the team will need to determine what “significantly” means for them, in a measurable way.
In addition to gathering baseline information on the targeted issue, it would be useful to keep an eye on related areas to see how these are impacted during the 30-Day Project.
For example, if the focus is on reducing unsolicited sexual advances, the Team may want to track whether there is an increase or decrease in sexually inappropriate jokes.
Positive impact on these related issues is known as “positive externalities” of the Project. The Team should feel free to take credit for these.
By contrast, negative impact on related issue is referred to as “unintended consequences” of the Project. The Team should to to anticipate these and guard against them.
These possible unintended consequences could be flagged to the Team in the Project Charter.
For example… “We would like you to focus on reducing unsolicited sexual advances in the workplace. And we would like you to do this in ways that do not adversely affect the open communication atmosphere between colleagues – something that we value in our culture.”
Frequently Asked Questions about 30-Day Goals
Here are typical data questions that come up during 30-Day projects. For each question, we will offer some thoughts on how these might be handled.
How often should we track progress against the 30-Day Goal?
As often as possible, ideally once a day, or twice a week, or at a minimum once a week, so the team can review progress against the goal in their weekly team meetings.
What if we cannot get the data we need frequently enough to know whether we are making progress towards the 30-Day Goal?
For example, how do we gather weekly information about unsolicited sexual advances (short of running the Health Check every week)?
The team will need to simple and creative ways to tack progress. This could be done using single question text message that goes out to all staff, with a yes/no answer.
The team could also use mentimeter to invite staff to answer a few simple questions using their smart phone.
The team could also conduct weekly focus groups (in person or online) to check how much a shift may have happened in the previous week.
What if the team’s goal is related to an impact that does not occur regularly, for example, developing a policy on maternity leave?
Try to mark progress using “milestones” in the plan: for example,
- Draft policy completed by end of week one.
- Draft approved by HR by end of week 2
- Etc.
