You Are What You Measure
So Measure What You Are... Or Wish To Be.
Measurement issues are important this time of year as college and university officials everywhere are meticulously tracking outcome measures in enrollment, retention, endowment, and other key areas. Those of us who specialize in measurement often say, “You are what you measure.” It is a belief akin to what nutritionists mean when they say, “You are what you eat.” Indeed, it is a steadfast commitment to measurement that forms the cornerstone of our work at Maguire Associates.
Measurement discussions beg much larger questions, however, as to what is measured in the first place and why one metric may matter more than another. After all, output measures are only as good as the inputs that comprise them. The eating metaphor remains appropriate here, too, since an output such as one’s energy level is only as good as its nutritional input. Therefore, what you measure in an institutional context must be based on the clear articulation of who you are, what makes you different, and how these inputs manifest in daily operations and outcomes.
There was much discussion at last month’s American Marketing Association Annual Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education about the role that vision, mission, strategy, and brand should play – many would say, must play – in building and sustaining institutional success. Our observation is that some colleges and universities are struggling to develop and sustain distinct, meaningful visions and missions and, with even greater difficulty, integrate them into their strategic planning, operational planning, branding, marketing, and communication.
Yet these elements establish an organization’s strategic direction, clarify its operational priorities, and codify the language used to communicate them both internally and externally. Without setting a strategic compass in this manner, institutions risk measuring low-priority and even irrelevant outputs that, as one AMA participant lamented, “We track only because we’ve always tracked them.” So yes, you certainly are what you measure. But effective measurement means understanding your own vision and mission, how they shape your operational priorities, and what metrics best capture your true performance.
This suggests that you really are what you choose to measure. Such choices should flow logically from the priorities established in your strategic plan, operational plan, and brand and message development. Congruence with messaging is essential since institutions must measure and verify the claims they make in their marketing materials. Institutions that place academic quality at the core of their brand promise, for example, should use ongoing student and competitive research to measure the validity of their claims. Otherwise, who is to know beyond the rhetoric what is really meant by academic quality? Similarly, schools that place a high priority on retention cannot do so credibly without a commitment to student-satisfaction research.
A more strategic approach to measurement also tracks key metrics with greater frequency and shares data broadly throughout the institution. Of course, data can be derived internally from existing sources and externally as primary research (surveys, interviews, focus groups) or secondary research (studies, documents, websites). Ideally, institutions are utilizing internal data as well as the knowledge gleaned from both primary and secondary research.
There is a natural tendency to avoid or even hide data that seem to deliver bad news, surprises, or both. Here is where dashboards play a useful role. These metric-reporting tools – with graphical and text summaries provided in print and online formats – enable college and university officials to track institutional performance against key measures in enrollment management, academic quality, student experience, alumni engagement, and elsewhere. Dashboards help create a consistent team focus on strategic priorities, reinforcing mutual objectives and shared dependencies among institutional management.
For example, alumni giving is often a function of the student experience, since satisfied students are more likely to give back than unsatisfied students. This is why enrollment management data regarding student satisfaction and retention should be of considerable strategic value to Advancement and Alumni Affairs professionals. So too, student diversity objectives are more likely to be met when they are shared, tracked, and pursued not just by Admissions but by Alumni Affairs, Human Resources, Marketing, Student Life, and the Office of the President as well – all using the same dashboards.
Furthermore, dashboards can display performance data in predictable formats at regular intervals. What better way to reduce surprises that can arise when performance metrics are revealed inconsistently, incompletely, or only when there is good news to report? Instead of fearing or avoiding regular measurement, best-practice institutions use it to foster the kind of collaboration that results in taking corrective action before possible problems become real ones.
So now is a very good time to step back from business-as-usual measurement habits. Ask instead what you are measuring, why, how, and when. And then ask what you should be measuring as a reflection of the priorities articulated in your mission and strategic plan and communicated in your marketing materials. Doing so is the only way to ensure that you truly are what you measure and that you measure what truly matters.