cannabisbusinessinsights.comNOVEMBER 20258IN MY OPINIONFast ­ Faster ­ Fastest!!! In today's world of 24-hour news cycles, overnight delivery, and real-time tracking, we've been programmed to desire and expect speed in every aspect of our lives. I want my news NOW! I want my Amazon package NOW! I want to watch my Uber as it winds its way to my location - NOW! In business, I need timely, actionable data and fast resolutions to my problems NOW. But when is faster, not better? I've been in the field for a long time. Since I can remember, the major data points measured in the industry revolved around how fast you could get to a site and how quickly you could get off that site and on to the next assignment.I'm a number's guy. Don't give me anecdotal "fairy tales." Show me the numbers. I need to see proof and prove it to myself. I'll see through faulty methodology in a heartbeat. Many of us are familiar with the "Westinghouse Effect" or "Hawthorne Effect," often referred to as the Observer's Paradox. In short, when folks know that they (or a certain behavior) is being monitored and tracked, the behavior will change, regardless of any other changes are present. For most researchers, this is a hindrance that must be accounted for. Regarding employee performance, it's a powerful tool to improve aspects of our business. The question is, are we using it the right way? If we measure, promote, and extoll the benefits of how quickly we can get to a site, how quickly we can get off-site, and how little each call costs us, we may be missing a big opportunity.Some of the biggest marketing buzzwords and phrases these days are "deliverables," "delivering outcomes," "establishing expectations," and "positive outcomes." Customers are learning what carries greater value for them is not how quickly a technician gets to the site. What matters is how long did it take from when the breakdown occurred until when it was put back into service. Lost usability or productivity is our customer's primary concern. What they (and we) are / should be looking at is performance over time.So, who's driving? What we learned from the Westinghouse experiment is that folks will automatically, perhaps even subconsciously alter their behavior when monitored. If we're tracking response time, repair time, and cost-per-call, that's what our staff will deliver. They'll get there quickly and rush through the task with their primary focus being getting off-site quickly. But is that what we really want?I've conducted numerous informal studies over time regarding this. What I've found is that those technicians/ engineers who spend more time on each individual call WHO'S DRIVING?DOES YOUR PERFORMANCE DATA DRIVE REAL RESULTS?By Clifford T Gardner, Director of Technical Services, Fresenius Kabi USAClifford T Gardner
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