If I had the capacity to write the book version of The Challenge Dividend today, one of my chapters would cover the value of getting immediate, clear feedback on a given course of action. For example, a while back I wrote about how golfers are using computerized swing analyzers to get immediate, repetitive feedback on how practice swings would translate into reality. And my gushing about Guitar Hero is focused on how its scoring systems helps players see real improvement, which in turn is an incentive for further play.
A recent BusinessWeek article pointed me to another interesting example of the challenge of in-your-face feedback. A company called PayScale hosts a tool called Meeting Minder, which allows you to estimate the real-time cost of employee activity (or inactivity, as the case may be). The tool is limited but shows a lot of potential. Using PayScale's database of 10 million income profiles you add job titles into the tool and hit "Start". The result is a second-by-second calculation of the cumulative personnel investment in a given task.
The main benefit I see is that with this tracking going, everyone in a meeting is reminded that time is money. It could motivate the group to end the meeting early, dismiss folks who don't need to be there, or make it more results-oriented. We've all been in those inefficient meetings - and once in a while someone smart will say, "Hey, we're wasting money here!" But to see the number moving in real time takes the concept to a new level.
Feedback on the tool seems generally positive. One person said that he used the tool to show his boss that it was a waste of time to drive 3 hours round trip for a short meeting. Another person said it helped him think about how large weekly and quarterly join-ups might not need the entire team present. I'd like to have a version that I could load with my team's actual compensation, rather than some industry salary average. Or we could track the rate our clients pay to make sure we're better minding their investment.
The big watchout is that we cannot be a slave to the clock. That takes the fun and passion out of the work, and our value is much more than an hourly rate. But it's clearly worth thinking about and experimenting with in the future.
Comments