When I was in the early days of my working life, I worked for a bank. I worked in Training and Development and Health and Safety. I was really happy for the first year of the job but then things changed. My section, which had rather unusually, been outside of the HR Department was being moved. We were becoming part of Human Resources. As my original degree was in Human Resource Management, I was delighted to have the opportunity to move. It seemed to be great news but then I was told the detail which I didn’t really like. My boss, whom I held in the highest regard, was not moving with us.
To make sure that you can stick to what gets measured, you are going to need to be assertive when others try to take advantage of you.
So, we moved to the HR Department and the confusion began almost immediately. I found that I had 2 managers – the HR Manager and another woman from the HR Department who would prove to be an absolute nightmare. At first, it was just a case of two different managers giving two conflicting sets of orders and; both expecting them to be followed.
Within a few weeks, this second woman had asked the HR Manager if she could assign me some of the excess work from the HR Department to help improve their workflow. The HR Manager consented.
Now, I found that four members of the HR Department were dumping work on me on a consistent basis. Being a naïve young kid, I just did the work and assumed that I would be given credit for it. I was sadly mistaken.
Why you only do what gets measured
By measurement, I do not mean that everything must be quantitative so that it can be strictly measured. Evaluation is another form of measurement.
I was to find this out when it came to my appraisal. In the bank, at the beginning of every work year, the managers would set out annual goals for each employee and both parties would sign off on them. Technically, the employee had to agree to them but in reality, you had very little bargaining room. Of course, at the beginning of the year, I had “agreed” my annual goals.
Since, signing off on the goals, I hadn’t really paid much attention to them. As I was naïve, I had assumed that if I was asked by my manager (whoever that was) to do something different; this would be allowed for in my appraisal. But when it came to appraisal time, I was absolutely slaughtered for not making enough progress on the projects which had previously been agreed. There was no acknowledgement whatsoever of all the extra work which I had been assigned which should have been done by others.
The end result was that I received a score on my appraisal which fell below the score required to receive a bonus. I had done other people’s work and rather than be rewarded for it, I lost out on a bonus of over €2,000.
So what should I have done?
I should have done what is right i.e. only do what is measured. I was not being measured on doing the extra work for others. When I was asked/told to do this work I should have used my communication and assertiveness skills to insist that any change in my workload would have to be renegotiated in my goals.
Any refusal to renegotiate my goals would have to be me with a refusal to carry out the extra work. I overlooked one of the most important factors; just as I had made an agreement with them; they had made an agreement with me. They could only break their agreement with me if I allowed them to and, in my innocence; I allowed them to do so. So, while it was lousy, it was as much my responsibility as theirs.
For the sake of your productivity, self-respect, confidence and wellbeing; I would urge you to ensure that you only do what gets measured. That doesn’t mean that you should never help others. Just when you help others, make it one off help and accept that you are not getting evaluated or rewarded for that work. And of course, only help once you have completed the tasks and projects you need to complete.
To make sure that you can stick to what gets measured, you are going to need to be assertive when others try to take advantage of you.
A Final Note
Maybe you are self-employed and you think this tip doesn’t apply to you. This couldn’t be further from the truth. You are evaluated, measured and appraised by your customers on a consistent basis. There are many customers who have expectations that far outweigh what they actually pay for. It is important to make a stand with these customers and not allow yourself to be used, abused or taken advantage of.
On the other hand, always make sure that you know exactly why customers are paying you (i.e. what is the real value that they get from you) so that when you choose to streamline a product/service, you don’t inadvertently remove the features/benefits which give them the confidence to make the purchase.
If you struggle with your communication and assertivness skills, How to Talk So Others Will Listen will set you on the right track.
In summary, what you get measured on is what you get paid for. Know what you are getting measured on; only do what you are getting measured on and ensure that you put yourself first.