Chapter 7: Measuring Results and Establishing Credibility
A business achievement becomes easier to understand when readers can see what changed. Numbers, comparisons, and relevant context help transform a general success claim into a measurable result. They allow leaders, employees, customers, stakeholders, and award evaluators to judge the scale and significance of an accomplishment more fairly.
Measuring business success does not mean that every achievement must produce millions in revenue or affect thousands of people. The appropriate measure depends on the purpose of the initiative, the size of the organization, its starting conditions, available resources, industry, and local environment. A small improvement in a safety-critical process may be more important than a larger change in a less consequential activity.
The goal is to select business performance metrics that accurately demonstrate value rather than merely produce impressive-looking numbers.
Establish a Baseline
A baseline describes conditions before the initiative began. Without it, readers may know the final result but have no reliable way to evaluate the improvement.
For example, stating that a customer-service department now answers inquiries within four hours provides useful information. Explaining that response time declined from 24 hours to four hours demonstrates the scale of the achievement.
Baselines may include prior-year revenue, customer retention, processing time, production output, error rates, safety incidents, employee turnover, energy consumption, or the number of communities served. Whenever possible, use a baseline measured through the same method as the final result.
If no formal baseline exists, organizations may use historical records, approved internal estimates, customer surveys, or other reasonable evidence. The source and limitations should be explained honestly.
Choose Measures That Fit the Achievement
Different accomplishments require different measures. Common examples include:
- Percentage growth: Useful for showing changes in revenue, customers, production, participation, or adoption.
- Revenue or cost effects: May include increased sales, recurring revenue, cost avoidance, reduced operating expenses, or improved margins.
- Customers or communities served: Shows the reach of a product, service, public initiative, or nonprofit program.
- Jobs created: Can include direct employment, retained positions, internships, or opportunities created in a particular community.
- Time saved: Demonstrates faster service, shorter production cycles, reduced waiting periods, or administrative efficiency.
- Productivity improvements: May be measured through output per employee, transactions completed, capacity increased, or resources required.
- Quality or safety gains: Can include fewer defects, reduced complaints, improved compliance, fewer workplace incidents, or better patient outcomes.
- Geographic expansion: May involve new cities, regions, countries, branches, distribution areas, or export markets.
- Environmental benefits: Examples include reduced emissions, water conserved, energy saved, or waste diverted from disposal.
- Employee engagement: May be demonstrated through participation, retention, internal mobility, survey results, or completion of development programs.
- Customer satisfaction: Relevant measures include satisfaction scores, retention, repeat purchases, recommendation rates, or complaint resolution.
Choose the measures most directly connected to the objective. Including many unrelated statistics can distract from the central achievement.
Use Clear Comparisons
A number becomes more meaningful when it is compared with something relevant. Results may be compared with:
- The original baseline
- The previous month or year
- A stated target
- An earlier version of a product
- A recognized industry benchmark
- Results from a pilot location
- Conditions before and after implementation
Explain why the comparison is appropriate. Comparisons among countries, industries, business units, or organizations can be misleading if they use different definitions, operating conditions, or data-collection methods.
Percentage claims also require context. A 100 percent increase sounds substantial, but it may represent growth from one customer to two. When possible, provide both the percentage and the underlying number.
Define the Time Period
Every measurable result should be connected to a clear period. State when the initiative began, when the results were measured, and whether they reflect a month, quarter, year, or longer interval.
Avoid comparing a full year with a partial year unless the difference is clearly explained. Seasonal industries such as tourism, agriculture, and retail may require comparisons with the same period in an earlier year.
Also distinguish current results from future projections. A signed partnership may be expected to reach thousands of customers, but anticipated reach should not be presented as a completed outcome.
Attribute Results Responsibly
Organizations should explain how closely the reported results are connected to the actions described. Revenue may increase because of a new sales strategy, but economic conditions, pricing changes, acquisitions, or market demand may also contribute.
An achievement does not need to be the only cause of an improvement. However, claims should reflect the evidence. Phrases such as “contributed to,” “supported,” or “was associated with” may be more accurate than claiming that one initiative produced the entire result.
Individual nominations also require responsible attribution. When a team or department contributed substantially, acknowledge that involvement while explaining the nominee’s particular role.
Handle Currency Conversions Carefully
Organizations operating across Latin America may report results in pesos, reais, soles, quetzales, colones, dollars, or other currencies. International readers may benefit from a conversion into U.S. dollars or another common reference currency.
State the original currency, converted amount, exchange-rate source, and conversion date or period. Because exchange rates can change significantly, do not use a current rate to describe a historical transaction without disclosure. For multi-period comparisons, clarify whether changes reflect operating performance, exchange-rate movement, or both.
Use Estimates Transparently
Estimates can be useful when exact measurement is impractical. An organization may estimate hours saved, economic value created, emissions avoided, or indirect beneficiaries reached.
Responsible estimates should use a reasonable method, identify assumptions, avoid false precision, and be labeled as estimates. “Approximately 2,500 hours saved, based on average processing time and transaction volume” is more credible than presenting an unsupported exact figure.
Organizations should preserve the records, calculations, surveys, and approved evidence supporting their claims. Accurate documentation strengthens annual reports, performance reviews, case studies, stakeholder communications, and award nominations.
Businesses and professionals can explore current Globee® Awards programs, categories, eligibility requirements, and nomination opportunities at GlobeeAwards.com.
Measurable results do more than make an achievement sound impressive. They make it understandable and credible. By establishing baselines, choosing appropriate metrics, defining time periods, providing context, and acknowledging limitations, organizations can communicate their accomplishments with accuracy and confidence.