Eye on the Prize: Measuring Metrics in Solutions
When you traverse a long road completely in the dark, the challenging path you’ve taken may just end up in a circle.
As teams of high energy and high ambition, every action we take should ultimately be in service of our goals. Accomplishment, progress, and self-realization only take place when we know where we are going, why we have chosen this road, and how exactly to get there.
Jayesh Asrani, Solutions Architect, was faced with this realization when he took upon the task of coming up with a framework for how the Solutions team at Hevo measures their work. Should we focus on outcomes or the effort a person puts in? Should it only be based on hard numbers or intangible contributions as well? How can a team build accountability towards its goals?
He undertook a journey of exploration, looking at similar metrics in other organizations as well as the best way to approach Solutions within Hevo. Here are the 5 main metrics that act as a north-star and guide for the team-
Input metric 1: Customer conversations per month
While work could be measured purely in terms of the output, Jayesh knew that real insight happens when input or leading metrics are monitored to understand the real root of any issues that might need a diagnosis. Apart from this, uncontrollable factors like seasonality might affect outcomes from month to month, but one must always focus on what’s in their control and work upon that. That’s why one of the main metrics to be measured for the team is the number of customer conversations in a month.
The standard number at the moment is 3 per day, which remains on the lower side since we try to be as involved with each customer and their journey as possible, so the quality remains high.
This also ensures that the workload is evenly distributed across the entire team, something which might be difficult to get visibility otherwise, and ensures a fair and balanced working environment. By this method, every person has clarity on where they stand at all times.
Input metric 2: Tagged deals per month
The second metric being measured is how many deals one is tagged against per month. As a team that works very closely with the Sales function, the number of collaborations that a Solutions Engineer participates in shows the health of the entire team. This is also another metric that can give visibility into the workload distribution.
Output metric 3: Number of customers
A standard metric that is measured for Sales and Solutions teams is the revenue that is generated by each member of the team. However, Jayesh knew that this number could be highly based on the region that the Solutions Engineer is working on. This is why the third metric to be measured is the number of customers, rather than the revenue, that a team member working in tandem with the Sales team is able to bring in per month.
Output metric 4: Intangible contributions
A Solutions Engineer, who is a bridge between the customer and the product on a very technical level, can often unlock certain unique insights that would not be accessible to anybody else. This makes them positioned perfectly to bring in certain changes or improvements to the product by acting as the voice for the customer. In an effort to encourage this sort of innovative spirit, Jayesh added this metric as one of their core tenets. Whether it’s a set of documents to make the lives within the Solutions team easier, or a suggestion about the UI, the intangible and otherwise unnoticed contributions a person makes is recognized and measured.
Output metric 5: Self-improvement
Finally, in a bid to encourage constant growth and development, (we all want to, but sometimes it takes an extra push!) the team is encouraged to take up extra courses or certifications. Each person’s hard skills are evaluated, the gap is identified in a collaborative and transparent manner, and then the team collectively takes steps towards improving these areas.
All of these metrics, on an individual and team level, are fully visible in a publicly accessible dashboard that monitors these metrics as a way to measure check performance outcomes and perform any required analyses. All the metrics are calculated in an automated fashion and updated in real-time, ensuring that every person on the team is aware of how they and the team as a whole is performing. Besides this, insights like the best pairings, issues like data mismatches, etc. are captured in a very efficient fashion.
Since implementing this system, Jayesh definitely feels that there is a greater sense of discipline, clarity, and confidence within the team. Nobody is left in the dark on anything, but neither is the environment one of fear or putting people on the spot- it’s more one of accountability, collaboration, and understanding. As a team, Solutions wants to be efficient, united, and constantly growing; and this form of clarity is the way to pave the path.
