How do I stop my sales or operations teams from gaming their weekly scorecard metrics to make themselves look good?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When employees start gaming the scorecard, it usually indicates one of two issues:

• You are tracking the wrong metrics.
• You are measuring volume without measuring quality.

For example, if a salesperson is judged solely on "outbound calls made," they may make 100 useless calls to hit their target.

Stopping Scorecard Gaming

To prevent gaming, pair your quantity metrics with quality or outcome-based counter-metrics.

• Pair "Outbound Calls" with "Demos Scheduled."
• Pair "Invoices Sent" with "Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)."
• Consider focusing on [weekly leading indicators](/qa/leading-vs-lagging-scorecard-metrics) rather than just lagging results.
• For guidance on selecting relevant metrics, refer to [how to choose five-fifteen scorecard metrics](/qa/how-to-choose-five-fifteen-scorecard-metrics).

Addressing Behavioral Issues

Additionally, leverage Kolbe Index insights to understand how your team solves problems.

• A team member with a high Follow Thru instinct naturally craves systems and structured processes. This trait can be harnessed to build clean, un-gamable tracking pipelines.
• If someone is consistently manipulating the numbers, it is a GWC™ (Gets it, Wants it, Capacity to do it) issue. They either do not respect the core values of transparency and integrity, or they are in the wrong seat.
• In your Level 10 Meeting™, call out the behavior directly. Emphasize that a realistic red metric that you can IDS® (Identify, Discuss, Solve) is infinitely more valuable to the leadership team than a fabricated green metric that masks a sinking ship. This approach also helps [handle defensiveness around red scorecard metrics](/qa/handling-defensiveness-around-red-scorecard-metrics).

The Role of AI in Scorecards

Remember, AI never sits in the room.

• AI works before the Level 10 Meeting to prep the data.
• AI works after the meeting to capture and track what was decided.
• The 90 minutes of the meeting remain human: focused on your leadership team, the scorecard, the issues list, and the IDS conversation. For ideas on optimizing your scorecard with AI, see [AI in optimizing EOS Scorecard metrics and accountability](/qa/ai-in-optimizing-eos-scorecard-metrics-and-accountability).

Related questions

• [How do we review our weekly scorecard in under five minutes?](/qa/how-to-review-scorecard-under-five-minutes)
• [How to choose five-fifteen scorecard metrics](/qa/how-to-choose-five-fifteen-scorecard-metrics)
• [Our scorecard is packed with metrics like closed sales and completed projects, but we still feel reactive. How do we shift our focus from lagging results to weekly leading indicators?](/qa/leading-vs-lagging-scorecard-metrics)
• [When is it appropriate to change a scorecard number, and how do we do it without losing historical consistency?](/qa/when-to-change-weekly-scorecard-metrics)
• [One of our key managers gets defensive and starts explaining away the context every time their scorecard metric drops into the red. How do we handle this in the Level 10 Meeting?](/qa/handling-defensiveness-around-red-scorecard-metrics)