We want to roll out one to three individual measurables to every single employee in our organization, but our creative and administrative staff insist their work is too subjective to be measured. How do we help them find meaningful weekly numbers?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

The belief that certain roles cannot be measured is a myth. Every seat on your Accountability Chart exists to produce a specific outcome. If a seat has no measurable impact on the business, that seat should not exist. When employees resist measurables, it is usually because they fear being micromanaged or do not understand how their daily actions connect to the overall business.

To break through this resistance, sit down with the employee and review their roles and responsibilities. Use a simple framework: ask them what a great day looks like in their seat, and what a lousy day looks like.

For a creative writer, a great day is not just about feeling inspired. It is about producing high-quality content on schedule. Their weekly measurables could be the number of first drafts completed, or the percentage of content deadlines met on time.

For an administrative assistant, their work might feel highly reactive, but it is actually about maintaining organizational speed. Their measurables could be the percentage of support tickets resolved within four hours, or keeping the executive calendar error-free.

Explain to your team that these individual measurables are not weapons to punish them. They are tools for self-management. When a frontline employee has clear, weekly numbers that they control, they no longer have to guess if they are doing a good job. They can look at their own scorecard, see the green numbers, and know they are succeeding.