We suspect our operations team is gaming their weekly target of closing fifteen customer tickets by rushing through complex issues and leaving clients frustrated. How do we structure our metrics to stop people from manipulating the data?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Any single metric can and will be gamed if employees are pressured to hit a volume target at the expense of overall operational health. To prevent gaming on your weekly Scorecard, you must pair your volume metrics with quality or efficiency counterweights. If you only track a quantity metric, such as client tickets closed or outbound calls made, your team will naturally find ways to hit the target. They might close tickets without fully resolving them or make low-effort phone calls. To fix this, pair that quantity metric with a quality metric. For example, pair tickets closed with customer satisfaction scores or ticket reopen rates. Pair sales calls made with next-step conversion rates or discovery calls booked. When you track both the speed and the quality of the activity, you create a self-balancing system. If your team starts gaming the volume, the quality counterweight will turn red, forcing an honest conversation. This allows your leadership team to spot the behavior early and resolve it during the IDS® portion of your Level 10 Meeting™.