Questions to explore

Below are some questions to get you started in thinking about how to approach using measures and metrics to assess progress in being purpose-led in your organisation:

• What problem are you trying to solve for and how can a measure or metric help you to do this?
• Is there a culture/environment in which measures form part of constructive and generative dialogue in order to learn and improve? If not, what are the potential consequences?
• Which metrics do you currently use to inform your strategic decision taking? How are these metrics currently used?
• What assumptions are behind a specific metric or measure, about people, the purpose of the business and what the business cares about?
• Are the metrics helping you know what you need to know to help realise the potential of your purpose? For example: do your existing metrics help you to understand the needs of your people, the strength of your supply chain or what features of your products and services are most valued by your customers?
• Do your metrics help you to understand the impact you are having on society through your core business, or are you just measuring the impact of specific CSR projects?
• In setting metrics have you thought about the outcomes you are seeking, and the interventions needed to get these outcomes?
• What are the unintended consequences of your current metrics? What can you learn from this?