From the Hardwood to Hard Data: What My Journey Taught Me About Measuring Success

My career path has been anything but linear, taking me from the basketball courts and classrooms of Nebraska high schools to the world of polling at Gallup, and eventually to leading admissions at rural community colleges. This winding road has given me a unique perspective on what it means to measure success, and how we can apply those lessons to improve our public institutions.

My Introduction to Pay-for-Performance

When I joined Gallup, it was a fascinating shift. Half of my income as a training manager for new survey research phone interviewers was a straight salary, and the other half was entirely performance-based. My compensation hinged on a variety of metrics: the number of people I trained, their retention rate, the frequency of live feedback sessions I conducted, and even my team's engagement scores.

This system introduced me to the concepts of lead and lag indicators. The number of live feedback sessions I gave was a lead indicator – something I directly controlled that would, hopefully, influence future outcomes. The retention rate of my trainees, however, was a lag indicator – a result of my efforts over time. This dual approach to compensation, while motivating, also highlighted the potential pitfalls of heavily relying on performance metrics.

The Perils of Over-Reliance on Pay-for-Performance

This experience at Gallup, combined with my observations in higher education, has led me to a strong conviction: public institutions like our community colleges shouldn't rely as heavily on pay-for-performance plans. While the intent might be to incentivize good work, they can inadvertently lead to behaviors that negatively impact students.

We only need to look back over 20 years to the issues with the University of Phoenix. Their aggressive enrollment practices, driven by performance incentives, led to deceptive tactics that ultimately harmed students. Our mission in public education is fundamentally different. We are here to serve our communities and provide accessible, quality education, not to maximize profits.

The Power of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Despite my reservations about direct pay-for-performance, I firmly believe we need to embrace data more effectively in community colleges. Moving from Gallup to Director of Admissions at Northeastern Junior College, it became clear that we could identify our most important areas and develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure our progress.

I remember a conversation with one of our veteran recruiters that really brought this home. At one point, his primary measurement of success was the number of school presentations he gave. He'd have a phenomenal year in presentations, but it became clear that all that effort was sometimes at the expense of effective follow-up. Through our discussions, we realized that the number of campus visits from schools he served was a far better indicator of success. The presentations were still crucial, a gateway to getting students to campus, but the actual visits were the ultimate goal. This was a "lightbulb moment" for me, demonstrating how collaborative conversations can lead to identifying the truly impactful numbers.

Focusing Our Efforts for Rural Community Colleges

As I've continued my work in rural community colleges, I've noticed a common sentiment: most people feel busy, but they don't always know if their busy-ness is leading to the right outcomes. This is where KPIs become invaluable.

By working with our teams to identify key performance indicators, we can cut through the noise and focus on the most important data. These indicators are most effective when used not as a stick for punishment, but as a mirror to evaluate how we are doing and as a compass to help us make adjustments. If our efforts aren't moving the most important numbers, it's a signal to re-evaluate our strategies.

It's crucial for all of our rural community college leaders to take the time to identify their most important numbers. Once those are clear, the next step is to strategically determine what activities will get us closer to achieving those numbers. It's about working smarter, not just harder, to ensure our students and communities thrive.