Use Those Numbers

Ever thought about using the statistics you generate for monthly and quarterly reports for something else? How about making them come alive – put them to a purpose that might not seem obvious? In many instances statistics are historical – they look at past occurrences. But how about using them to look ahead?

For instance, right now I’m putting together some stats to help with our construction project. Sure, attendance trending is important for overall building size, but I’m talking about using statistics to predict things like crowd movements and volunteer and staffing levels. No, I haven’t overdosed on Numb3rs. This is real stuff.

By using our child check-in numbers I can get a sense for where we should add new check-in stations in the addition. In fact, these same numbers allowed me already to pull a check-in station from the lower level and redeploy it on the main level. The reason? Under-utilization. Gut feeling? Nope, hard facts.

Like these figures for the first half of 2007:

• 43% of our check-ins happen in our skylight area. Only 23% occur on the lower level.
• We’ve had 14 services so far this year with over 400 child check-ins. 39 services have had over 350 check-ins.
• Percentage wise Saturday services utilize the north entrance stations more than Sunday services.
• We’ve totaled more than 35,000 child check-ins in the first 6 months.

These kinds of numbers help me see patterns – data patterns and trends that correlate with the movement of people. Patterns that allow us to staff areas appropriately. Patterns that help us to allocate resources. Patterns that help us create the environment and experience we want for our guests. It’s taking our data and making it work for us.

So, are your statistics working for you?

Building Relationships...

isn’t something that comes naturally to most techies. Like many technically-minded people, it’s something I struggle with. Yet I’m finding it’s an important aspect of being able to generate good metrics. I’m learning (in some cases the hard way, ouch!) that metrics are about more than numbers – it’s about people. Not the people that the numbers represent, but the people that use the numbers - you know, your teammates. Ministry partners. Other staffers. Volunteer leaders.
They are your most important allies. You need to get to know ‘em. How they work. How they think. What makes ‘em tick. Not as some weird psychological experiment, but because your responsibility is to take raw data, sometimes a mountain of raw data, and make it understandable and useful. Does your guest services team favor tables or graphs? Would your senior management team like summaries or in-depth reports? Do illustrated diagrams help with comprehending the pertinent details?
All those decisions are governed by what your teammates need. You can’t get them what they need if you don’t know what they want. And you won’t know what they want unless you know them. How do they operate their ministries? What are their processes? Systems? What segment of your church population do they touch? Do you actually know what they do?
The purpose of a metrics and statistics program is to get your ministry leaders the information they need to make informed decisions quickly. Make sure it’s understandable. Build those relationships.

Great Waste...Less Filling

Looked at your statistics and metrics lately? I mean really looked.
Structure. Design. Content.
Just what are you collecting?
Let's face it. We've all been there. The mindset that says 'more is better'. Collect all the data you can. Crunch all the numbers. Generate all the statistics and metrics possible.
Wrong.
Statistical analysis needs to be relevant. Without context it is no better than the raw data. It needs to represent something. And that something needs to be relevant to your process, your ministry or your church. It needs to answer questions about the effectiveness you’re having in your mission and vision. Sure, you can do a trend analysis on how many people during your weekend services are wearing red shirts. But does it mean anything?
We can get so caught up in collecting data that we forget what it will be used for. We forget that our analysis needs to change as our methods change – as we innovate we need to look at our data collection and our statistics. Still collecting the same data you did in 1989? Might want to take a look at that. Still collecting the same data you did in 2005? You might want to take a look at that too.
So before you have that conversation with your IT guys about how you need more data storage space, take a look at what you're collecting. Prune. Trim. Get relevant. Stop contributing to the Great Waste of disk space and make your data and statistics Less Filling. I think you’ll find it’ll be easier to keep pace with your innovation strategy.

Welcome

Measuring Innovation. Is that even possible?
Not only do I think so, I think it could be one of the biggest “misses” in the Church. Just try Googling Church Metrics. Not much relevant info there, huh?
Admittedly, when someone mentions measurement in the context of church, the first thing that comes to mind is attendance. We’ve all heard the arguments about that, right? “The church that counts is the church that is only concerned with numbers”.
But there is so much more to it than that. How do you decide which activities to continue and which ones to disband? How do you determine staffing levels? Volunteerism? Life changes? How do you know if your local church is fulfilling the Great Commission? Wait until Judgment Day when God opens a curtain (like a heavenly version of Let’s Make a Deal) to reveal whether or not you were successful? Sorry. I’d rather try and correct the mistakes and make the best effort now rather than stumble along with no idea of what’s going on.
It’s no secret that the culture is dynamic and changing at an ever faster pace. The Church needs to be innovative to capture the attention of those mesmerized with the culture – and to do so needs to be willing to change at the same pace. The Church no longer has 20 or 30 years to “get it right”. We need the tools to be able to make critical decisions to best serve our friends, church guests and neighbors. Are you willing to guess about someone’s Eternity?
That’s what Measuring Innovation is all about: Providing our church leaders with the tools and data to make informed decisions quickly.
I’m hoping that this blog will evolve into a place where we can exchange ideas, explore new concepts and push the envelope when it comes to church metrics and statistics. If that gets you excited – welcome.