Making Connecting Tubes Out of Stovepipes

One of the biggest barriers to effective performance measure implementation is the development of “stovepipes” inside organizations of people and information. Stovepipes are more than just information technology systems built and bundled independently over the years. These systems stovepipes are effective obstacles to comprehensive performance measures as they make it difficult to develop and track meaningful performance metrics across the organization. CIOs often find themselves with an “apples and oranges” situation.

Organizational stovepipes or silos are also massive impediments to effective measurement. These silos can exist even when the technology is similar or exactly the same across the organization. They are damaging to performance measurement implementation because the people themselves are creating the roadblocks – not the technology. In forwarding a parochial set of metrics and espousing narrow thinking that only considers a single aspect of the organization, managers will make it difficult if not impossible to create an effective performance management system organization-wide.

Why do some managers create barriers? To be fair, most stovepipes usually were created well before the current management to over the reins. Plus, compensation and other organizational performance measures have reinforced the stovepipe mentality. Think of the organizational chart. Managers are very concerned about the part of the organization that is directly underneath them – it even looks like a stovepipe.

So how do we bring people together and turn these stovepipes into connectors. Aside from a complete organizational overall, which is impractical and beyond their control, CIOs can effect real change in organizations.

One of the most effective tools for this process is the creation of a Program Office for implementation of performance measure implementation and tracking. This office breaks into the stovepipes by creating centralized ownership of the PM program and coordinating maximum participation by various organizational components. While this office may have other responsibilities, there was dedicated staff and resources to the PM program. This office was the organizational PM nexus for:
- Communication
- Data Collection
- Presentation
- Business Unit Support
- Review & Feedback

Another effective tool is creating a common PM training program. By bringing together professionals from across the organization and have them share a common experience in learning about the new PMs, the barriers of their respective organizational silos.

Of course, hopefully, the CIO and his team did a great job of collecting the input of the various business units, functional leaders, and senior executives when developing the PMs. Metrics that can be meaningful to everyone are a great way to connect an organization and encourage positive performance.