Objectives, goals, and outcomes.

I get paid to carry out inspections and write reports. The target for submitting the reports is 28 days. My average is 13 days. The regional average is 11.5 days. Seems to me that our performance is pretty good.

We are told the target is likely to come down to seven days. The reason given is that 28 days is excessive. No one has been able to articulate why 28 days is considered excessive. I've been informed that a quicker turn around is a mark of an effective organisation.  The fact that most reports are submitted within less than half this time seems to have been ignored.

A 28 day target provides a useful buffer. A psychological comfort zone. An aid to keeping stress levels in check. Room for flexibility in managing workload and additional task allocation. Time for reflection and fine tuning. With a 7 day target there is none of this.

Macho target setting is short sighted and potentially destructive. It will add little if any value. It will though no doubt tick a box on someones performance development plan.

I will play the game. I will adapt. I don't have a choice. I have a family that depends on me to do so. Will it in anyway improve the quality of my work?  Of course it won't.