Data is omnipresent....is god (Part 2)

Another example of the increasing prevalence of data capture and the challenges associated with its use was observed recently in my local McDonalds drive through.

While waiting for my McHappy meal (I wanted the Monopoly game...) I observed a screen detailing the "throughput" rate (target vs actual) of every Maccas store in the region categorised in red (below target), orange (border-line) or green (above target) as to how quickly drive through customers were served. At any one time a branch employee (or customer) could identify how they compared to other branches in thier region in real-time.

This in itself is not overly unusual - McDonalds are well known for thier quantitative and systems approach to managing thier business. And while the exercise is impressive in terms of the infrastructure investment and commitment to data capture, what was interesting was the management implications of the data capture.

I button-holed a junior manager and asked them what effect the (newly installed) performance tracking system had on employees - e.g. Did they look at it regularily, did they care about the performance targets, did the threat of being nationally/regionally exposed as poor performers stimulate production? I had expected that in the compliance / systems orientated "high pressure" environment of a fast food restaurant this type of tool would have a significant impact on junior staffer's work output. The highly transparent traffic-light system is easily interpreted regardless of level of training, experience or relative intelligence level and therefore one would be forgiven for it being frequently viewed by those responsible for drive-through throughput.

erm.... wrong apparently!

The manager cheerfully advised me that it was them (supervisory staff) that took most notice of the data and that in her opinion front-line staff were more or less indifferent to what was displayed on screen. The manager implied that they took the data and then translated it into operational terms - e.g. "we're in the red!! pull your finger out!" Unfortunately the place was so packed with customers that I wasn't able ask the operators their opinion (and besides...I would feel bad about slowing them down!)

One wonders whether the architects of the whole process intended it to be an explicit control mechanism or whether they had intended in a more empowering sense. A cynic would probably say yes, that to use data in this way as a control mechanism is a perfect example of the neo-Taylorist approach that Maccas have (successfully) adopted for years. However the transparency of the data belies a potentially higher purpose, to drive camaraderie (at least at a branch level) and to encourage some degree of ownership in the (hamburger) process. My N=1 interview indicates that the dominant control and compliance culture has informed the use of the tool but it would be interesting to see if this is really the case!

Needless to say I will be frequenting Maccas a bit more in the future to investigate this issue further!