Me being a fitness freak, as you all know, once in a blue moon, my sweet tooth pops out and longs to eat my favorite dessert “Kesari” – Semolina cake. So, I ventured into the kitchen to prepare it all by myself.

With all the right ingredients and following the procedure to the T, the dessert was ready and smelling great. For a moment, I was on cloud nine to celebrate the success thinking that I got the desired output.

However, I missed the taste by a mile. It was a disappointment. The outcome was not what I had expected.

While I ponder over this to find out what went wrong, take a look at your outcome vs output

Understanding Outcome and Output

An output is an end result of an activity. It doesn’t address the value or impact it creates for your customer. On the other hand, an outcome is an achievement that occurred because of the undertaken activity. Outcomes quantify performance and assess the success of the process.

A simple way to look at it is that outcomes are the results, and outputs are the activities that support the desired results. For example, ‘increased customer satisfaction’ is a typical business outcome. An output that can help achieve this might be a quick turnaround time.

Outcomes are what businesses want and need. It is both quantitative and qualitative. Not only do outcomes reflect results, but they also reflect the experience and perception between the organization and those it serves.

Move towards what matters most- Achieve outcome by delivering outputs

It is easy to report and validate output as it is quantitative. However, outcomes are challenging. To a large extent, it depends on the perception of the people who would receive this service. And, perceptions are not easy to measure but it is essential to do so.

I have seen an organization generate reports and the dashboard that looked glossy and green. However, when they delved deeper, the customer was not happy with the service.

I am certainly not suggesting that you no longer need to report on the achievement of outputs. Instead, organizations should identify the outcome. Then, review outputs to ensure that they bring in their desired business outcome.

Aim for 99% customer satisfaction by reducing turnaround time by 20 mins.

Great organizations manage the outcome. So, look at what you offer – Are you preparing a dessert that pleases by look and smell or delivers a tasty one that brings smiles in your family?