Clarifying Perceptions

Examine figure 8-1. Understanding the concepts behind this picture is a critical link in unlocking the mysteries of value perception. This model of value perception is modified from an original concept introduced in the late 1970s at the height of the Total Quality Management movement. That concept was called the Kano Model of Product Quality (Kano, 1984).

Figure 8-1: Unknown, conscious, and unconscious expectations.

Unconscious Expectations: Givens

At the bottom of the model shown in figure 8-1, notice the area labeled unconscious expectation (given). An unconscious expectation is something that a person cannot tell you that he or she expects. This is something so taken for granted that, no matter how much effort it takes to create, perform, administer, or accomplish, your audience may never acknowledge what has taken place on its behalf . You may think relatively few of your programs would be considered a given, but this phenomenon is extremely common. Left to a natural course of events, it is nearly inevitable for every WLP program, service, or intervention.

Here is an example you may recognize from your own experience: Let ‚ s say that you are traveling for an important business meeting. After a very late departure , a missed connection, and further delays, you finally make it to your hotel. You breathe a sigh of relief because your room has not been given away. Once in your room, you quickly get ready for bed. You pull back the bedcover only to discover ‚ no sheets!

Now did you ever, during your long ordeal, suddenly think to yourself, ‚“I should have told the travel agent that I wanted sheets on my bed when the agent made my room reservations ! ‚½? Of course not. You assumed a hotel room would have a bed, a bedspread, and clean sheets under that bedspread. For you, it was a given that the sheets would be there. Of course, now that the lack of sheets is discovered , you are a very dissatisfied customer.

This story illustrates two important points about unconscious givens: First, if the sheets had been there, you would never have noticed. If someone asked you the next day if you had sheets on your bed the night before, you ‚ d probably wonder what kind of person would ask you such a strange question. If you decided it was appropriate to answer, then you ‚ d have to reflect for a moment before you could reply yes. Second ‚ and this is important ‚ the reason you could feel confident in your answer was not because you remembered there were sheets on your bed. The reason you could answer was because you know you would have remembered it if the sheets were not there!

This leads to the second point about givens. You can ‚ t satisfy people by delivering an unconscious given. Why? They simply can ‚ t see it. You can only dissatisfy your audience if suddenly what they took for granted is not there. More important from a financial point of view is that the value of givens has already been factored into the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. Even if you point out that the given has taken place, your audience will shrug, take it for granted, and be unable to recall the conversation 10 minutes later.

Important ‚  

If you are working Internally to an organization, do you often feel as if managers in other departments wonder what you really do? Do you ever ask yourself, ‚“How could they not know what we do? ‚½ If you have to ask yourself that question, you are probably in the dangerous and vulnerable position of spending a huge proportion of your time or your department ‚ s time on unconscious givens.

In this position, you are a target for having your budget cut because others take you for granted and can ‚ t see what you do. You may have a hard time getting attention, and you are in a difficult spot to establish continuous financial value even if you are doing the best job in the industry. Your value has become invisible.

Conscious Expectations: Negotiables

Next up from givens on figure 8-1 is conscious expectations, or negotiables. A conscious expectation means that a client or manager can describe what is desired, and you can describe what you will do to satisfy that need. You can estimate how much it will cost, and you have a general feeling for how much benefit you expect to obtain for that cost. The majority of new WLP projects, consulting contracts, and other interventions start at this expectation level.

Unlike a given, you can satisfy someone when you deliver what was expected. Like a given, you can also dissatisfy someone if you don ‚ t. The most important point about a negotiable is that it is very hard to surprise your client in terms of the delighted surprise that comes with an unexpected intervention or benefit.

Wait a minute! If you do an excellent job, can ‚ t you delight someone? Won ‚ t your audience be happy with you? Well, yes, they will be happy, but it is still hard to excite them in the way that true creativity and innovation does. In a conscious situation, your client or internal customer already knows what to expect because you have both negotiated and agreed upon it. It is possible to communicate the value of fulfilling your agreement but difficult to get your client to believe you have delivered overwhelming, unexpected value.

Unknown Expectations: Surprise

At the top of figure 8-1 is shown the unknown expectation. This is the kind of unconscious expectation that could be described as an untapped need. Your intervention has surprised and excited your audience because of the excellent possibilities they suddenly realize exist. You ‚ ve solved a problem they didn ‚ t know could be solved , at least not in the way that you ‚ ve done it before. This unknown expectation benefits the organization because the new intervention invariably is more effective or efficient at accomplishing a necessary task. That effectiveness and efficiency typically translate into larger cost savings or greater revenue than could have been consciously negotiated.

Important ‚  

By solving a problem or delivering something in a way that others didn ‚ t know could be done, you are in a wonderful situation. It is hard to dissatisfy an audience when you ‚ ve produced a financial windfall. You have created a sense of customer satisfaction that instills credibility, confidence, and an easy venue to communicate value.

So, what ‚ s the catch? Despite your best efforts, trying to satisfy your audience ‚ s expectations is like running up the down escalator. Notice the direction of the arrows in figure 8-1. The moment you have surprised someone with a new intervention, method, or program, it becomes a conscious expectation that you will do it again. Without careful management of your audience ‚ s perceptions, what is consciously expected quickly drops into an ever-growing pile of givens that you are expected to provide without anyone noticing what you do anymore. This is the ‚“What have you done for me lately? ‚½ phenomenon. No matter how big the surprise, what delighted people last year can be completely taken for granted the next. How quickly they forget!

Important ‚  

The trap that many WLP professionals fall into is expecting the respect that they generated when introducing a successful program or intervention to last forever or at least much longer than it does. They are then completely unprepared when they realize that the perception of their services has dropped into a given. They are even more shocked when they realize that if they ask their audience to estimate the financial value of a given that the estimate is either far too low, a breakeven at zero financial value, or even a negative estimate of being perceived as a costly program with no financial value.

When communicating value, it is critical to know how your services, programs, and interventions are perceived right now. It is also important to know how quickly improvements are worked into the assumptions of the financial statements so that you can plan ahead to keep the perception of your value high.

Your executives are looking for every competitive advantage they can find. They value more than just your ability to do the basics of your job. When the executives in the Twin Cities study were asked what knowledge, skills, and abilities they expected of human asset professionals, they didn ‚ t even mention WLP and HR skills because they were givens! Just as important ‚ or perhaps even more important than your ability to perform WLP functions ‚ is how consistently you introduce additional financial gain and how well you keep what you have introduced consciously valued within the organization. You can take measures to keep the perceptions of your value high, but only if you recognize the pace of your own ‚“down escalator ‚½ and take active steps to keep your communication ahead of that value slide.