Making the Numbers COUNT! Tanya Hilgendorf Humane Society of Huron Valley
Why Numbers Matter — What We Will Cover Making Objective Decisions • Making and Monitoring • Goals/Continuous Improvement Making Better Investments • Justifying Investments (T&A) • Managing Operations/Problems • Giving Employees/Volunteers • Sense of Accomplishment
First, three caveats . . .
Each Animal Treated as an Individual
Cat URI Trends
Even when your numbers are right, your conclusions can be wrong Superior Township, Pitbull Intake 2014 Adults Puppies Total Terrier, Jack Russell Total 1 0 1 Terrier, Pit Bull Total 11 1 12 Terrier, Yorkshire Total 1 0 1 Superior Township, Pitbull Intake 2015 Adults Puppies Total Terrier, Jack Russell Total 3 1 4 Terrier, Pit Bull Total 32 8 40 Terrier, Yorkshire Total 3 0 3
Making Objective Decisions Making a decision without personal bias and emotion is one of the hardest and most important jobs of a leader.
Animal Welfare is full of emotion, anecdote & folklore Emotion highjacks critical thinking Emotion creates powerful stories that stick in people’s heads Sticking with them helps us deal with fears, gives sense of control People short on training, time and data draw their own conclusions Need to verify the story or the fact that everyone thinks is true
Making and Monitoring Goals/Success You can’t run a race without • knowing the start line and the finish line Goals need to SMART – • Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant & Timely Continuous Improvement •
Investment of Resources All resources are • limited Always want to be • investing wisely, on what is most important and what work
Justifying Investment of Resources Demonstrating effectiveness to • government leaders, tax payers, donors, volunteers “We treated 35 sick dogs with heartworm that would have otherwise been euthanized” “We offered adoption special for kittens and increased adoptions by 45% compared to last year.” 89% of kids who completed the class could correctly identify fear signals in a dog compared to 19% beforehand Critical to Transparency and • Accountability
Managing Operations The Ins and Outs
Managing Operations In the Middle – Length of Stay Pit Bull Beagle Puppy Owner/Guardian Surrender Adoption 30 12.4 3.5 Return to Owner 2.2 N/A N/A Euthanasia 30.6 N/A N/A Average LOS 26.4 12.4 3.5 Stray/Seized Adoption 40.9 11.8 9.5 Euthanasia 32.5 N/A N/A Return to Owner 3.6 0.7 2.7 Average LOS 29.6 6.9 7.8
Managing Operations In the Middle – Flow and Stages $35 per day times 3000 days = $105,000
Managing Operations In the Middle – Seasonality
Managing Operations In the Middle – Contagious Disease Rate
Managing Operations In the Middle – Dog Adoptions (RW separated out)
Managing Operations In the Middle – Results of Specials Adult dogs adopted during special in 2016 = 23 Adult dogs adopted during same time in 2015 = 23
Managing Operations Other Numbers to Monitor for Quality of Care… Live Release Rate Contagious Disease Rate Total Days of Care Waitlist or Animals Turned Away Number of Animals in Care vs. Capacity Treatable Animals in Your Care Number of Bites Died or Lost in Shelter
Making Good Decisions
Results Matter Most Celebrate success with the • 95% external and internal SAVED! community Yahoo! Prevent burnout & 95% • SAVED!!! compassion fatigue Gives staff and volunteers feeling a sense of accomplishment Keeps their “eyes on the prize”
Recommend
More recommend
