Conferences. Every presenter and exhibitor have THE solution for whatever ails your organization. It might be a technology dashboard that presents all of the KPIs in graphic form, or a customer service training program that has “proven” to increase sales.
Those with products to sell have invested heavily in figuring out what problem you most likely have, and crafting a message that leaves you feeling hopeful that the problem can, indeed, be solved.
You probably do have the problem they are solving. But does that solution address the root cause? That’s the critical question you have to ask before you buy.
What Is “Root Cause?”
Per Wikipedia: “A root cause is an initiating cause of either a condition or a causal chain that leads to an outcome or effect of interest. Commonly, root cause is used to describe the depth in the causal chain where an intervention could reasonably be implemented to improve performance or prevent an undesirable outcome.
In plain English a “root cause” is a “cause” (harmful factor) that is “root” (deep, basic, fundamental, underlying, initial or the like).”
Until I joined a healthcare organization, I didn’t think much about the concept of root cause. I got just as excited about solutions I saw at conferences, like everyone else.
But the metaphor healthcare offered – treat the cause, not the symptom – resonated. It put meaningful context around experiences I had with solutions; sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.
Why wouldn’t they? Perhaps it didn’t work because they tried to solve the wrong problem. They treated the symptom, not the cause.
What Conference Solutions Miss
Let me use an example I have observed time and again. Susan, an operational leader, comes back from a conference and raves about a spiffy new program that was showcased. The marketing of the program focused on improving customer satisfaction scores through training employees on a simple three-step process for helping the customer; Susan has been getting tremendous pressure to improve her team’s scores.
She tells the vendor that she is going to set up a demonstration when she returns to the office, and invite her HR business partner to attend. The very best thing about the program is that itonly takes a half-day!
The low satisfaction scores are a symptom. Susan’s HR business partner, Sean, has an inkling that this program isn’t the answer but agrees to hear the vendor’s pitch. Sean is impressed with the quality of the program but is pretty sure it won’t make a significant impact on the satisfaction scores.
5 Whys
He begins a diagnostic process known as the “five whys”: “Susan, why do you think that this team’s scores are dropping?”
Susan replies, “We have had a rash of product defects, and my team doesn’t know how to work through the customer’s complaints, the product development team’s push back, and resolve the customer’s problem.”
Sean asks again, “Why do you think this new program will address that concern?”
Susan responds that the three step process provides a framework for her team to interact with the customer more effectively.
Let’s stop here and reflect. What is the real problem? Perhaps Susan’s team would benefit from a simple customer interaction process training, but will that solve the root cause of why the scores are dropping? If the product defects continue, there will be more than satisfaction scores dropping.
And the questions need to continue. What has Susan done to address the defects with product development? What has been their response? If they are not responsive, why hasn’t the problem been elevated? What needs to be done to fix the defects? Why has it not been done?
And so we come to a root cause, perhaps multiple root causes that have to be addressed, that no amount of training can resolve. We have poor quality control, unresponsive leadership, lack of effective communication across teams; training will not solve any of that. Those issues have to be addressed at the root.
This Path Isn’t Always Easy
Treating the symptom and not the cause is expensive. Not only are you wasting money on a program that won’t solve the problem but the problem will continue into perpetuity if not addressed.
This isn’t to say that vendor solutions are not good, and maybe great. They make work for you as long as you are clear that it is the right solution for the right problem.
The challenge is that going this route – avoiding the quick fix and searching for the root cause – takes time. We are all so strapped for time in this age of information and work overload, we feel like we are treading water. Think of your search for a root cause as an investment. The time it takes to identify the right problem will save time and money.
Is the Solution a Fix?
Even if you invest the time and energy to identify the problem, and carefully seek and apply a good solution, you have to reflect: Did the solution fix the problem? If it did, great. If it didn’t, perhaps there is a lesson to be learned. The process of reflecting on what was done is the single most important way that organizations learn collectively. By reflecting, those involved learn from each other, open channels of communication and work together toward a common end.
This was originally published on the intersection of learning & performance blog.