July 11, 2013Comments are closed.Getting 2 Zero
G2Z and the role of statistics – Sharon Harmon (Oregon Humane Society)
What gets measured matters
Don’t use numbers for donor engagement (use stories) but there is a place for them.
– Demonstrates fluency
– The language of competency
– Some foundations will use it
Common benchmarks
– Live intakes
– Total adoptions
– Live release rate
– Euthanasia rate
– Length of stay
– Return on investment
– Community impact
Length of stay
– Critical benchmark with tremendous implications
— The longer they stay in your shelter, the more they get stressed, the more they get sick
– Prepare for adoption sooner
— make pets available for viewing before they are ‘available’
— you’ll have someone ‘to go’ when his time is up. Don’t ‘start the clock’ when they come into the shelter
– Fast tracking
— get them up and out
– Foster on demand
– Prompt medical care and desexing
– Remove barriers to adoption
— mandatory hold periods
— reference checks
— pet meets
— all family members meets
— don’t fear ‘impulse’ adoptions
— don’t care about returns
— don’t make clients wait
— ‘gotchya’ questions before adoption
— start from a position of trust
— all add to length of stay and jam up adoptions
– OHS averages: 7 days dogs, 14 days cats, 4 days kittens & pups
We should measure, so we have the opportunity to celebrate our success. When we get to zero, we’ll know it.
