Reflection & Knowledge Check
The Hearth Core — Metrics That Actually Work
Key Flames from The Hearth Core
- Corporate metrics based on speed and volume fail in independent funeral homes because they ignore the depth and pace of genuine relationship building
- A hybrid framework balances activity metrics (structure: events attended, partnerships initiated, follow-ups completed) with relationship metrics (depth: families in active conversation, consultation timelines, referrals received)
- Targets should be set collaboratively with the people doing the work -- not handed down from spreadsheets. A counselor who helped set the target will hit it consistently
- Start with achievable, meaningful targets: two partnership conversations per month, one new relationship per week, one pre-need consultation per quarter
- Pre-need is a long game. Abandoning it after one month is like abandoning a garden after one week because nothing has bloomed
- The metrics you choose are not just management tools -- they are a message to your team about what you truly value. Measure warmth, not just heat, and the right people will stay to tend the fire
Reflection Prompt
Think about a time in your career when you were measured by a metric that did not capture the real value of your work. Maybe you were hitting all the numbers but felt like you were missing what mattered. Or maybe you were doing your best work, but the scorecard did not reflect it.
What was that metric? How did it make you feel? And if you could redesign that measurement system today, what would you change?
Now consider your own team. Are there metrics currently in place that might be measuring heat instead of warmth? What would a hybrid framework look like in your home -- one that captures both the activity and the depth of the relationships your team is building?
Coaching Insight
If the metric you recalled measured activity but ignored quality -- calls made instead of relationships deepened, speed instead of care -- you have just identified the same trap many funeral homes fall into.
The frustration of being measured by the wrong yardstick is universal. A hybrid framework for your home would balance quantitative markers (contact frequency, response time) with qualitative ones (family satisfaction, team confidence, community reputation).
The key insight: if a metric does not reflect the warmth your team provides, it is measuring heat -- and heat alone burns people out.
What Relationship Metrics Capture
What do relationship metrics capture that activity metrics alone cannot?
The Garden Principle Applied
The Garden Principle teaches that 'abandoning pre-need after one month is like abandoning a garden after one week because nothing has bloomed.' What is the key lesson behind this analogy?
Metrics as a Message
This module teaches that the metrics you choose are 'a message to your team about what you truly value.' Which of the following best describes the message sent by a well-designed hybrid framework?