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Exploiting information and avoiding overload: metrics, milestones, and KPIs
The world before digital was in some ways a simpler place for managers. While the decisions were almost certainly no easier for them; it was clear that their job was to lead and make the ‘big’ decisions. Leaders from the Duke of Wellington fighting Waterloo to Aneurin Bevan introducing a National Health Service, certainly took an interest in the detail, but they simply could not micro manage. The limits of information capture and communication prevented it and they had to delegate and focus on the big stuff.
In the modern world leaders can have access to the minute detail of what is happening in real time with updates sent to a device in their pocket at any hour of the day or night. They can become trapped constantly chasing the most recent issue that pops up in their in-box or social media feed and loosing track of the big picture. Conversely they can become so disheartened by a sea of seemingly meaningless detailed that they start to ignore it and assume ‘someone will tell me if it breaks’. This workshop is about exploring how to make data work for you as a source of insight and situational awareness not an unwelcome and costly overhead and will cover:
Data, metrics and performance indicators – sifting for the gems
CRM systems, case management systems, finance systems, web payment, call loggers, website analytics and customer feedback all offer a massive wealth of potential insight. But typically there will be far more data than any organisation could ever review regularly. This creates a need to apply automated processes for getting the right information to the right people. In parallel there is a need to delegate ownership of outcomes as far as possible down the management chain and give these owners access to the insight they need. The workshop will look at the methodology involved and how a much more open approach to data capture and sharing can offer better intelligence, better performance management and better outcomes.
Metrics and outcomes – why do I want to know this?
Collecting information, collating it, sharing it and interpreting it all have cash and opportunity costs associated. There is also a modern tendency to collect data simply because we can; rather than because we have a clear reason to. Collecting is cheap and getting cheaper; getting a human decision maker to look at it is costly. Furthermore if we cannot align our metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with organisational, team and personal objectives we don’t necessarily benefit from them. The workshop will look at how we can use vision and ‘guide star’ objectives to align metrics and KPIs with an organisations desired outcomes.
Score cards, targets and indicators – the one page summary
Time is precious and in most organisations the time of the senior team is very precious. This implies that they cannot be expected to spend any significant time interpreting performance data. If you get the design of the KPI’s and score card right, the meaning should be immediately apparent and they can focus on what to do, not on what it means. The workshop will look at what a good KPI set and score card should look like and what it needs to deliver to its users. Overall the workshop will explain how these three themes overlap and if done correctly can create a valuable system for capturing and disseminating vital performance information within your organisation. It will also look at the cultural aspects of information sharing that can help you fully exploit the data which you have spent so much effort capturing.
To download a PDF flyer, click here: Exploiting information
