Improving Business Process

One of the more challenge aspects of developing an orgainzational scorecard along the lines of the Balanced Scorecard (see posting on Balanced Scorecard) is how to set goals and metrics around improving business process. Here are several measure categories that might help you.

Simplification: this measure focuses on making production easier. It may or may not improve quality or achieve any of the other measures below, but at the very least, simplification should not decrease benefits to customers.

Cost-savings: this measure focuses on changing processes or introducing new ways of doing things that save money. Cost savings can either reduce our cost to revenue ratios or the monies saved can be reapplied to other activities.

Time-savings: this measure focuses on changing processes or introducing new ways of doing things that save time and allows time to be devoted elsewhere.

Quality Improvement: this measure focuses on identifying changes in processes and systems that result in a better product and service. Such changes may or may not meet any of the other criteria. In fact, a quality improving innovation could at times involve, for example, spending more time and/or money if doing so sufficiently increases product value to customers.

Problem Solving: this measure focuses on solving problems or issues that impact negatively on production and delivery of services. This measure could very well relate to the others listed here, but could also address barriers or issues that are separate from the others herein – for example, addressing a security or safety concern.

Decreasing Risk: this measure focuses on making changes that decrease risk to the organization and/or employees, customers, and other stakeholders.

Measuring Results

Everyone wants to do this. And everyone in the evaluation business has something to say about how to do it. So why not us too!

We believe the evaluation of results is less complicated than organizations make it. Of course, we know from experience that often evaluating our work is made cumbersome by funders and regulators, but for now let’s pretend they are not in the mix.

Here is how we approach the evaluation of results. We start with some simple questions.

1. What are you trying to accomplish for which people?
2. What are the measures that guide your work with these people?
3. What is the current benchmark of each of those measures?
4. What are your goals about surpassing the benchmark over what period of time?
5. What will indicate progress toward your goals?
6. What will you do to achieve the goals (strategies and actions) over what period of time?

Example: Answering the questions
To offer some clarity, let’s answer the questions above for a neighborhood-based employment program.