Performance Scorecards using Crystal Mapping

Crystal Map Scorecards help you measure and manage your business performance. With the ability to communicate purpose and key business objectives, form links to key performance indicators (KPI's) and track progress, Crystal Map Scorecards are a highly effective way of turning performance scorecard theory into practice.

Background to Performance / Balanced Scorecard

The term 'Balanced Scorecard' and its underlying methodology was introduced in 1992 by Drs. Kaplan and Norton in an article in The Harvard Business Review. Essentially 'Balanced Scorecard' is a performance measurement process that helps companies to set up measurement systems that are not solely based upon financial metrics. Kaplan and Norton's central premise was that financial measures should be complemented by other performance indicators based on the 'Customer', 'Learning and Growth' and 'Internal' elements within the business. These would complement 'Financial' measures and provide a more complete (bigger picture) platform upon which to measure and manage your business. This approach has been adopted by many of the worlds leading organisations from Fortune 500 and FT 100 companies to major government institutions.

In 2002 Kaplan and Norton published 'Strategy Maps' as an update to their earlier thinking on balanced scorecards. Strategy Maps and an earlier publication, The Strategy Focussed Organisation by the same authors further developed their approach by adding greater clarity to the view that for balanced scorecard performance management to be totally effective, it needs to be clearly linked to strategy.

While most companies have a set of 'strategic' or key organisational objectives that the board agrees on, in most companies communication of these goals is poor. Subsequently most people in the organisation don't know what they are supposed to be focussing on. This results in few companies fully achieving their strategic goals and aims. Communication of these goals is, therefore, vital to success. Similarly, linking these overall goals and aims to performance measures is also critical.

In brief, Balanced Scorecard is fundamentally a straightforward method of managing a successful business. It is common sense to have objectives and track their performance. So why doesn't every company adopt the approach?

The main reason is that the whole process of setting up a balanced scorecard system can quickly turn into a vastly complex project. This can it some cases undermine the value of setting it up in the first place! This is where Crystal Mapping comes in.

By using Crystal Mapping to deliver Performance Scorecards you can get all the benefit with little of the cost.

How Crystal Mapping can help you implement Performance Scorecards

• Scorecards are a great way to manage business, improve returns and drive success. By focussing everyone in the team on the 'bigger picture' purpose as well as their own goals engenders team spirit and motivates individual performance. To do this you need your key company goals or 'purpose' to be clearly linked to objectives and metrics so that everyone in your team knows where the company is going and their role within it.
• The key to making this effective is for this information to be clearly communicated, 'on one page' and easily understood.
• Crystal Mapping's unique method of visualising information in an intuitively simple radiating structure where 'unity of purpose' is encompassed throughout the map, communicates these goals and delivers Scorecard KPI's in an effective and highly flexible manner.
• The purpose is always shown in direct line of sight to team and individual targets. Exception management and forecasting are key features of Crystal Mapping Performance Scorecards.
• We don't complicate things because we believe that most companies can gain a massive amount of benefit by taking incremental steps rather than by trying to do everything at once. You can achieve 80% of the value for just 20% of the cost.
• Crystal Maps can also sit on top of any existing enterprise system so there is no need to undertake any costly technical or systems changes.

We have seen companies get completely lost in balanced scorecard implementations by adopting an 'everything at once' approach and while this can work for some, it doesn't work for many.

Our approach centres on using Crystal Mapping in a three step process, with each step delivering real benefit in its own right:

1. We help you communicate purpose and key goals and aims within your organisation in a way that everyone will understand. Usually this is by mapping the organisational structure of your business and linking each departments/team objectives to the map. This doesn't mean (re)-inventing strategy or getting too caught up in the detail as most companies know what they want to achieve. Your purpose or key goal might be as simple as 'being the best' or 'growing by 10%' or 'staying profitable' - these are all good starting points for determining team and individual objectives. The point here is that you don't need to undertake a major and costly strategic review of your company to start benefiting form performance scorecards. Of course we can help you determine strategy if you need us to but we can start with what you already know to be your goals. The trick is to communicate them.
2. We then communicate individual objectives in the same structure so everyone can see 'where they fit' in the organisation, 'what their goals are' and 'how these goals' form part of the bigger picture goals and aims of the organisation.
3. We then determine key performance metrics, link them to the crystal map and track performance.

Using our unique, highly visual approach allows large, midsize and smaller organisations equally to benefit from Kaplan and Norton's great innovations in business management.

If you would like further information contact Mark Wogan or Professor Martin Clarke at info@crystalmapping.com or info@emaginating.com.