In this excerpt from Key Performance Indicators: Developing, Implementing and Using Winning KPIs, readers will learn about reporting performance measures to upper management on a daily, weekly and monthly basis, including the benefits of key performance indicator (KPI) reports and how such reporting can help companies from an overall standpoint. Readers will also learn about the common pitfalls of executive dashboard design and see examples of how to use KPI scorecards within a company.
Measures must be reported to management in a timely fashion. As mentioned throughout this book, key performance indicators (KPIs) need to be reported 24/7, daily, or at the outside weekly; other performance measures can be reported less frequently, such as monthly and quarterly.
Daily Reporting
The main KPIs are reported 24/7 or daily. Exhibit 5.4 shows how they should be reported on the intranet—some form of table giving the contact details, the problem, and some history so a call can be made and the manager cannot hide poor performance.
EXHIBIT 5.4 Intranet-Based KPI Exception Report Example
Another benefit of providing senior management with daily/weekly information on the key performance areas is that the month-end becomes less important. In one company where there is a 9 o’clock report every morning, management holds a sweepstakes on the month-end result. Talking about the monthly numbers is a small part of the meeting, which happens in the first week of the following month. In other words, if organizations report their KPIs on a 24/7 or daily basis, management knows intuitively whether the organization is having a good or bad month.
Weekly Reporting
Some KPIs only need to be reported weekly. Exhibit 5.5 is an example of how the KPIs could be presented. Note that while all the KPIs will be graphed over time—at least 15 months—only the three KPIs showing a decline in performance would be graphed. The other two KPI graphs would be maintained and used when necessary.
EXHIBIT 5.5 Top five KPIs Weekly report xx xxxx 20xx
Monthly Reporting
Performance measures can be shown endless ways, whether in a balanced scorecard or not. Performance measures can be shown through icons, gauges, traffic lights, and so on. Exhibit 5.6 is an example of a Stephen Few dashboard.
Too often too little thought goes into the design of these management reports. A must visit for all report designers is Stephen Few’s Web site www.perceptualedge.com), where you can access, free of charge, many high-quality white papers on graphical displays.
His book on dashboard design is also highly rated.
Stephen Few’s contribution to report design is immense. His workshops, books, white papers and articles are a must attend/read for all those involved in reporting performance to the Board, senior management, staff and the general public. All reporting of winning KPIs and other performance measures is vastly improved if one adopts his design techniques in all forms of balanced scorecard reporting.
Few has come up with a very useful list of 11 common pitfalls in dashboard design:
Each one of these pitfalls is explained in detail in his white paper on the topic.
Team Balance Scorecards
Exhibit 5.7 is an example of a team scorecard using Excel. Excel is a useful tool to design and test a template before a more robust and integrated solution is sourced.
Some providers supply graphs, help you develop them, and then charge by usage. One such provider is Ergometrics
Exhibit 5.8 presents another speedometer report. Exhibit 5.9 explains how the graphs in Exhibit 5.8 are interpreted.
EXHIBIT 5.7 Team Scorecard Designed in Excel Example
EXHIBIT 5.8 Team Speedometer Report
EXHIBIT 5.9 How One Company Has Made the Speedometer Give More Information
It is a good idea to have some form of monthly icon report for staff, a report that would not be damaging to the organization if it found its way to a competitor. Icon reports are ideal, as they tell you what is good, what is adequate, and what needs to be improved without giving away core data. Exhibit 5.10 is an example of an icon staff report that covers the CSFs and reminds staff about the strategies.
EXHIBIT 5.10 Icon Report for Staff Example
Key Performance Indicators (KPI): Developing, Implementing, and Using Winning KPIs, 2nd Edition, 2010.
Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
By David Parmenter
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31 Mar 2010