Overcoming the Question that Kills Balanced Scorecards

If you're leading the development or deployment of a Balanced Scorecard framework, you must be prepared to answer this question when it inevitably comes up: "Does this mean extra work?"

I consider this to be the toughest question that you'll face because, if not answered properly every time it's asked, this question can destroy your Balanced Scorecard framework.

Are you prepared to answer it?

There are five parts of the answer and all five are necessary:

1. Because a Balanced Scorecard framework is meant to enable strategy execution -- and not for reporting -- you first need to get everyone on the executive team bought into the idea that there will be tradeoffs, prioritizing, and sequencing to determine what work will be done.  Reporting does not require tradeoffs or prioritizing (it does not include the strategic objectives telling you “why you are reporting those measures” so there is no inherent value difference between line items on a report).
      
   
2. Since the Balanced Scorecard effort is about strategy execution and not reporting, there will be “less work” on low priority objectives and “more work” on high priority objectives.
      
   
3. There are different sets of work for different levels of the organization. For lower levels of the organization, where the work happens, less work means some reporting and/or other tasks done by the front line need to stop.  The front line does not have the authority to stop work.  That call needs to come from senior management as part of the strategy execution process.
      
   
4. Be specific when talking about what “less work” means.
   • Conduct a review of current reporting from the lower level team.
   • Analyze current reporting, its level of effort to produce, its impact on regulatory or other constituents, and its link to the strategy (via the Scorecard).
   • Bring your findings to the manager of the scorecard team and anyone else that needs approval to stop specific reporting work.
   • Formally tell the team what and when they can stop reporting.
            
     
5. Be specific when talking about what “more work” means to dispel the fear of the unknown. More work will entail:
   • Conducting meetings as a front line team to talk about how you contribute to the overall strategy. (Task: scorecard cascading) (Duration: 4 hours initially, then a few minutes each month as part of the business review agenda)
   • Finding data on the measures that you agree as a team align to the strategy, plus building the measures in your Scorecard software.  For the approximately 2/3 of measures you will be able to measure in your first year of deployment, this effort will often be done by a combination of central and front line resources. (Task: scorecard building) (Duration: 2 months calendar time).
   • Spending time learning how to log in, enter project status reports, and measure variance reports in software. (Task: software training) (Duration: 1 day)
   • Entering status reports and variance reports on strategically linked projects and measures that live on their team’s balanced scorecard. (Task: routine business review preparation) (Duration: 1 hour a month).