Performance Monitoring and Evaluation

One of the distinguishing traits of leading-edge organisations be they public or private has been the successful application of performance measurement to gain insight into, and make judgments about, the organisation and the effectiveness and efficiency of its programs, processes, and people. However, leading organisations do not stop at the gathering and analysis of performance data; rather, these organisations use performance measurement to drive improvements and successfully translate strategy into action. In other words, they use performance measurement for managing their organisations.

The Soft Touch Team in association with other industry stalwarts researched, designed, produced, and will facilitate implementation of the system, processes and procedures necessary to meet the your organisational objectives of an effective performance measurement and management system in an ever-changing business or service delivery environment. Soft Touch and its Associate partners found that there were certain attributes which set apart successful performance measurement and management systems, including:

•          A conceptual framework is needed for the performance measurement and management system. Every organisation, regardless of type, needs a clear and cohesive performance measurement framework that is understood by all levels of the organisation and that supports objectives and the collection of results.

•          Effective internal and external communications are the keys to successful performance measurement. Effective communication with employees, process owners, customers, and stakeholders is vital to the successful development and deployment of performance measurement and management systems.

•          Accountability for results must be clearly assigned and well-understood. High-performance organisations clearly identify what it takes to determine success and make sure that all managers and employees understand what they are responsible for in achieving organisational goals.

•          Performance measurement systems must provide intelligence for decision makers, not just compile data. Performance measures should be limited to those that relate to strategic organisational goals and objectives, and that provide timely, relevant, and concise information for use by decision makers at all levels to assess progress toward achieving predetermined goals. These measures should produce information on the efficiency with which resources are transformed into goods and services, on how well results compare to a program's intended purpose, and on the effectiveness of organisational activities and operations in terms of their specific contribution to program objectives.

•          Compensation rewards, and recognition should be linked to performance measurements. Performance evaluations and rewards need to be tied to specific measures of success, by linking financial and nonfinancial incentives directly to performance. Such a linkage sends a clear and unambiguous message to the organisation as to what's important.

•          Performance measurement systems should be positive, not punitive. The most successful performance measurement systems are not got you systems, but learning systems that help the organisation identify what works and what does not so as to continue with and improve on what is working and repair or replace what is not working.

•          Results and progress toward program commitments should be openly shared with employees, customers, and stakeholders. Performance measurement system information should be openly and widely shared with an organisations employees, customers, stakeholders, vendors, and suppliers.

The Balanced Scorecard Approach

Leading organisations agree on the need for a structured methodology for using performance measurement information to help set agreed-upon performance goals, allocate and prioritise resources, confirm or change current policy or program directions to meet those goals, and report on the success in meeting those goals. The Soft Touch team has identified the balanced scorecard methodology as our preferred methodology for deploying strategic direction, communicating expectations, and measuring progress towards agreed-to objectives.

The balanced scorecard is a conceptual framework for translating an organisations strategic objectives into a set of performance indicators distributed among four perspectives: Customer perspective, Internal Business Processes perspective, Learning and Growth perspective and Financial perspective. Some indicators are maintained to measure an organisation's progress toward achieving its vision; other indicators are maintained to measure the long term drivers of success. Through the balanced scorecard, an organisation monitors both its current performance (finance, customer satisfaction, and business process results) and its efforts to improve processes, motivate and educate employees, and enhance information systems and its ability to learn and improve.

Soft Touch Credo

We are in a position to help you become a High Performance Organisation however we cannot do it alone, with your belief and desire for change we can do it together. 

Performance Monitoring and Evaluation

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