session 8 balanced scorecard and communication protocol · capabilities and customer relationships...

Session 8

Balanced Scorecard

and

Communication Protocol

Session 8 © The Employee Engagement Group All rights reserved

8-1

How to Create a Successful Balanced Scorecard

What is a Balanced Scorecard

The balanced scorecard is a concept and tool first conceived by by Robert Kaplan and David Norton. The

balanced scorecard idea debuted in the Harvard Business Review in 1992.

"The balanced scorecard retains traditional financial measures. But financial measures tell the story of

past events, an adequate story for industrial age companies for which investments in long-term

capabilities and customer relationships were not critical for success. These financial measures are

inadequate, however, for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make

to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and

innovation."

It allows managers a tool on which view critical operational factors and their inter-relationships with current and

future performance in mind.

When developing your Balanced Scorecard, the focus should be on organizational vision and long-term success,

not on control and compliance (see ‘Recommendations for Success’ in this document.

The Process for Developing a Balanced Scorecard

• Get enthusiastic support and commitment from top management

• Carefully design the design team

• Cross-representation

• Get your IT support on

board early

• Determine what the true drivers of

performance are

• Enlightening process

• Defines the “heart” of the

organization

• Focus in on ‘cause and

effect’ relationships

• Determining how to measure (would

you like that in pounds, inches, pieces or adjectives?)

• Identify the design and functionality criteria?

• Create consistent definitions

Rolling Out Your Balanced Scorecard

• Create a Communication Plan – let people know why it’s there and how to use it

• Avoid an “identity crisis”

• Conduct a training session or at least an overview and tour for all employee


8-2

Maintaining Your Balanced Scorecard

• On-going investment will be different in every organization

• Constant communication and integration with internal processes

• IT resources to update and maintain

Keeping the Balanced Scorecard Vibrant

• Reference the Balanced Scorecard in monthly CEO communication

• See information on Communication Protocol for more information about CEO communications

• Use the information and, if possible, the live tool in the quarterly operations review

• Create a prominent place for the tool on your intranet

• Link from home page – make it easy to access

• Make the scorecard page your default intranet home page (at least for a while)

• Point employees to the Balanced Scorecard page instead of answering their questions

• If they want to know something that is on the Balanced Scorecard, refer them (even if you know

the answer)

• Empower them to find their own answers

• Communicate positive trends visible on scorecard, as well as negative trends as an “early warning

system”

Recommendations for Success

• Before anything else, seek management buy-in!

• Make sure someone owns it – it is best to have one person own and be responsible for the project

• Keep the Balanced Scorecard simple and focused

• Think one screen and one page

• Metrics (drivers) have to be aligned with goals, especially at company level.

• Answer the question: What will fulfill the mission of the organization?

• Include the Balanced Scorecard link in as many communications and activities as possible or

conceivable. Get it in front of the employees at every opportunity, especially as it is rolled out

• Numbers are the drivers of the Balanced Scorecard but pictures are essential for effective communication

and ongoing use

• Establish meaningful benchmarks/ comparisons to historical data

• Make it relevant and understandable to all employees

• When trends go south – engage employees in correcting the course (it’s about vision and long-term

success)

• Treat it as a learning tool – not a control tool!


8-3

To Buy or to Build your Balanced Scorecard

Buy

Build

Pros • Off the shelf ready

• Professional look and feel

• May include design support

• List other pros to buying you can think of below

• Design and customize to your specific needs

• Ties easily to your data

• Changes done quickly at a minimum cost

• List other pros to building you can think of below:

Cons • Maintenance comes from the outside

• Difficult to customize

• Programming changes can be expensive

• Needs tied to costs

• List other cons to buying you can think of below:

• Significant investment of IT resources

• May not have the professional look and feel

• Longer development time

• List other cons to building you can think of below:


8-4

Establish a Communication Protocol

Companies need to minimize communication gaps, build alignment with all levels of leadership, and ensure that

employees receive consistent messages.

The Communication Protocol outlines the types of information to be communicated to the organization, as well as

identifying the person(s) responsible for communicating particular topics. In addition, the audience, frequency,

and suggested communication vehicles are also outlined. Prominently displayed in all common areas such as

lobby’s and conferences, and distributed to all new hires, the Protocol ensures that communications will align with

the company’s key strategic priorities.

As importantly, the Protocol represents a set of company commitments to employees:

▪ Leaders will be held accountable for fulfilling their communication responsibilities and assessed on the

effectiveness and timeliness of their communication.

▪ Employees will receive regular updates about the progress, initiatives, and changes that affect them.

▪ And (most importantly for this step of the engagement process), each communication milestone provides

opportunities for employees to ask questions, contribute ideas, and give or receive feedback.

In turn, the expectations for employees are clear. All employees are responsible to share information and give

feedback to help the company reach its goals, thereby reinforcing the desire for employees to communicate “up”

and bolstering the mutual commitment shared by employer and employee.

A Communication Protocol will reinforce that one’s culture needs to be one of mutual commitment and high

performance. All new hires should receive a copy of the Protocol, demonstrating the company’s promise to

communicate on day one.


8-5

Goals of a Communication Protocol

• Establish Communication Expectations

• Build consistent messaging

• Create alignment with employees at all levels

• Create circular communication

• Build shared accountability (from the top to bottom)

• Reinforce a culture of achievement

• Minimize duplicate work

• Reinforce key messages “13 times”

• Leverage different communication venues and tools

Keys to a Successful Communication Protocol

• Begin by creating one presentation template from the office of the CEO

• Include the key elements of your strategic plan. Examples:

o Profit

o Growth

o Engagement

o Etc.

• Support with a Balanced Scorecard

• Link with your strategic plan and update annually

• Post in all public areas

• Give to all new hires

© The Employee Engagement Group

Session 8 All rights reserved

8-6

Sample Communication Protocol

Scope Message/Topic Leader Venue Audience Frequency

General Info

Corporate

Company Update:

-Review of Company Metrics (e.g.,

health & safety performance to

plan, net sales growth, etc.)

-Recent Awards/Opportunities

-Organizational Development

Update

-International News

-Recognition

CEO Email All

Employees Monthly

Regional

Quarterly Review Meeting to

include:

-Review of Company Metrics

-BD Review (inc. recent awards)

-Recognition


Update

Regional

VP

On-site,

conference

call, or WebX

meetings

All employees

of the region Quarterly

Office

Office Update:

-Review of Key Metrics (e.g.

performance to plan, net sales

growth, etc.)

-Recent Awards/Opportunities

-Workload leveling


Update

-Recognition

Office

Manager

On-site,

conference

call, or WebX

meetings

All employees

of Office Quarterly/Monthly

Department

Workload leveling:

-Recent Wins Proposal Activity

-Professional Developmental

Opportunities

-Health & Safety

-Recognition

Dept. Mgr. On-site

meetings

All employees

of department Weekly/Bi-weekly



8-7


General Info

Corporate Company Update CEO Conference

Call

Sr. Mgt.

Team Bi-weekly

Corporate Strategy Update

CEO On-site

meetings

Sr. Mgt.

Team Quarterly

Regional

Operations Review:

-Performance vs. Plan

-Key Account Update

-Strategic Initiatives

-Staff Development Update

CEO

On-site

meeting or

conference

call

EVP, CFO,

Sr. VP Sales,

RVPs, Office

Managers

Bi-annual

Sales

Corporate Must Win Sr. VP

Sales

Conference

Call

RVPs, RSDs,

KAMs Bi-weekly

Regional

Regional BD Review:

-BD Plan Review

-Account Plan Review

-Sales Training

RSD Conference

Call

CSCMs,

KAMs Monthly

CSC CSC BD Review

CSCM On-site

meeting

DMs, Sr.

Seller-Doers Bi-weekly

Corporate

Service Line/Industry Sectors

- Bookings and Sales Trends

- Overall Performance

- Key Wins

- Professional Development

Opportunities

Applicable

Leader Email/Intranet

All

Employees Quarterly



8-8

Other Communication

Corporate

Professional Development

Calendar and Employer of Choice

Committee Updates

EVP-OD Email, OD

Quarterly

All

Employees Bi-weekly

Corporate Indirect Labor Team

VP-Quality Email

All

Employees Quarterly


Corporate

Organizational Development

Update HR and IS

Depts.

"OD

Quarterly"

Newsletter

All

Employees Quarterly

Corporate "Inside Company" Mktg.

Dept.

Email All

Employees

Bi-weekly


Board of Directors

BOD

-Performance to plan

-Forecast

-Sales & Marketing

CEO On-site

meeting

BOD

Members &

Guests

Quarterly

BOD

Bi-weekly Shareholder Update

CEO Conference

Call

Shareholders,

CEO, EVP,

CFO

Bi-weekly

Information Dynamic

© The Employee Engagement Group 8-9 Session 8 All rights reserved

Example: Strategic Communications


Example: Tactical Communications

Wh

at

an

d h

ow

we’r

e d

oin

g


Example: Tactical Communication


Example: Tactical Communication

Wh

at

an

d h

ow

we’r

e d

oin

g


Thought-Provoking Questions:

1. What are your specific strategic and tactical elements?

2. What opportunities will staff have to communicate up?

3. How will this tool build alignment?

4. How will you leverage social media

5. How will people delivering the message be held accountable?

Message Who Delivers Venue Audience Frequency


Creating a Communication Protocol (Part 1)

Imagine you are sitting with your CEO – what are the 4 key elements that he/she would want to communicate to the organization? In the form below, write the:

• Message or key topic

• Venue – how it’s delivered

• Audience – who receives this directly (does it go to all employees, high level management, etc?)

• Frequency – how often will the message go out (will the CEO commit to this time table?)



Creating a Communication Protocol (Part 2)

Look at the next level down from the CEO (Director, VP, Department Leader, etc.)? What messages or key topics should this level communicate and how does it tie

to the CEO message?

In the form below, write the:



• Audience – who receives this directly (does it go to all employees, next level only, etc?)


•



Creating a Communication Protocol (Part 3) Look at two levels down from the CEO (this could be line managers, department managers, or even supervisors)? What messages or key topics should this level

communicate and how does it tie to the CEO message?

In the form below, write the:



• Audience – who receives this directly (does it go to all employees, next level only, etc?)



© The Employee Engagement Group 8-17 Session 8 Session 8 All rights reserved

Keeping your Protocol Vibrant

• Reference in monthly CEO communication

• Keep the same sequence

• Leverage the same template where and when possible

• Use social media in partnership with other forms

• Update annually

• Show communication graphically where possible

• Maintain ongoing communication using a balanced scorecard

Action Plan

And

Pre-Work

Session 8 Action Plan © The Employee Engagement Group All Rights Reserved.

Use additional pages if needed. Please finish all sections and be prepared to discuss during session 9

1

Session 8 Action Plan Create a draft Communication Protocol addressing 3 levels from the CEO down.

Level 1 (CEO, C-Suite)


Level 2


Level 3


Pre-© The Employee Engagement Group All Rights Reserved Work Session 9

Use additional pages if needed

Please finish all sections and be prepared to discuss during session 9

1

Session 9 Pre-work

1. What % of your population is eligible for bonuses?________________________%

2. What % of bonuses paid are based on:

How are each of these results measured?

% based on qualitative results

__________________%

% based on quantitative results

__________________%

3. What types of ongoing reward / recognition programs to you have in your organization? Ongoing reward

/recognition programs might include:

• Employee of the month

• Spot bonuses (cash for outstanding work)

• Gift cards

• Time off

session 8 balanced scorecard and communication protocol · capabilities and customer relationships...

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