How Effective Are Your Systems and Can You Even Tell?

It is one thing to have processes in place, and it is quite another to actually know if they are effective or not.  See, all too often processes are developed and documented and then  filed away and never referred to again.  As a result, over time the process gets diluted and we start developing habits in the way we do certain things and it may actually be in total contradiction to the way the process is supposed to work.  This can be especially true if you’re trying to manage a remote team where you have employees or contractors spread across several locations.

So, how do you manage the processes with your system to know that they are effective and doing what they are supposed to do?  The answer is simple.  Develop a management reporting scorecard so that you can monitor and track the performance of your systems.  Or better still, get the person who runs the system to create it for you since they are the expert in it.

A Management Reporting Scorecard is a one page document (excel is best) that captures they key metrics and measures of a particular system, and it tracks them over time.  For example you might have a system that revolves around creating websites for clients.  Within that system there would exist several processes, such as getting the client details of what they require, creation of the website, communication with the client, website updates and tweaks, and delivery of the final product.  Each of these processes should have at least one key metric associated with them to measure the effectiveness of how well the process is performing.  Take the process of getting client details. 

Key metrics associated with this process could be number of new clients for the month, number who have provided details of what they require, the number of clients who have not provided the details of what they require because they have not been contacted, and the number that are in progress who have been contacted where you are waiting for their details.  Other metrics could include the time between receiving their detailed requirements to the time it takes to start on their website, and the number of days or hours spent doing client website development for that month.

The only way to report on these metrics is to have processes that support them, because from a reporting perspective and from the business owners perspective, you want to see that you are consistent.  Because in business, one of the things that people are buying is consistency and to have consistency, you must have the systems and processes in place and you must be able to measure them.

Who uses a Management Reporting Scorecard?  Anyone who doesn’t have the time to get caught up in the detail of processes and systems can benefit from using Management Reporting Scorecards to help them to monitor and track how well they are performing and meeting customer needs.

What’s the best way to create one?  Simply by having your processes documented and ensuring that they are followed by those who are carrying out the process is a good start.  Create your Management Reporting Scorecard using the traffic lights of green, amber and red.  Green indicating that everything is on track, amber indicating that things are in progress and being followed up, but are not urgent, and red indicating that there is an issue that needs immediate attention.

A Management Reporting Scorecard is a key reporting tool that every business owner should use, and if you don’t have the time to create one yourself, but you have all the systems and processes in place, then get your subject matter experts to create it for you.  It will allow you understand exactly how effectively your processes are performing and where there are potential areas for improvement, if you find that something is continually in the red.