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How
To Collect The Best Scorecard Data
By Dennis Sommer (www.dennissommer.com)
The fundamental premise for measuring an organization
or project is to collect data directly related to the
objectives of the company. To help organizations focus
on the desired measurements, a distinction is made between
two general categories: hard data and soft data. The following
provides a description and general list data points for
each category.
Hard
Data
Hard data is the primary measurement for improvement,
presented through rational, undisputed facts that are
easily gathered. This is the most desirable type of data
to collect. The ultimate criteria for measuring the effectiveness
of management rests on hard data items such as productivity,
profitability, cost control, and quality control.
Hard data is:
1. Easy to measure and quantify
2. Relatively easy to convert to monetary measures
3. Objectively based
4. Common measures of organizational performance
5. Credible with management
Hard data
examples:
Output Related:
units produced, tons manufactured, items assembled, items
sold, sales, forms processed, loans approved, inventory
turnover, patients visited, applications processed, students
graduated, tasks completed, productivity, work backlog,
incentive bonus, shipments, new accounts generated
Time Related: cycle time, response
time for compliant, equipment downtime, overtime, average
delay time, time to project completion, processing time,
supervisory time, training time, meeting time, repair
time, efficiency, work stoppages, order response time,
late reporting, lost time days
Cost Related:
budget variances, unit costs, cost by account, variable
costs, fixed costs, overhead costs, operating costs, delay
costs, penalties and fines, project cost savings, accident
costs, program costs, sales expense, administrative costs,
average cost reduction
Quality Related:
scrap, waste, rejects, error rates, rework, shortages,
product defects, deviation from standard, product failures,
inventory adjustments, percentage of tasks completed properly,
number of accidents, customer complaints
Soft
Data
Soft data is more difficult to collect and analyze, but
can be just as effective as hard data measurements. Soft
data items include work habits, customer service, work
climate, employee development and satisfaction.
Soft data is:
1. Sometimes difficult to measure or quantify directly
2. Difficult to convert to monetary values
3. Subjectively based in many cases
4. Less credible as a performance measurement
5. Usually behaviorally oriented
Soft
data examples:
Work habit related:
absenteeism, tardiness, visits to the dispensary, first
aid treatments, violations of safety rules, number of
communication breakdowns, excessive breaks
Customer
service related: customer complaints, satisfaction,
dissatisfaction, impressions, loyalty, retention, value,
lost customers
Work climate related:
number of grievances, number of discrimination charges,
employee complaints, litigation, job satisfaction, organizational
commitment, employee turnover, attitude shifts, employee
loyalty, increased confidence
Employee
development related: number of promotions, number
of pay increases, number of training programs attended,
requests for transfer, performance appraisal ratings,
increases in job effectiveness, initiative, innovation,
implementation of new ideas, successful completion of
projects, number of suggestions implemented, setting goals
and objectives, new products and services developed, new
patents and copyrights.
About The Author
- Dennis Sommer
Dennis Sommer
is the founder and CEO of Executive Business Advisers,
a management consulting firm specializing in business
growth, sales and profit improvement. www.executivebusinessadvisers.com
Dennis helps companies increase sales revenue, reduce
sales and marketing costs, improve marketing ROI, and
drive new business growth by improving and optimizing
their sales, marketing, company strategy and financial
health.
Dennis is a highly sought after business keynote and seminar
speaker www.dennissommer.com
and author of several highly popular sales, marketing,
leadership and professional development international
articles and books www.advisersecrets.com
.
Contact Dennis at 800-627-6512.
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