Case Study 6 - Using a Cascading Scorecard Process to deploy Strategy

The Business

Large multinational organisation, with more than 30 operating sites spread across three continents.

The Problem

The leadership team had created a Strategic Plan document to provide guidance and direction to the business.  Despite being issued to all management in a communication briefing, few people were aware of it, and it was not being actively used to set business priorities.

 The Approach

A cascading balanced scorecard approach was used to deploy the strategy throughout the business such that it would be seen, understood and acted on by everyone in the organisation.

Details

  • Working with the business communications team, the Strategy document was translated into a simple one-page scorecard. This was translated into all the native languages in the business, printed in poster form and distributed throughout the organisation. 
  • Blank templates were then created, using the same look-and-feel, and issued to all site and functional management teams. All managers were required to create their own version of the scorecard...showing how their local initiatives and targets fitted with and supported the overall strategic direction.  A team of facilitators, one for each geographic region, were provided to help the management teams complete their scorecards. They were encouraged to develop them in consultation with their direct reports and support managers.
  • Final versions of the site and functional scorecards were collated and made public on an intranet site.  The key strategic themes were repeated in a number of business communication documents so they were continually reinforced.
  • The scorecard process was integrated with the HR performance management process to create a direct link from the business strategy to individual performance metrics.

The Results

This process gave the strategy much higher visibility in the business, and gave the leadership team a direct mechanism for translating strategy into initiatives and performance measures. 

Those managers that took a collaborative approach to the development of their scorecards gained significant benefits from the process. They were able to better prioritise their initiatives and create alignment within their teams and with their peers. 

The scorecard provided a framework for robust discussions about what people should be doing...and importantly, what they should not be doing.