When to create a balanced scorecard?
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 4:02 am
So when is the right time to build a balanced scorecard for your company? It's an important question because timing can significantly influence whether you choose the right strategic planning and management tool .
It's not about a specific date on the calendar, but about recognizing the signs that indicate your company is ready to benefit from the framework. Here are some signs that it may be time to start creating a balanced scorecard:
You struggle to align your team's daily activities with your strategic goals : A balanced scorecard helps bridge this gap by translating high-level objectives into measurable actions.
You find it difficult to monitor your company's performance in multiple areas: The balanced scorecard provides a complete picture covering financial aspects, customer satisfaction, internal processes, and learning and growth
You find it difficult to communicate your strategy effectively : The balanced scorecard serves as a communication tool, helping everyone in your company understand and work toward shared goals.
You're not getting the expected results from your strategic initiatives : A balanced scorecard can help you track progress toward your goals, identify areas where you're falling short, and make necessary adjustments.
What to include in a balanced scorecard?
Building a balanced scorecard requires careful consideration of key elements across four critical business sales marketing directors manager email list perspectives. Each of these perspectives must be clearly defined and measured to ensure progress toward your strategic objectives is tracked.
Here is a simple breakdown of the key elements of a typical balanced scorecard:
Objectives : These are high-level goals that define what the organization intends to achieve strategically. For example, Becoming an internationally recognized brand . Typically, all companies have between 10 and 15 strategic objectives.
Goals : These are more specific, measurable and time-bound goals that make up the broader strategic objectives. For the objective in the previous point, a goal would be to increase sales in foreign markets by 15% for the coming year. There are usually more goals than objectives.
Metrics : Metrics or indicators help evaluate whether objectives are being strategically achieved. An example of an indicator would be the total value of international sales. Each objective can have one or two measures, with a total of between 15 and 25 measures at the corporate level.
Initiatives : These are action programs designed to meet objectives. They may be called projects, actions, or activities outside the context of the balanced scorecard. Typically, organizations have about two initiatives underway for each objective, for a total of between 5 and 15 strategic initiatives.
Action Items : These tasks arise from review meetings and are delegated to individuals or small teams. Although they are not part of the balanced scorecard framework, they are an integral part of the overall management process and contribute to the achievement of key initiatives in a timely and organized manner.
It's not about a specific date on the calendar, but about recognizing the signs that indicate your company is ready to benefit from the framework. Here are some signs that it may be time to start creating a balanced scorecard:
You struggle to align your team's daily activities with your strategic goals : A balanced scorecard helps bridge this gap by translating high-level objectives into measurable actions.
You find it difficult to monitor your company's performance in multiple areas: The balanced scorecard provides a complete picture covering financial aspects, customer satisfaction, internal processes, and learning and growth
You find it difficult to communicate your strategy effectively : The balanced scorecard serves as a communication tool, helping everyone in your company understand and work toward shared goals.
You're not getting the expected results from your strategic initiatives : A balanced scorecard can help you track progress toward your goals, identify areas where you're falling short, and make necessary adjustments.
What to include in a balanced scorecard?
Building a balanced scorecard requires careful consideration of key elements across four critical business sales marketing directors manager email list perspectives. Each of these perspectives must be clearly defined and measured to ensure progress toward your strategic objectives is tracked.
Here is a simple breakdown of the key elements of a typical balanced scorecard:
Objectives : These are high-level goals that define what the organization intends to achieve strategically. For example, Becoming an internationally recognized brand . Typically, all companies have between 10 and 15 strategic objectives.
Goals : These are more specific, measurable and time-bound goals that make up the broader strategic objectives. For the objective in the previous point, a goal would be to increase sales in foreign markets by 15% for the coming year. There are usually more goals than objectives.
Metrics : Metrics or indicators help evaluate whether objectives are being strategically achieved. An example of an indicator would be the total value of international sales. Each objective can have one or two measures, with a total of between 15 and 25 measures at the corporate level.
Initiatives : These are action programs designed to meet objectives. They may be called projects, actions, or activities outside the context of the balanced scorecard. Typically, organizations have about two initiatives underway for each objective, for a total of between 5 and 15 strategic initiatives.
Action Items : These tasks arise from review meetings and are delegated to individuals or small teams. Although they are not part of the balanced scorecard framework, they are an integral part of the overall management process and contribute to the achievement of key initiatives in a timely and organized manner.