Performance management - Knowing the score

A: The RSPB is a 130-year-old charity. Birds and their habitat are our focus, and we have over one million members. Growth over the past decade has been slower than we might have wished for – it’s understandable given the economy and the rest of the pressures people are under.

Over the past two or three years we’ve seen a change at board level after a long period of stability. And those changes have caused us to reflect on what we have achieved and our vision for the future. We concluded that to remain an enduring force for nature, we need to continue to build support for us and for nature. This is important for funding our work but also to help ensure nature is on the agenda at all levels of government; and indeed for all decision-makers. It was clear from the outset that RSPB’s strategy would have greater breadth than ever before.

A: Most people’s interest in nature goes way beyond birds, which is a happy coincidence because the work we already do on our nature reserves (and elsewhere) benefits all wildlife that depend on the habitats we protect – we simply haven’t always done a great job in telling people.

We quickly realised a triple win was within our grasp; first and foremost, we could do more for all nature - but in doing so we could also provide added interest for our supporters and growth for RSPB.

Partnerships with like-minded organisations have always been important but become even more so if between us we are to realise our vision for the natural world.

A: We knew we would need a reporting tool that reflected the breadth of our new strategy, but we wanted something that went beyond simply reporting. We were struck by the idea of giving our staff ‘line of sight’; a fancy way of saying we wanted everyone to be able to see how their job contributes to the overall vision of the organisation. The balanced scorecard seemed to fit the bill.

There is a perception that it’s a backward-looking tool – and indeed it is; a very effective one. Equally important to us is that it forces deep thinking about all the things you need to be good and which ones are the most important. This should make it a valuable tool when it comes to prioritisation and allocating resources. It also helps towards giving that all important line of sight.

A: We are nothing if not opportunistic – a charity has to be. When Judge Business School in Cambridge asked if we could assist them in finding practical ways in which students could apply their experience and newly-acquired skills we were more than happy to oblige. A small group was duly assigned to the task and they did a thoroughly professional job; understanding the brief, identifying the options and weighing up the pros and cons. They presented their findings to a senior RSPB team and of the six or so options considered, concluded that the balanced scorecard was the best fit for the RSPB. We concurred.

A: It has to be widely-owned or it won’t work to its full potential. Design and implementation at RSPB was a joint effort of directors and senior managers and involved broad consultation. One thing we learned was that the term ‘Balanced Scorecard’ was itself a barrier, so staff were invited to suggest alternatives and the ‘Save Nature Scorecard’ was adopted instead.

A: If you haven’t got a good strategy then you can’t have a good scorecard. Those involved in design must have a clear understanding of what success looks like and all agree. The next part is the fun bit. We needed to think long and hard about everything that needs to fall into place to achieve our strategic outcomes – and to be prepared for surprises.

Spend a day in any part of RSPB and you will hear fascinating stories about our work. It was only when we worked through the scorecard we truly realised how important it is to have an efficient process for relaying topical stories to those whose job involves winning hearts and minds.

We eventually settled on a scorecard comprising 16 priority areas grouped under three main strategic drivers – covering broadly ‘Excelling at Nature Conservation’, ‘Growing Support for Nature’ and the ‘Way we Work Together’.

Some would say this is too many and they may be right. The one consistent piece of advice received from those who have trodden this path before us is not to allow perfection to become the enemy of the good. Designing the ‘perfect’ scorecard could take forever and it still wouldn’t work. The strong recommendation is to get something up and running and be prepared to adapt in light of experience.

So far so good, but then came the tough stuff; finding ways of objectively measuring progress in each area. We could not have achieved this without consultation. In some cases adequate measures already existed but several have had to be developed from scratch, paying particular attention to outcomes and impact rather than simply to outputs: if you want to be effective, make sure you measure the effects. The close involvement of those who are to manage and to be managed by these measures is essential, working alongside analysts who understand how to present and communicate the data that underpins the measures. As RSPB has only recently completed this stage, we hesitate to offer tips – but ensuring measures are objective, can be efficiently produced and easily understood would seem to be a good place to start.

A: Many things. Obviously more balanced reporting and greater focus on the things that really matter. I would expect it to play a role in resource allocation – but it probably needs further refinement before serving this purpose well. To me, one of the most important roles in the short term is to help communicate the strategy throughout the organisation.

I hope also that our scorecard helps us understand and communicate our effectiveness, essential at a time of a growing public appetite for accountability and transparency.

A: Yes. If it provides staff and volunteers with a clear and balanced picture of what we need to do to succeed – and of our progress, then it will help us to make better and faster decisions.

Change almost always raises concerns: will it work and what will it mean to me? The involvement of a large number of people at the design stage should help us to overcome these – but yes, there will be some who worry that it will deflect us from important conservation work. This raises an important point – how to let go of some of our existing reporting processes to avoid wasteful duplication.

We will need to listen out for these and other concerns, be prepared to make changes and above all, remain focused on the prize of greater efficiency – and of course, more nature conservation.

• Knowing the score
  Finance & Management Magazine, Issue 213, September 2013, p.12-13

Further reading into using the balanced scorecard is available through the eBooks and articles below.

These resources are available to ICAEW members and ACA students.