PeopleSoft is urging companies to review their approach to balanced scorecard processes, following the results of a survey conducted at the Balanced Scorecard Europe Summit 2000 in May.
"The key finding of the survey," says Jan Coetzee, MD of PeopleSoft South Africa, "was that only 13% of delegates could say they thoroughly understood Robert Kaplan and David Norton`s balanced scorecard methodology. 41% only understood `enough`, and a further 41% needed to understand more. Overall, a staggering 91% said they were dissatisfied with the level of management reporting in their organisation," explains Coetzee.
Amanda Buckley, European Business Consultant at PeopleSoft International commented, "The survey makes it clear that many businesses currently adopting or looking to adopt the balanced scorecard are not addressing some of the critical aspects of the process. PeopleSoft`s expertise in implementing the balanced scorecard can help companies adhere to the methodology of Kaplan and Norton and gain greater benefit from their investment."
Highlights of the survey included:
Lack of CEO involvement:
The PeopleSoft survey found that 40% of balanced scorecard implementations did not include buy-in or involvement from the company CEO. This is contrary to Kaplan & Norton`s methodology, which states that buy-in from the most senior decision-makers is essential.
Ignorance of internal factors:
Many companies are focusing the balanced scorecard primarily on external benefits to the company such as `new business opportunities`, which was cited as the most important factor in the survey. But, many companies are missing internal factors out of the process, such as `aligning workforce goals and compensation`. Kaplan and Norton have recently stressed the importance of considering internal factors in order to get the most balanced scorecard.
Rapid ROI:
35% of companies want to see ROI (return on investment) from the balanced scorecard within a year. A further 39% want ROI within 1-2 years. Rapid and proven ROI is clearly a critical success factor, which can be addressed by implementing PeopleSoft`s Balanced Scorecard solutions.
PeopleSoft Balanced Scorecard
PeopleSoft`s Balanced Scorecard is designed to measure strategic management effectiveness. By evaluating performance across multiple perspectives such as financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth PeopleSoft Balanced Scorecard can highlight opportunities for improvement. PeopleSoft Balanced Scorecard`s multi-tiered structures provide an integrated environment for companies to develop, report and analyse strategy offering a solution that improves organisational effectiveness and performance.
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PeopleSoft
PeopleSoft is a world leader in enterprise application software. PeopleSoft provides eBusiness applications for customer relationship management, human resource management, financials, and supply chain, along with a range of industry-specific solutions. For more than 4, 000 customers, PeopleSoft applications offer greater flexibility, rapid implementation, scalability across multiple databases and operating systems, and lower cost of ownership. Customers include some of the largest multi-national organisations in the world, as well as small- and medium-sized businesses. In addition to software, PeopleSoft offers PeopleSoft Advantage Customer Service, a comprehensive consulting, education and technical support programme. Headquartered in Pleasanton, California, PeopleSoft (www.peoplesoft.com) employs 7, 000 people and had 1999 revenues of $1.4 billion.