Balanced scorecards can significantly change how an organisation communicates and operates. Christian Doherty talks to Alan Sharpe, director of finance and information systems at the RSPB, about how scorecards came to the charity’s rescue.
Q: What's the background to the organisation?
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.
Q: What do you mean by breadth?
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.
“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”
Q: How does the balanced scorecard fit into your plans?
Q: What made you decide a balanced scorecard was the right tool for the RSPB?
Q: There are many other tools, so why did you choose the balanced scorecard?
Q: Is this an organisation-wide effort or simply of concern to the board?
Q: How does the scorecard work?
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.
Q: What are you hoping to achieve by implementing the scorecard?
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.
Q: Do you expect this to make you a more efficient charity?
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.
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- Knowing the score
Finance & Management Magazine, Issue 213, September 2013, p.12-13
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Update History
- 10 Sep 2013 (12: 00 AM BST)
- First published
- 12 Oct 2022 (12: 00 AM BST)
- Page updated with Further reading section, adding related resources on using the balanced scorecard. These additional eBooks and articles provide fresh insights, case studies and perspectives on this topic. Please note that the original article from 2013 has not undergone any review or updates.