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Balanced Scorecard template

Balanced Scorecard software with all the power and familiarity of Microsoft Excel

Measure what matters most

Your strategic planning team uses a Balanced Scorecard to define a set of measures that provide a balanced overall view of the performance of an organization and sub-teams within it.

This simple Excel template comes with:

X-Matrix template

 

Balanced Scorecard template

Sample Balanced Scorecard Example

Balanced Scorecard Terminology

Column Headings

Here are the (pop-up help) explanations for each of the headers on your Balanced Scorecard template.

Objectives — What are we trying to accomplish?

Measures — How will we measure our success?

Targets — What are our goals? (Using our chosen measures)

Action Programs — (optional)

If there are any action programs directly impacting this objective, they can be listed here.

Policy Deployment Matrix

There is not a one-to-one correlation between Objectives and Action Programs.

Some Objectives might not have any Action Programs, while others might have several.

A single Action Program might directly impact several Objectives.

A very clear way to correlate Objectives, Measures, Targets, and Action Programs is by using your Policy Deployment Matrix template. (XMatrix.xlsx)

Recipients — Who should receive this communication?

Means of Communication — How will we communicate the results of what we are measuring?

Examples: Perhaps post printed Measures Scorecards in public places, email list, newsletter, web site…

Be sure to define the frequency of updates.

Responsible Team Member — The person responsible for publishing the communication

Accountable Executive — The Executive accountable for monitoring and ensuring performance

Results Status — How are we doing?

Tip: You might want to hide the 'Results Status' column when you publish your printed scorecard, and only use it in your online version.

Or you might move the column, so that results are right next to the measures and targets.

Section Headings

In Robert Kaplan's classic book, 'The Balanced Scorecard', he suggests organizing your strategic objectives into the following 4 categories:

  1. Financial perspective
  2. Customer's perspective
  3. Internal Business Process perspective
  4. Organizational Learning & Growth perspective

Since there is so much overlap between the Customer's perspective and the Internal processes needed to support those customer needs, some strategic planning teams have found it less confusing and more concise to combine these into a single heading area:

Customer and Internal Business Processes Perspective.

Of course, your team can agree to use any section headings you want.

 


How to use your

Balanced Scorecard template

Find and open your template

Find and open your Balanced Scorecard Excel template

(BalancedScore.xlsx)

in the same way that you find and open your other 150+ Systems2win templates.

Excel Ribbon bar > Systems2win menu

Save your working document

following the usual document storage and naming conventions established by your leaders

Open a Blank Sheet

When you're ready to start doing your own real work...

click the button to 'Open a Blank Sheet'

Excel Ribbon > Systems2win tab > Open a Blank Sheet

This blank sheet is where you will do your real work

(not on the Sample sheet — which gives you sample data that is extremely helpful for learning how to use your new tool, but is the wrong place to do your real work)

Systems2win menu > Open a BlankSheet

Rename your new sheet.

If English is not your preferred language

Switch to your language, just like every Systems2win Excel template.


Now your team is ready to start using your

Balanced Scorecard Excel template

Strategic Planning at the highest level

Step 1) Ensure that each participant comes well prepared

Distribute your Systems2win Strategic Planning Worksheets

to the highest-level person responsible for each area of responsibility with instructions to bring their filled-in worksheets to the strategic planning session(s) to serve as well-considered and well-documented starting points for discussion (and revision & improvement) of strategies that require the understanding and support of inter-related departments and functional areas of responsibility.

Step 2) Go through your agreed-upon strategic planning process

Ideally, your team will continuously experiment with and continuously improve your approaches to strategic planning.

 

With each strategic planning cycle,

encourage your people to return (again and again)

to the Hansei questions to stimulate Lean Thinking.

Time to reflect

 

Step 3) Agree upon a set of Balanced Strategic Measures

There should usually be only 1-7 Strategic Objectives per Section heading, with 1-3 Measures each.

Follow the link in your Balanced Scorecard template to open the PDF that gives your team a long list of idea starters for different types of measures that other teams have found useful for each of the Balanced Scorecard section headings.

The process is as important as the results

The way your team goes about working together is as important as your strategic planning deliverables

Pay attention to the ways that your people work together to come to agreements for how to:

  1. Brainstorm many possible ideas
  2. Clarify, consolidate, and improve upon ideas
  3. Narrow your alternatives
  4. Come to final decisions
    for the few strategic objectives that you all agree to commit to accomplish

When your decisions have been made, document your team's decisions using your Balanced Scorecard template.

Step 4) Create your highest-level Hoshin Plan

To further clarify and communicate responsibilities for implementation of agreed-upon strategic initiatives, create your top-level Hoshin Plan Policy Deployment Matrix.

Step 5) Publish your results

Publish your strategic planning deliverables where they can be found and referenced by all stakeholders.

Your strategic planning deliverables usually consist of...

  1. Your Hoshin Plan X Matrix

    created using your XMatrix.xlsx template

  2. Your Strategic Plan

    created using your StrategicPlan.docx template

  3. Your Balanced Scorecard

    created using your BalancedScore.xlsx template

Note: Because your X Matrix Hoshin Plan contains the most important elements of your Balanced Scorecard, it is not uncommon to publish, promote, and reference that one simpler document.

Departmental Scorecards

Once your highest-level executives have completed your top-level Hoshin Plan,

then (if your organization is large enough to justify it), each Department will create their own Departmental Scorecards

(following a process very similar to the Strategic Scorecard instructions - but at a departmental level)

Each Department should maintain its own Balanced Measures Scorecard and/or X Matrix,

defining its own Departmental Objectives & Measures designed to support the company-wide Strategic Objectives & Measures

Start with the Strategic objectives and initiatives for which your department is (at least partially) responsible.

Then go through an agreed-upon catchball process

for the leaders of your department or functional area of responsibility to come up with an approved Policy Deployment Matrix (and perhaps Balanced Scorecard) for your team

Then publish and display your Departmental X Matrix where your team members will actually look at it often

thereby accomplishing the primary objectives of a Balanced Measures Scorecard...

to keep strategic goals visible and 'always in mind' as everyone goes about their daily tasks, knowing very clearly how their work inter-relates with the shared strategic mission that everyone else is also working together to accomplish


Strategic Targets are the links between PDCA and your Strategic Plan

Also see the online training for how to manage to a Strategic Challenge


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