Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
Webcast: In the Google Apps Cloud: How to Achieve Your Business Objectives
Dec 3rd, '09, 1 - 2 pm US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Council member Brent Hoag, Director, Global IT, at JohnsonDiversey, as he discusses the adoption of Google Apps which has helped meet four corporate goals; sustainability, simplification, increased employee productivity and global collaboration.
Webcast: Collaboration Initiatives: Benchmarks & Best Practices
Dec 15th, '09, 4 - 5 pm US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Council members Ruth Thorpe, VP & CIO at the U.S. Pharmaceutical Operations of Sanofi-Aventis, and Gary Kuyper, CIO at Bethany Christian Services, as they speak about their collaboration initiatives and experiences in how and why they chose the social networking and collaboration tools they are using and their business goals for collaboration, and facing culture change challenges.
Data Overview: Collaboration Initiatives Field Guide: Benchmarks & Best Practices
This appendix to the Council Field Guide provides an analysis which discusses benchmarks for collaboration IT implementation costs, adoption rates and payoffs. The overview identifies top IT and business goals and satisfaction rates for collaboration initiatives as well as best practices and lessons learned for implementing collaboration IT.
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Generally, the edict comes from the top-the CEO, who, with his or her team, develops top-level corporate objectives for the balanced scorecard. The CEO then appoints either the CIO or the Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) to spearhead not only those corporate objectives and measurements but also department and individual objectives and measurements.
Start at the top, and define both corporate objectives and business unit targets, advises Louis Carter, CEO of Best Practice Institute in North Palm Beach, Fla. For example, a goal may be to double the corporate value in seven years; that requires defining that value. Or you may want to increase your earnings by an average of 20 percent per year. Specific business unit targets are devised in the same way, always using focus groups that comprise both stakeholders and users whenever possible. Then get down to individual measures.
According to the Balanced Scorecard Institute, it consists of multiple steps:
The problem with these tools is that every organization is unique, as are every organization's needs and goals. It's difficult for any software tool to be able to take all that into account, and committing to one tool means you have to buy into a structured approach that might or might not work for your company. That said, there are literally more than a hundred such tools, all claiming to help develop balanced scorecards. They can be useful in some cases, with some caveats. And some are more customizable than others: Make sure to determine how customizable they are. The more, the better. Openness, collaboration, and understanding of your employees and business are critical to the product's functionality. Try to find a tool that is customizable and fits well with the structure of your company and how your employees think. But before using any tool, make sure you have all of your ducks in a row: Get training on the balanced scorecard approach, and determine what you want to measure and what your objectives are.