1. Customer satisfaction surveys from administrative units
generate good will and improved customer relations in addition to providing
performance data.
1. For each administrative activity, identify the measures (in
the upper right quadrant) that describe how well that activity is performed.
These usually have to do with timeliness (e.g. % of invoices paid in less than
30 days, average time to fill a vacancy), accuracy (% of paychecks requiring
correction/adjustment) or compliance with standards (e.g. % of repeat audit
findings).
2. For most administrative functions, customer satisfaction is
the most important measure of whether customers are better off (lower right
quadrant measures). Administrative functions usually help their clients by
making it easier for them to do their jobs. Look for measures like % of
customers who report that the unit was "very helpful" in meeting the
staffing needs of the agency, or % of customers who report that the contracting
unit helped them get their work done well and on time.
Full Answer
1) For administrative units or functions, it is generally easy to identify performance measures in the upper
two quadrants.
How much service did we provide?: Administrative units can easily list the activities they perform,
convert each one into a measure. (Upper left - quantity of effort)
How well did we provide service?: Many standard upper right quadrant measures apply to
administrative units just as other units (like unit cost, workload ratios
etc.). And for most administrative activities, it is pretty easy to identify
timeliness and accuracy measures that are meaningful.
(2) But administrative units or functions are the hardest when it comes to
identifying performance measures in the lower right quadrant. The principle
reason is that it is harder to figure out who the customers are and how you
would know if they are better off?
When you think about it, it becomes clear
that the primary customers of administrative units are the employees and
supervisors of the organization. It turns out that the most important lower
quadrant measures for administrative units are customer satisfaction measures.
"Did we help you do your job?" is the focus of such questions.
In addition to gathering data, there are other good reasons for
administrative units to conduct customer satisfaction surveys (and/or
interviews). The simple act of asking customers (and taking their responses
seriously) can create good will with organization managers, a commodity that
is often in short supply. And the users of administrative services can often
identify ways to improve services.
1.
Common measures (in
the upper right quadrant):
Many of the upper right quadrant "common measures" apply equally
well to administrative units as to units providing direct customer service. Here
is a listing of common measures in terms usually used in administrative units.
1. Workload staff ratio
2. Staff turnover rate (This can be measured by % of vacant
positions -
or more interestingly - % of employees with the
organization 1 year or less.)
3. Staff morale (usually from surveys)
4. Percent of staff fully trained
5. Percent of satisfied customers (with courtesy and timeliness of
service) by
function
6. Percent of bilingual staff
7. Worker safety (usually accident or injury claim rate)
2. Cost measures:
The following measures are the standard cost measures which fall in each
quadrant. The most difficult of these to obtain is the lower left "benefit
value." The cost benefit ratio equals the lower left over the upper left
quadrant values.
How well we do it
Unit Cost
Percent growth in expenditure
Is anyone better off? - quality
Cost Benefit Ratio
Return on Investment
Percent Surplus/Deficit
What we do
Total Cost
Is anyone better off? - quantity
Benefit Value
Amount Surplus/Deficit
3. Unit Specific Measures The following section provides examples (not an exhaustive list) of some of
the most important performance measures for each administrative function. In most
cases, the lay definition, but not the technical definition, is given.
Personnel
How well we do it
Average time to fill a vacancy
% requests pending 30 days or more
Is anyone better off? - quality
Workforce stability - % vacant positions
Turnover rate (non-promotions)
% managers who rate personnel as
"helpful or very helpful"
% of workforce without benefits
Rate of sick leave usage
What we do
#
#
Is anyone better off? - quantity
#
#
#
#
#
Budget
How well we do it
% budget reviews on time
% forecasting accuracy
%
Is anyone better off? - quality
% Surplus or deficiency
Audit liabilities as % of budget
% Agency performance measures
heading in the right direction
% Agency managers who rate support
from the budget unit "good or better"
What we do
#
#
#
Is anyone better off? - quantity
$ amount surplus or deficiency
#
#
#
Accounting
How well we do it
% invoices paid in 30 days or less
% reports completed on time
% reissue/correct payroll or accounts
payable
Is anyone better off? - quality
% repeat audit findings
Audit liabilities as % of budget
What we do
#
#
#
Is anyone better off? - quantity
# repeat audit findings
$ value of audit liabilities
Management Information Systems
How well we do it
% responses to requests for assistance
in less than 24 hours
Ratio of salary to market wages
Staff retention rate
Is anyone better off? - quality
% downtime during peak work hours
% managers rating overall MIS support
"good or better"
% of staff with high quality computer
equipment
% programs (or lines of code) with state
of the art programming
What we do
#
#
#
Is anyone better off? - quantity
#
#
#
#
Research and Evaluation
How well we do it
% reports completed on time
Ave time to respond to requests for
information
Is anyone better off? - quality
% managers rating research and
evaluation support
"good" or better.
% managers who report using research
and evaluation products
What we do
#
#
#
Is anyone better off? - quantity
#
#
Facilities Management
How well we do it
% responses to requests in 24 hours or less
% repeat calls
worker safety - rate of accidents
Is anyone better off? - quality
% managers who rate facilities support
"good" or better
% Sick leave due to building conditions
What we do
#
#
#
Is anyone better off? - quantity
#
#
Audit
How well we do it
% audits completed on time
% appeals of audit findings lost
Is anyone better off? - quality
% repeat findings
$ saved/ avoided (est.) as % of total
budget
%
What we do
#
#
#
Is anyone better off? - quantity
# repeat findings
$ saved from audit findings
#
Contracting
How well we do it
% contracts on time
% agency staff trained in contract
procedures
Is anyone better off? - quality
% managers rating contracting support
"good" or better
% contractors rating contracting support
"good" or better.
What we do
#
#
Is anyone better off? - quantity
#
#
Counsel/Attorney's office
How well we do it
Cases per attorney
Support staff per attorney
Ave response time to requests
Is anyone better off? - quality
% lawsuits won
% appeals won
Rate of avoided law suits
Damages paid as % of requested
damages,
Damages paid as % of agency budget
What we do
#
#
#
Is anyone better off? - quantity
#
#
# lawsuits avoided through successful
negotiation
# total damages paid
Director's Office
How well we do it
% correspondence response on time
% of agency locations visited this year
% of staff involved in two way
communication events
% employees who rate this a good place to
work
% of divisions actively using performance data
to improve performance
Is anyone better off? - quality
% surplus or deficiency
Bond rating (for state, county, city or school
district)
% agency's performance measures
headed in the right direction
% customers rating the agency servicea
"good" or better
Rating of agency compared to others
