Designing F&A metrics from scratch or reviewing existing metrics can be a daunting task. I thought it might be useful to jot down some of the approaches we have seen – that have worked – and also some approaches that have not!
Jan 31
An online platform which supports the collection and analysis of vital governance information – that was the starting point for ServiceFrame. A governance platform now widely deployed by companies seeking to build and enhance their governance and stakeholder management capability. The ability to deploy rapidly and at low cost were early requirements. They continue to be. Over time we have learnt that it is the small things that are important – how the screens look, how easy it is to change service levels, how easy it is to add new service levels, how quickly users can be added, how visual trend analysis is, how risks are linked to issues, how services are linked to issues – the list goes on…Specific things we have now included are the customer survey module, the cost index, the value index, the balanced score card. All our customers are on the same journey towards building real governance capability in Shared Services.
Jan 04
If you want to look good then the services you deliver or the people you select to deliver service must look good. The CFO must be clear that the Finance and Accounting Team are delivering better services at lower cost. The CEO must recognise that the IT services are better delivered by the new outsourcing partner than they were previously. Rapid clear communication is essential to senior executives who live in a world where sound bites rule. Long boring powerpoint presentations ‘justifying’ and ‘explaining’ the current status are usually ignored with the focus rapidly moving to ‘problem areas’.
Nov 24
Good governance demands good information. Traditionally governance information has focussed on KPI performance. The process of collecting KPI information has been time consuming, laborious and often drives inaccuracies and consequently frosty governance meetings. Over the last few weeks I have had spent some time thinking about why most organisations still use spreadsheets to do KPI reporting. My conclusion is fairly simple….
Nov 19
Managing and unlocking value is vital to both service providers and clients in sourcing contracts. Understanding what value is, where it comes from and how to really drive it was the key purpose of today’s ServiceFrame Webinar on the topic. Deborah Kops, Managing Principal, SourcingChange and Dan Berman of ServiceFrame both tackled the issue in front of a large audience of sourcing professionls – ‘buy side’, ’sell-side’ and advisors. A significant challenge! Here’s some of what they had to say……
Jul 06
Reading SLA reports can drive a mixture of responses. (aside from sleep :>). Typically people will either nod knowingly or with fury. This is the assurance reaction – is my service being delivered as expected – are KPIs red, amber or green? Sometimes this is done very manually using spreadsheets and e-mails and man hours and man months. Some use more user friendly tools which reduce time and improve the output! This is the concern for how service is actually delivered right now – it is important but it is not the full story. Governance is a much more significant and robust process – it is using information about service and relationship quality to steer your organisation and business to better value. It is a proactive activity focussed on analysis not collection of data.
Jun 17
ServiceFrame’s governance event in London yesterday (June 16th) was an open, honest and relaxed affair. But the topic was serious and the mood ambitious. At ServiceFrame we have always set ourselves the challenge of transforming the way business relationships are managed. Our goal is to transform the supplier management landscape – to make it rich with information that facilitates rapid analysis. Eleanor Winn from Source gave a clear and studied overview of the key elements in any governance model. I was struck by how much of it was common sense – I was also struck by how many of us in the audience nodded in appreciation at this comprehensive overview – ably backed up with specific real life experiences. Talk to Eleanor for the examples! Contact us for details of up coming events. Edinburgh is next week. Continue reading »
Jun 01
This blog is often characterized by harsh terms like ‘evidence based’, ‘KPIs’ and ‘governance’. Last week a few clients pulled me up on this and told me that maybe i need to start talk a little bit more about relationships. So here goes. What is it about relationships in business that makes them successful? It seems to me that a clear understanding of what both parties to the relationship expect – as well as a clear understanding of how both parties feel about what is being delivered are critical. It seems to be a combination of both evidence and experience.
May 19
Sales management and customer management tools are now a standard technoogy enabler. The reason is simple – key customer relationships need to be managed effectively and consistently in order to protect on going revenue streams. Managing these relationships using spreadsheets is time consuming and error prone. More importantly it leads to mistakes and costs sales and money. So why do you use spreadsheets to manage your Vendor Relationships?
