8 Real-Life Balanced Scorecard Examples

You already know that the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is an extremely popular strategic framework—but you may be wondering, “Will it actually help my organization get the results we want?” That’s a fair question, and before you commit to an overhaul of your current strategy, you’ll want to see some real-life Balanced Scorecard examples.

Well, you’re in luck! Because below, we’ll discuss eight real organizations that have used the BSC—or some variation of it—to grow their company and their strategic success.

8 Real-Life Balanced Scorecard Examples

1. The Boys & Girls Clubs Of Puerto Rico (BGCPR)

In Puerto Rico, 57% of the island’s one million youth live below the poverty line. The BGCPR offers these young people the hope of a better future. Just over a decade ago, BGCPR nearly shut their doors due to an economic downturn. That’s when the CEO and president got to work restructuring the nonprofit and decided to adopt the Balanced Scorecard to manage their strategy and revitalize their organization. Their scorecard helped them establish managerial discipline and promote cultural change, leading to their rapid growth. Today, BGCPR has 11 facilities!

‍Read the full BGCPR case study.

2. Durham, North Carolina

For years, the city of Durham operated without a strategic plan. But during the economic downturn and with budgets cuts, Durham’s city manager convinced elected officials that the time was right to commence the strategic planning process. With a scorecard, the city of Durham was able to make more data-driven decisions and collaborate with the county government, enabling the two governments to pool resources, reduce or eliminate duplication of effort, and deliver a higher level of service to Durham residents.

‍Read the full Durham, North Carolina, case study.

3. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

After the recession, Fort Lauderdale needed to manage costs in a way that balanced strategic cuts with strategic investments. In response, the Fort Lauderdale city manager created an office to oversee the development of the city’s first-ever strategic plan and to manage process improvement. Fort Lauderdale residents were asked for ideas about how to improve the city over the next 25 years. This information, combined with internal goals, resulted in a new strategic system that connected departments through scorecards and presented them publicly in an unprecedented show of transparency.

‍Read the full Fort Lauderdale, Florida, case study.

4. LSU College Of Engineering

When Richard Koubek became dean of the LSU College of Engineering, he set forth Vision 2015, the college’s five-year strategic plan. This new scorecard-driven management process has propelled the college ahead in all of its strategies.

One area that has benefited greatly is the college’s external partnerships. Because the College delivered on its promise to provide Louisiana businesses and employers with first-rate engineers, the state’s economic development organizations have used LSU engineering as a magnet to recruit businesses to the state. IBM even opened a services venture in Baton Rouge.

Since implementing Vision 2015, enrollment for the College of Engineering is up 41% (twice the national average), and LSU now has the fifth fastest-growing engineering college in the United States.

‍Read the full LSU College of Engineering case study.

5. Rare

Rare began using the Balanced Scorecard to measure and manage its performance. With measures at the heart of its operations, this global conservation nonprofit has been able to achieve greater transparency and accountability—while expanding its scale, reach, and impact. With its scorecard in place, Rare has been able to draw upon its metrics to report biological impacts to constituents and to the public—something they couldn’t dream of before their scorecard implementation.

Rare’s strategy management process has helped the organization clarify its focus, and the organization’s metrics have played an important part in engaging donors. Within five years, Rare has gone from a $9 million per year operation to more than $20 million per year and has been named one of the top 100 NGOs in the world.

‍Read the full Rare case study.

6. Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E)

PG&E wanted to present their data in a high-level view with the ability to drill down—and found their solution in the Balanced Scorecard. PG&E was able to use Balanced Scorecard (BSC) software to customize with their branding and design elements, and update their scorecard pages to allow for period comparisons. Each page is completely customized to their liking and includes current results, year-to-date and end-of-year data, and other forecast targets.

‍Read the full PG&E case study.

7. SBS Group

SBS Group—a consulting and IT services organization—needed a system to construct its strategic plan, manage initiatives and measures, and cascade to the field level, and knew the Balanced Scorecard could manage all of these areas.

Using scorecard software, SBS group was able to migrate their Excel-based scorecards into scorecard software, which provided a number of benefits. They could manage cross-scorecard collaboration, information sharing, employee-scorecard linkages, and more. They were also able to set up scorecards according to their preferences, define measures, and create initiatives. Altogether, SBS Group’s scorecarding capability has helped them assess and prioritize their initiatives.

‍Read the full SBS Group case study.

8. Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute

The CFA team embarked on an effort to update the organization’s long-term strategy involving the entire organization and were able to advance their strategy, integrate their scorecard, and create a change agenda, workplans, and multi-year, high-level metrics. With the help of their scorecard, they were able to get leadership on board with aligning strategy and operations, and employees invested in CFA’s mission.

‍Read the full CFA Institute case study.

Download Now: Balanced Scorecard Excel Template

All eight of these organizations were able to see strategic success using the Balanced Scorecard framework. If you want to test the waters and build out a simple scorecard before committing to something more substantial. Try us out today!

FAQ:

How can a balanced scorecard help an organization?

A balanced scorecard helps an organization by providing a comprehensive framework that aligns business activities with the organization's vision and strategy. It facilitates performance measurement across multiple perspectives, such as financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth. This holistic approach ensures balanced consideration of all key areas, improves strategic planning, enhances communication, and drives organizational performance.

How does a balanced scorecard work?

A balanced scorecard works by translating an organization's strategic objectives into a set of performance measures across four perspectives:

- Financial: Measures financial performance and profitability.
- Customer: Assesses customer satisfaction and market share.
- Internal Processes: Evaluates the efficiency and quality of internal operations.
- Learning and Growth: Focuses on employee development and organizational innovation.
These measures are tracked and analyzed to monitor progress toward strategic goals, identify areas for improvement, and ensure that all parts of the organization are aligned with its strategic vision.

How do you create a balanced scorecard in Excel?

To create a balanced scorecard in Excel:

- Define Objectives: Identify the strategic objectives for each of the four perspectives (Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, Learning and Growth).
- Develop Metrics: Establish specific, measurable metrics for each objective.
- Set Targets: Determine target values for each metric to define success.
- Collect Data: Gather the necessary data to measure performance against the metrics.
- Create the Template: Set up an Excel template with columns for objectives, metrics, targets, actual performance, and status indicators.
- Input Data: Enter the collected data into the template.
-Analyze and Visualize: Use Excel features such as charts and conditional formatting to visualize performance and highlight areas needing attention.
- Review and Adjust: Regularly update the scorecard and review progress, making adjustments as needed.

What is a balanced scorecard example?

A balanced scorecard example could look like this:

- Financial Perspective:
Objective: Increase revenue growth
Metric: Revenue growth rate
Target: 10% annual increase
Actual: 8% increase

- Customer Perspective:
Objective: Improve customer satisfaction
Metric: Customer satisfaction score
Target: 90%
Actual: 85%

- Internal Processes Perspective:
Objective: Enhance operational efficiency
Metric: Average processing time
Target: 3 days
Actual: 4 days

- Learning and Growth Perspective:
Objective: Foster employee development
Metric: Employee training hours
Target: 40 hours per year
Actual: 35 hours per year
Each perspective includes specific objectives, metrics, targets, and actual performance, providing a comprehensive view of the organization's strategic performance.

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