Scorecards in ERP Systems

Hi Everyone,

This post is a little different than my typical offering; however, it very much speaks to your ability to achieve success in an ERP implementation. Here is the question:

"What are the pros and cons to using a scorecard to evaluate an employee? Do you apply these same concepts to an ERP implementation team?"

Here are my 2 cents based on my time as a Director of HR. I believe there are two primary ways to represent someone’s ability to succeed (employ-ability) in a company:

(1) potential
(2) performance

The vast majority of companies only gauge performance, and doing so is a big mistake (more why below). A good scorecard is good at measuring some aspects of performance; therefore, I would guesstimate that a score card would only account for 20% of someone’s review.

There there are three components to employ-ability:
(1) skills
(2) knowledge
(3) attitude

Your ability to execute skills, provide timely knowledge and demonstrate a great attitude will yield performance. Please note that attitude is a condition of employment. If someone demonstrates a bad attitude, the review conversation is typically very short. This paragraph speaks to your typical scorecard.

Your ability AND the actions you take to improve your skills, build your knowledge and enhance the organization (attitude) represents your potential. This is true for the individual and the individual’s influence on others. A better question is “does the individual make others want to improve?”. The answers to this paragraph are a different kind of scorecard in and of itself.

Why performance only is a mistake? Because companies that only measure performance do not build potential. As an employee yourself, when was the last time someone proactively sought ways or encourages you to grow beyond yourself today? Keep in mind this question is very different than someone telling you “DO MORE…”.

My only other point is this: if you are going to build a scorecard, be committed to continually enhancing it. It will take time to build the complete picture. Get lots of feedback from the team. You win when the team owns the scorecard.

As an ERP implementer, I build lots of scorecards, and I work with lots of project managers. The project managers that spend the most time building their potential typically achieve the greatest successes with ERP.

I hope this helps!