Cabinet 24 November 2011 14.

BALANCED SCORECARD TARGET SETTING

Relevant Cabinet Members Relevant Officer Recommendation
All

Director of Planning, Economy and Performance 1. The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Economy and Infrastructure recommends that the Cabinet approves: (a) the proposed targets for the Corporate level Balanced Scorecard set out in the attached Appendix; and (b) the approach for the Red, Amber, Green (RAG) rating and Direction of Travel judgements set out in the report.

Background Information

2. The Council has recognised the importance of robust performance management through the introduction of the new Balanced Scorecard. 3. Balanced Scorecards are required at a Team level (Tier 4) in Adult and Community Services, Children's Services and Environmental Services and to a Unit level (Tier 3) in Planning, Economy and Performance and the Resources Directorates. 4. Performance was reported to the Chief Officers' Management Board (COMB) for the first time using the Balanced Scorecard in August 2011 based upon the period April-June. Following discussion at Corporate Strategy Week, all Balanced Scorecards were released on SID in early October. 5. The will formally consider performance using the Balanced Scorecard for the first time in February 2012 following discussion at Blue Sky Briefing in December 2011, based upon the period June-September (Quarter 2). This will subsequently be examined by Scrutiny, with Corporate and Directorate level Scorecards being published on the Council's website in late March/early April

Cabinet 24 November 2011

Page No.

U:\U162 CS\U072 Democrtic Services\01 Committee & Appellate\012 Meetings 2011\04 Cabinet\06 Reports\Cabinet 20111124\Cab 20111124scorecard-targets.docx

2012. However, performance judgements at a Corporate and Directorate level will become public in late January 2012 when Cabinet papers are published.
6. It is vital that performance indicators and targets in the Balanced Scorecard are owned by Cabinet Members and COMB. The Corporate level Balanced Scorecard contains the performance measures set out in the new Corporate Plan which will be the method of assessing progress against the "Better Outcomes" of the BOLD programme.

Target Setting Corporate Level Balanced Scorecard

7. It was discussed at Corporate Strategy Week that Cabinet members and Directors would bring forward proposed ownership, indicators and targets for the Corporate level measures to the Cabinet for approval. 8. COMB and Cabinet Member(s) have had a wide range of discussions and proposed the suggested responsibility for Corporate level measures. In some cases, this responsibility is shared between more than one member of COMB and Cabinet, reflecting the cross-cutting. 9. A number of the Corporate Plan measures are based upon outcome indicators which are very important to residents but for which the Council has limited influence e.g. unemployment. Where this is the case, it was decided at Corporate Strategy Week that performance would be judged upon "Direction of Travel" rather than through a specific numerical target. 10. In proposing targets, Cabinet Members and Directors have been asked to consider the following:

The balance between a target being aspirational, yet realistic. This particularly relates to the importance within the Corporate Plan That one of the key drivers of the Balanced Scorecard approach is to examine the link between performance against organisational objectives and resource allocation How we are performing compared with the national position and our peers. In some cases, presenting a target relative to a comparator (e.g. the national average) could be more meaningful and realistic How we have performed previously and our ability to improve Political and Professional judgement.
11. Detailed analysis of prior period results and trends and variations in performance, for example peaks and
Cabinet 24 November 2011 Page No.
U:\U162 CS\U072 Democrtic Services\01 Committee & Appellate\012 Meetings 2011\04 Cabinet\06 Reports\Cabinet 20111124\Cab 20111124-Scorecard-Targets.Docx

seasonal factors, have been fed into the target setting process. In addition, consideration has been given to any national targets in relation to the measure, and forecasting and projecting forward performance taking account of known changes ahead in the environment of that measure.
12. The proposed indicators and targets are set out in the attached Appendix.

Target Setting Balanced Scorecards at other levels

13. There is no requirement for performance indicators and targets at other levels to be formally agreed by the Cabinet. However, the general principles set out above for Corporate level indicators should be followed in all cases. 14. Any performance indicators and targets at a Directorate Level should be agreed between the relevant Cabinet Member and Director. 15. At a Service Level, measures and targets should be agreed by the relevant DMTs. Below a service level, measures and targets should be decided by the appropriate Service Management Team. 16. Performance measures and targets should link with the relevant Council priorities, strategies and individual staff appraisals.

Red, Amber, Green ("RAG") and Direction of Travel judgements

17. On the Balanced Scorecard, performance is judged using a "RAG" rating together with Direction of Travel. The "RAG" rating is a very visible method of communicating performance and enables a quick overview when looking at a number of measures. 18. The Direction of Travel is important to understand as it considers performance against an indicator over time. Typically, this either compares current performance with the previous time period (e.g. quarter to quarter) or with the same time 12 months ago, depending upon the indicator. 19. Judging whether performance is Red, Amber or Green is not an exact science. The specific basis may vary from indicator to indicator but should take account of:

The likelihood of any future target being achieved How far away from any target performance currently is The Direction of Travel (whether performance is Improving, Deteriorating or No noticeable change) Political and Professional judgement.

Cabinet 24 November 2011

Page No.

U:\U162 CS\U072 Democrtic Services\01 Committee & Appellate\012 Meetings 2011\04 Cabinet\06 Reports\Cabinet 20111124\Cab 20111124scorecard-targets.docx

20. In some cases, a "RAG" rating will be required based on performance against a basket of indicators (where aggregation of individual performance measures is used to determine the overall performance of the main indicator). The following criteria/presumptions are suggested:

Where one indicator is red, the overall judgement cannot be green Where there are more than two indicators that are red, the overall judgement should be red Where one indicator is assessed as amber then the overall assessment could be green. However in choosing the "RAG" rating of green there would need to be justifications provided in the form of commentary.
21. In reporting performance against indicators on the Corporate level Balanced Scorecard, both the "RAG" and Direction of Travel judgements should be owned by the relevant Cabinet Member(s) and Director(s). Any accompanying commentary should describe current and planned activity rather than focusing on a numerical explanation of the measure.

Reporting Performance to the Public

22. As previously stated, it has already been agreed that the Council's performance will be reported to the Cabinet every six months and by reporting these measures to the Cabinet they will be in the public domain. This will be done for the first time in February 2012, based upon Quarter 2 2011/12 performance. 23. The Corporate and Directorate level Balanced Scorecards will be an important means of the Council being transparent regarding its performance. However, it is primarily designed as a management tool. Therefore a clear, more public facing form of reporting will also need to be devised. The design and content of this has been informed by local resident focus groups. Following further discussion on the approach at Blue Sky Briefing, this will go live on the Council's website in late March/early April 2012. 24. When any information on indicators is made public, further details about the indicators and performance will be available by "drilling down" on the Balanced Scorecards either via SID or the Council's website.

Supporting Information

Appendix Corporate Level Indicators

Cabinet 24 November 2011 Page No.

U:\U162 CS\U072 Democrtic Services\01 Committee & Appellate\012 Meetings 2011\04 Cabinet\06 Reports\Cabinet 20111124\Cab 20111124-Scorecard-Targets.Docx

Contact Points

County Council Contact Points Worcester (01905) 763763, Kidderminster (01562) 822511 or Minicom: Worcester (01905) 766399 Specific Contact Points David Onions, Corporate Business Intelligence and Performance Manager, Planning, Economy and Performance, (01905) 766712 Email: donions@worcestershire.gov.uk Phillipa McDonald, Principal Research Officer, Planning, Economy and Performance, (01905 822022) Email: pmcdonald3@worcestershire.gov.uk

Background Papers

In the opinion of the proper officer (in this case the Chief Executive) the following are the background papers relating to the subject matter of this report: Worcestershire County Council Corporate Plan

Cabinet 24 November 2011

Page No.

U:\U162 CS\U072 Democrtic Services\01 Committee & Appellate\012 Meetings 2011\04 Cabinet\06 Reports\Cabinet 20111124\Cab 20111124scorecard-targets.docx