Balanced Scorecard - fast growth in medium sized education business

About Monash International

One of Australia's largest tertiary institutions, Monash University (MU) established Monash International (MI) in the mid 90's to satisfy its global growth aspirations by: - Marketing, recruiting and admitting international students to Monash programs; - Strengthening global University linkages and student exchange programs; and - Providing international student support services ranging from pre-course English language training to servicing specific student needs. The Balanced Scorecard was implemented and continues to be used over 4 years, to drive focussed growth in student numbers and key business improvement programs

Their Challenges

A maturing business
MI experienced rapid growth and had outgrown the entrepreneurial start-up approach that served it well in its formative years. What was needed was more consolidated management processes to enable the business to grow to a new level of maturity.

As a result of the rapid growth, the strategic focus across the group had become diffused. Each operating unit was moving forward and developing its own specialist expertise. Communication through the organisation was also now more complex due to the sheer numbers of people.

Strategic Measurement
The measurement and reporting systems were based largely on financial indicators. Reports of performance were made available but widespread involvement and learning from progress was not strongly informed through regular performance review.

Implementing a Strategic Management framework

Resolving to implement a Management framework
Following a thorough education about the Balanced Scorecard involving two days of workshop across the entire executive team, the group decided to proceed with a major implementation project.

Communication and Awareness
The MI senior management group recognised that Scorecard implementation involved a more complex array of considerations than simply the mechanics of designing and installing a management tool. The group wanted to embed a new, sustainable strategic management approach into the culture of the organisation.

Prior to commencing the scorecard project, several preliminary implementation planning meetings enabled discussion and agreement of a desired approach with all key stakeholders.

Multiple communication initiatives were employed at each stage of the project including an on-line education program for all interested staff. Participation levels were high and monitoring confirmed a growing level of interest and knowledge across the business.

In addition a Senior Management Group (SMG) was established to expand the focus of communication. This group was the initial focus of learning, communication and uptake of a scorecard approach. Once the senior managers were confident and had ownership of the process, they were then able to invovle their teams in a similar process.

Building and Using the Balanced Scorecard

Strategic Themes
The organisational Mission was revisited to check alignment with the University's global vision. This then led to the development of a set of strategic themes that crystallised MI's strategic intent. These effectively distilled the intentions of the different units into a coherent and shared view, and provided concise and compelling 'tag lines' to represent each theme.

These strategic themes formed the basis of MI's Balanced Scorecard by guiding the translation of specific strategic objectives and measures, essential elements in the communication and execution of the MI strategy.

Translating Strategy into a Road Map of linked Objectives
The Strategic Themes helped align teams and disparate functions, acting as scalable directional cues that could be taken down through the business. The themes were translated into more tangible objectives and represented in Strategic Road Maps that showed the cause and effect relationships intended to drive the broader business results.

Defining Strategic Measures
What gets measured gets done. Therefore to achieve the objectives established in the Strategic Road map, measures were defined for each. These measures were carefully chosen and crafted to identify the behaviour MI wanted to change.

As is often the case, the design phase generated numerous objectives and measures that required trimming to a manageable few to elicit greater focus.

Strategic Review
This feedback and learning loop involved reflecting on the relevance of the cause and effect thinking that articulated strategy, and the relevance of specific objectives and measures.

Results

MI has used the Balanced Scorecard for 4 years to drive substantive growth

Business Outcomes
Student numbers have grown ahead of market growth, with MI outstripping other key institutions in recruiting international students. Whilst significant investment has been made to support growth, costs per student recruited have been closely managed, enabling delivery of strong returns to the parent organisation.

Leadership & Culture
The Senior Management group has met regularly using the BSC as a catalyst for communication, and this has improved the level of cross unit understanding and co-ordination.

The Executive team has created a distinction between strategic and operational meetings, so that more time is devoted to discussing important, rather than urgent matters.

These discussions have enhanced awareness of changing MI cultural patterns, leading to specific initiatives to enhance aspects of MI's knowledge management proficiency.

Communication and Awareness
The scorecard is a practical and central vehicle to communicate high level strategy and priorities at different levels through the business. Quarterly reviews conducted across all teams enable groups to

Staff are providing positive feedback about this involvement in the strategic direction of the business, and are seeking even greater assimilation of the process into their weekly work.

Architecture & Resources
The initial scorecard design workshop clarified the imperative for key business improvement projects, including development of best-practice Human Resource management systems and enhancement of the sales management process. Recognition of the need to leverage synergy across teams lead to structural changes and greater clarity of roles and responsibilities.

Ongoing roll out and refinement has been supported through an internal BSC champion, who has developed high levels of technical know-how of scorecard use, and combined this with a facilitative approach.

Management Controls
The annual planning cycle used scorecard as a framework to review longer term performance, and to communicate refinements to strategic direction that emerge from a rigorous strategic planning cycle.

Enhancement of the performance management processes has also begun, guided by principles of the BSC.

Overall, MI has approached the implementation of a new Strategic Management system with commitment and thoroughness, and is now reaping the rewards of a more focussed and aligned organisation.