Georgia cities and counties that regularly measure both current performance and progress toward future goals are ahead of their peers. Having access to metrics, seeing changes in performance over time and then tracking future-facing initiatives is vital to providing quality service delivery.
Tracking Current Activity Progress Over Time
Your city or county likely tracks numerous activities each day, week or month. While you may be tracking current performance in areas like law enforcement or water quality, how many more measures can you track to give you greater insight into your city or county?
- How many complaints did the Sanitation Department receive last quarter vs. this quarter?
- How long was the hold-time in customer service this month vs. last?
- Did the time it takes to issue a Business Licences go up or down last week?
- How long did it take to complete work orders for broken water pipes this month over last?
Knowing these trends in performance, a good manager will then ask why and work with their team to make changes to improve results. This kind of regular management data is even more valuable as cities and counties compete to provide quality services which attract homeowners and businesses.
Tracking Forward-Looking Strategic Goals
But we also want to measure progress toward tomorrow’s strategic objectives….to move us closer to the vision and ultimate purpose.
That is something that fewer local governments do in a regular, structured and visible way. Documenting, measuring and tracking “forward-looking” initiatives is key to making progress in an orderly, team-oriented and expedient way. Without it, you can lose focus, lose time and lose momentum.
We need to be even more diligent about tracking longer-term strategic initiatives because most of them are complicated, cross multiple departments and take a long time to complete. Delays, lack of organization or lack of team cooperation stifles progress.
Strategic city or county initiatives need focus, urgency, accountability, regular communication, measurement, visibility, and transparency.
If you want to know more about how to set, refine, track, measure and recognize strategic goal achievement toward your vision, give us a call or email.
InnerComm Group
678-833-4310
bstark@innercomm.net
