Improving Performance Through Effective Measures and Business Intelligence

Economic changes are driving many water and wastewater utilities to re-evaluate their business processes, seeking gains in efficiency and performance. In order to measure progress toward their goals, utility leaders are attempting to change their organization's culture from one of “management-by-opinion” to “management-by-fact.” As a tool to facilitate change, many utility managers and directors want information at their fingertips. Some water utilities are already implementing performance measurement programs utilizing a wide variety of metrics, methods, dashboards, and business intelligence solutions. In order to be effective, however, these agencies must first answer several common questions:What performance indicators will help manage the utility and why are they important?How can the agency collect data from multiple information sources and systems in the course of daily business and operational processes?What business technology tools are available to manage and disperse this information?How can we effectively report meaningful performance indicators to stakeholders in groups whose information needs and interests vary widely?Until you can answer all of these questions, you will be limited in your ability to implement effective performance management programs and business intelligence technology.During this interactive panel, you will learn how water agencies have applied best performance management practices in a practical manner. Panel members will provide lessons learned and practical, proven methods for implementing utility-based performance management programs and business intelligence systems. Learn what successful utilities are doing and how you can leverage these same solutions to achieve your business goals. Panel members will discuss:Factors that foster sustainable performance improvement;Using the right metrics to drive world-class performance;Do's and don'ts for creating effective dashboards;Unleashing the power of business intelligence solutions; andHow implementing a performance-management program affects culture.The success of a utility's performance management program lies in the ability to access the right information at the right time to gain insight and make smart business decisions. The practical knowledge gained from this workshop can be applied to measuring financial status, customer satisfaction, service quality, and overall operational performance.