How to achieve business goals with data analytics

Written by Len on October 10, 2023. Posted in Interviews, Organisational performance, Practitioner

Harry Patria, the CEO of Patria & Co., is a data strategist and lecturer who founded a company that serves over 100 corporate clients, 200 analytical platforms, and 500 professionals. He is a Data Hackathon winner in the UK and graduated with distinction from his master’s degree to a PhD program with a fully-funded scholarship. Harry is a subject matter expert in several fields.

Data buddies: bridging the gap between data analysts and non-technical team members

Written by Paolo Orduna on September 25, 2023. Posted in Interviews, Organisational performance

Dietmar Böhmer joined Tyme seven years ago and he has been leading the data and analytics function across the group, which includes TymeBank in South Africa and the newly launched GoTyme in the Philippines. He has led lending, data science, machine learning, and big data teams in banking for close to two decades and has lectured in the actuarial field prior to that.

Elevating performance-driven culture: weaving excellence into company DNA

Written by Contributor on September 18, 2023. Posted in Articles, Organisational performance

Image source: pixelshot | Canva

What is the most crucial asset owned by an organization? In the modern business landscape, a company might possess a well-defined vision, mission, and set of value drivers, along with a carefully articulated strategy and aligned objectives throughout all levels of the organization. Nevertheless, employees may fail to adopt these values, as these are not inherently embedded in their actions due to the absence of a performance-driven culture.

Hence, the company must foster a culture that actively facilitates the execution of its strategy. This culture should empower every employee to operate in alignment with the established value drivers, behavioral norms, and competencies set forth by the organization to fulfill its mission while being consistent with overarching corporate goals.

Central to cultivating a successful performance-driven culture are leaders. They stand as key inﬂuencers, coaches, and role models. Organizations must shift their focus from having managers who assert authority to nurturing leaders who coach and guide. These leaders should serve as advocates for aligning and interpreting corporate objectives for employees at all levels. Proper training is fundamental in equipping them to effectively manage their subordinates.

To enable leaders to construct a thriving performance-driven culture, organizations can implement the following steps:

Build the desired organizational culture. For an organization to deﬁne the fundamental characteristics of its desired culture, it must translate its mission and vision into tangible value drivers, anticipated behaviors, and needed competencies. These elements must be communicated extensively to all employees, ensuring their adoption, with an emphasis on starting this process with the leaders themselves.
Highlight a leader’s role in cultivating performance excellence. Leaders are essential in shaping the desired performance culture within an organization. They lead by example, embodying cultural values, behaviors, and skills. This sets a motivating tone for their teams and encourages others to follow suit. Effective leaders foster openness and feedback, which leads to transparency and collaboration. They recognize and reward behaviors that match the culture.

Additionally, they provide coaching and growth opportunities to empower employees. This creates an environment where everyone feels valued and engaged, forming the basis of a performance-driven culture.

Foster performance by promoting employees’ mental wellness. In creating a culture of performance, the importance of nurturing a healthy mindset and prioritizing employees’ mental well-being cannot be overstated. A positive mindset is crucial for a culture of excellence. Employee mental health directly affects engagement, productivity, and satisfaction. Providing resources like counseling, stress management, and ﬂexible work options not only demonstrates commitment to well-being but also leads to a focused, creative, and productive workforce. A mental health-supportive culture enhances individual well-being and aligns employees with organizational values, ultimately improving performance.
Empower performance culture through data interpretation. Organizations have a wealth of data that offer insights into employee engagement, performance, and overall health. Leaders must use data analytics to guide culture development. By studying metrics like satisfaction, productivity, and alignment with values, leaders can spot improvement areas and measure initiative impacts. This data-driven approach reﬁnes strategies based on evidence, creating a ﬂexible culture. Regular data analysis shows employees that their contributions matter, boosting transparency and commitment to growth.

Successful examples

Google provides a noteworthy example of a strong performance culture as exempliﬁed by initiatives like Project Aristotle and Project Oxygen. Project Aristotle highlights team dynamics and psychological safety, fostering an environment where all members freely share ideas and take calculated risks. Meanwhile, Project Oxygen focuses on effective leadership qualities such as coaching, communication, and genuine care for team members. These initiatives underscore Google’s dedication to establishing a culture of collaboration, innovation, and leadership, creating a thriving workplace for both teams and individuals.

Another notable example is Netﬂix, which embodies a performance culture centered around “seeking excellence.” This entails encouraging each employee to excel and contribute to produce their best work. Netﬂix values individual responsibility and open feedback, creating an environment where high standards and innovation are prized. The company hires top talent and empowers them with trust and autonomy. This adherence to excellence shapes their decision-making and has contributed to Netﬂix’s success.

Creating the right organizational culture lays the foundation for success. Leaders drive performance excellence by setting an example and supporting their teams. Taking care of employees’ well-being adds to the positive atmosphere, and using data helps leaders make smarter choices. Combining these aspects builds a culture where everyone thrives, innovation ﬂourishes, and organizations prosper.

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This article is written by Chadia Abou Ghazale, a seasoned banking professional with 24 years of experience and who excels in budgeting, sales performance management, data analysis, and resource planning. Beyond banking, she is a dedicated reader of self-development topics and passionate networker. Chadia believes that life’s purpose is the pursuit of knowledge. Her extensive expertise and unwavering enthusiasm are a dynamic combination, driving success in her career and enriching her life’s adventurous journey.

Practitioner Interview: Khalid G. Alharbi on his career and the future of the profession

Written by Kimberly Tilar on August 18, 2023. Posted in Interviews, Organisational performance, Practitioner

Khalid G. Alharbi boasts over 20 years of experience in partnering with business unit executives to develop strategic plans, direction, market analysis, partnership, growth guide, and operation excellency. He leads large and complex projects to achieve key business objectives and promote digital transformation. He is pursuing a career in engineering, project management, sales and strategy planning. In this interview with Performance Magazine, he shares the highlights and insights of his career, providing valuable glimpses into his journey and accomplishments.

Would you tell us more about your educational and professional background? How did your previous experiences lead you to your current position?

I started as a telecom operation engineer working in the field and gradually moved to telecom planning. This gives me a full insight into the value chain of my profession. Then, I moved to the project management field as a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) working in 2030 Vision programs.

After that, I went into the business development and sales field, looking for more opportunities based on my company’s strategic direction utilizing the skills in planning and project management I acquired from my previous work. Finally, I worked directly in formulating, implementing and measuring the performance of different strategies since 2018.

What are your main responsibilities and goals in your current role?

My major responsibilities as the Strategy and Policy – Acting General Manager are overseeing the sector’s strategy formulation, implementation and monitoring, directing research and statistical studies, including the standard development and licensing process while ensuring compliance with overall cultural strategies, policies, and standards.

Please take us through your daily job routine. Could you describe in detail your activities and work hours? You may specify certain areas of your job, such as your work arrangement (remote, on-site or hybrid) and the stakeholders you frequently contact or meet with.

My daily activities and work hours are spent monitoring the team tasks and responsibilities toward the strategic direction while conducting the coaching sessions. On top of that, I review indicators and matrices achieved looking for improvement.

Do you think that strategy and performance management in the public sector is different from that in the private sector? How?

Yes, by changing the targeted customer, including beneficiary and strategic direction. For example, the strategic direction in the public sector often focuses on the final beneficiary (citizens, residents and other government sectors) and the services provided to them. Moreover, the public sector focuses on measuring beneficiary satisfaction, improving service quality, sustaining provision, and reducing the sector’s burden in service delivery.

As for the private sector, the focus is on return on investment, as well as ensuring cash flows and the effectiveness of operational processes to reduce expenses.

What are the main achievements you are proud of thus far during your time working in strategy and performance management in the public sector?

So far, the main achievement I am proud of is my participation in formulating and implementing two strategies in the public sector.

What are the main challenges that you face working in strategy and performance management in the public sector? When faced with such challenges, what do you do?

One of the main challenges that I face working in strategy and performance management in the public sector is the shortage of manpower which leads to distraction.

For the future of your career, do you intend to keep on working in the public sector, switch to the private sector, or does the sector not really matter to you? Why?

Recently, the public sector has closely aligned with the private sector in terms of social and economic impact. This has led to a strategic shift, prompting me to consider either public or private.

If someone is looking to work in strategy and performance management in the public sector one day, what skills, knowledge and experience would you advise them to acquire?

From my point of view, to excel in strategic work and stand out, one must master employee management, ensuring subordinates adhere to policies and procedures while also possessing deep strategic thinking, maximizing gains, building strong relationships, and gaining trust to effectively implement required tasks.

In addition to analytical skills, data linking, project management, and financial planning, one should also possess the ability to set standards, develop policies, and master persuasive storytelling.

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Khalid G. Alharbi will delve deeper into his insights on performance management in the public sector in the upcoming government edition of Performance Magazine. For updates on the publication release, please follow The KPI Institute’s LinkedIn page.

Measuring corporate sustainability using the ROSI™ framework and % ROI

Written by andreana.dumitrescu on August 14, 2023. Posted in Articles, KPI, Organisational performance

Image Source: Gino Crescoli | Pixabay

Corporate sustainability (CS) represents a business approach that creates long-term shareholder value by embracing opportunities and managing risks derived from economic, environmental, and social developments, Yale University states. Organizations are increasingly realizing that their long-term success and profitability depend on measuring the financial impact of CS initiatives for several reasons: enhanced risk management, increased cost efficiency, greater investor demand, and improved brand reputation—ideas that were highlighted in a 2022 paper from the International Journal of Economics and Management.

The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business developed the Return on Sustainable Investment (ROSI™) framework as a methodology used to evaluate the financial performance and returns generated from sustainability initiatives. It aims to measure the economic benefits derived from sustainability investments and assess the value created for the organization.

ROSI™ assists decision-making processes, resource allocation, and the prioritization of sustainability investments based on their potential financial returns. The framework also facilitates communication with stakeholders (i.e. investors, customers, and employees) by quantifying the financial value created through sustainable practices. The sustainability drivers of financial performance and competitive advantage based on ROSI™ methodology can be consulted below (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 – The ROSI™ Framework | Source: NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business

Entities need to follow a clear set of steps to implement the ROSI™ methodology, per The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business:

Identify material sustainability practices.
Determine the potential benefits that might drive financial and societal value from sustainability-focused practices.
Quantify benefits derived from the sustainability practices.
Derive a monetary value for the benefits.

The main advantage that ROSI™ brings is helping companies make a compelling business case for sustainability, driving both financial value and positive societal impact while advancing sustainability goals, as NYU Stern concludes in a report published in 2021.

HSBC Bank USA and the NYU Stern Center have launched the Food and Agriculture Sustainability Strategies Framework, based on ROSI™ to help food and agriculture companies make a business case for sustainable initiatives that deliver financial value and societal impact. The framework identifies twelve sustainable strategies and describes practical suggestions for calculating returns. It serves as a strategic tool for unlocking the advantages of sustainability and driving real change in the industry.

According to Forbes—and adapted to adhere to The KPI Institute’s KPI naming standards—% Return on investment (% ROI) is a KPI that measures the efficiency or profitability of an investment or compares the efficiency of several different investments. This metric is also used to measure and evaluate the financial impact of organizational sustainability initiatives, making it easier to understand the value proposition of certain environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria used in socially responsible investing. A positive % ROI score indicates a profitable outcome, as the gains generated from the investment exceed the costs incurred (see Figure 2).

Figure 2 – ROI KPI calculation | Source: Adapted from smartKPIs.com

An article from Brightest presented findings based on data gathered between 2020 – 2023 from five top companies that measure the ROI of sustainability. It stated that companies like HP Inc. ($3.5B), Unilever ($1.2B), McKesson ($227M), Nike ($50M), Anheuser-Busch ($7.5M), and Medtronic ($2.2M) earned extensive profit from internal cost savings actions based on sustainability criteria like energy efficiency or waste reducing. By demonstrating the financial value of sustainable practices, % ROI enhances the business case for social investment and encourages stronger ESG administration, balancing monetary performance with social and environmental impact.

ROSI™ and % ROI are valuable tools for measuring the financial impact of sustainability initiatives. ROSI™ goes beyond traditional metrics, helping companies understand the value of sustainability strategies. Meanwhile, % ROI quantifies the fiscal returns generated, enabling data-driven decision-making. Together, they support making informed choices, practicing accountability, and leaving behind a positive environmental and societal impact while delivering long-term financial value.