Scenario
A global medical supplier (predominantly to hospitals) had adopted the Balanced Scorecard. After creating a Strategy Map and Measures, its leaders were ready to communicate to the rest of the organization.
Approach Adopted
To achieve this, they adopted a two-pronged communication approach. Its first objective was to explain the purpose of the Balanced Scorecard to all staff members. They first identified why the Scorecard had been adopted and gave it a theme. Their challenge was communicating the message to multiple cultures in multiple languages, so giving it a sports theme made the communications considerably easier. The overall objectives for adopting the Balance Scorecard were identified, such as "will our alignment to the mission see us overcoming challenges and will our clarity ensure our vision?" Each objective was then given its own image. They distributed collateral such as posters, postcards, digital presentations and cascade kits.
Simultaneously, key representatives in each country became part of the second prong in this two-pronged approach. They were brought together in a workshop to understand the objectives of the Balanced Scorecard and what needed to be done. They were all given a start-up toolkit, which contained a 90-day guide on what to do when they returned to their country. Because it was packed with different activities, they could select what fit best for people in their countries. The kit also contained fun motivational items such as a sponge to revitalize their bodies, a power drink to give them energy, and a whistle to announce the kick off.
This approach worked well. Very quickly, the Balanced Scorecard became part of this company’s regular operations and helped deliver the strategy.
