STRAIT to the future

8th Asia-Pacific Specials, Health and Law Librarians Conference

Strategic planning and performance indicators: making them work for you

Toni Silson
Lady Davidson Hospital Library, North Turramurra, NSW

Keywords: Strategic planning; Performance indicators; Benchmarking

Abstract

This paper will discuss the processes of strategic planning, performance indicators and benchmarking and examine the way in which these tools can be used as a means to assist in the management of a library. They are interrelated processes which provide a means of planning and measuring performance in both normal day to day work (performance indicators) and new or specifically targeted work (strategic planning), while suggesting areas for improvement (benchmarking).

Introduction

In this paper I will be looking at the processes of strategic planning, performance indicators and benchmarking and examining the way in which you can use these tools as a means to assist you in the management of your library. These are interrelated processes which provide a means of planning and measuring performance in both normal day to day work (performance indicators) and new or specifically targeted work (strategic planning), while suggesting areas for improvement (benchmarking).

Strategic planning

What?
Strategic planning involves the "development and implementation of a plan of action for an organisation which will ensure the long-run success of that organisation" (Viljoen, 1991: 3). It encompasses a definition of the library's mission statement, goals, and the strategies (and time frames) that have been planned to meet these, and also a process for evaluating and starting the planning cycle again. Strategic planning identifies business performance and improvement activities to be undertaken within the planning timeframe to meet customer needs.

Why?
Strategic planning encourages the library manager to be future oriented. It is important for them to determine where they want their libraries to be, then work back in time to determine the strategies they need to reach that goal (Riggs, 1984: 3). It also provides a formal process for regular discussion, approval and review of future planning, with clients, senior management and within the library (for those with more than one staff member). This may assist in building a larger base of support within the main organisation (Smith, 1992: 146).

How?
Strategic planning "requires a broad knowledge of the organisation" (Viljoen, 1991: 13). This may be gained in a number of ways. For example, by getting out of the library and becoming part of the organisation, either formally through work on committees and informally through your friendship and social networks. This will enable you to gain knowledge of current and future directions being taken by the organisation, which you can use to position your library as a necessary part of it. You may think that you know where you're going and what your future plans are but it is "preferable to formalize the strategic plan by committing it to writing because this forces ... managers [ie. you] ... to think carefully about strategic issues which may be only loosely formed in their minds ... [and] makes it much easier to convey the plan to the rest of the organisation" (Viljoen, 1991: 3). This last step is also very important - let your management know what you are planning and how this supports the mission of the broader organisation.

The main steps in the process consist of the following:

1. Develop a mission statement. This should:

• support and reflect the mission statement of the organisation
• be customer oriented, rather than product oriented (eg. To provide information and access to information sources, rather than to provide access to books and journals) (Smith, 1992: 147)
• express the raison d'etre of the library in broad terms (ie. answer the question: What is (or will be) the library's business?) (Riggs, 1984: 30)

2. Analyse the environment.

• With key stakeholders ( ie. management, users, library staff) use a SWOT analysis to identify the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities for the library. This can be done either formally (through questionnaires, focus groups etc) or informally (by talking to others in the organisation, attending meetings etc).
• Identify the top 5 issues arising from the SWOT analysis in each of the following areas: revenue (if any), expenditure and systems

3. Define specific goals. These are "a broad or general statement of desired or intended accomplishment" (Riggs, 1984: 32)

4. Define strategies arising from the goals. These must be more specific and measurable and "are stated in terms of a particular result that will be accomplished by specified date" (Riggs, 1984: 35)

5. Prioritise the strategies.

• What is most pressing, are there any inside/outside time constraints that must be observed?
• Which are the most closely related to the organisation and library's mission?

6. Put the implementation strategies into a plan.

• Identify what strategies are intended to be addressed in the forthcoming year. Be specific and make sure that the activities you are planning are achievable given the timeframe.
  • State strategies - what will be done?
  • Action required - how will it be done?
  • Target Date(s) - when will it be done?
  • Responsible person - who is going to do it?

7. Review and revise the plan on a regular basis. It should be a living document that can adjust to changes in the environment and workplace.

8. Review and report on the previous year's plan. Identify the specific strategies/goals, outcomes achieved and future directions required. Include positive and negative strategies/goals in order to highlight issues of concern where appropriate. List the achievements and highlights of the year. This report should preferably be sent to your senior management to increase their awareness of the library's activities, achievements, and plans.

When?
A full strategic planning exercise should be done at least once a year, with the plan being consulted on an ongoing basis during the year (perhaps monthly) so that you can make sure you are keeping one track - that due dates are being met or rescheduled as necessary.

Comments

Advantages:

• New initiatives can be evaluated on the basis of their consistency with the library and organisation's mission (Viljoen, 1991: 23)
• Enables libraries to be proactive rather than reactive with respect to environmental change (Viljoen, 1991: 23)
• Provides all staff in the organisation (both inside and outside the library) with a strong concept of exactly what it is that the library is trying to achieve (Viljoen, 1991: 22) - and gives the library staff a sense of direction and feeling of momentum, while helping to communicate with clients and management (Smith, 1992: 148).

Disadvantages:

• Process is time consuming and may seem too overwhelming to contemplate.

Things to avoid:

• "Analysis-paralysis" - spending too much time assessing strengths, weaknesses and threats, and not enough time planning.
• A feeling that the plan is cast in stone and cannot be changed - this must be resisted so that new opportunities can be embraced (Smith, 1992: 148).

Performance indicators

What?
It is important to remember that performance indicators are just that: "indicators". They are not proof. They are used to "indicate" that something is going on - it is up to us to interpret what that something is, and why it is happening.

The emphasis of performance indicators should be on "performance as distinct from intention, and on indicators as signals or guides, rather than absolute measures" (Van Loo, 1990: 68). They are "designed to monitor the performance of a facility on a continuous basis" (Pawsey, 1990: 17).

There is a distinction made in some of the literature between performance measures and performance indicators. This is largely based on the definitions in the OAL Manual produced by the U.K. Office of Arts and Libraries (Cope, 1990: 95). According to this manual:

1. a performance measure is a numerical result obtained by counting and can be a measure of input, output or outcome

2. a performance indicator is the relationship between two or more measures.

• the number of books lost per annum is a measure
• the number of books lost per annum as a percentage of the collection is an indicator
• e.g. measure no.1 = number of books lost; measure no. 2 = number of books in collection, indicator = measure1 divided by measure 2

The indicator is more meaningful than the measure and is a better basis of comparison, either between libraries, or from year to year.

A performance indicator should also be looked at in relation to a performance standard. This can be a maximum standard (eg. losses < 1% of the collection), a minimum standard (eg. Kinetica hit rate > 75%) or a target to be achieved (Van Loo, 1990: 71).

Example: You have recorded a loss rate (indicator) of between 1% and 2% of the collection for the last 5 years. You decide to install a security system. The following year your loss rate drops to .1% of the collection. This would "indicate" that the security system has probably prevented users from stealing books. It does not prove it - but it probably is the case. If the indicator remains at a lower rate than previously, this would provide more evidence that the security system is being successful.

Why?
Performance indicators can be used internally to "provide [a] general overview of trends, to monitor the use of the service ... to compare library services in ... [a] network and to identify major differences from the norm" or externally "to demonstrate the value and scale of the activities in libraries" (Van Loo, 1990: 74).

Indicators can also assist in budget preparation and justification and, if done properly, can help to motivate your staff. Shaughnessy, in an extremely good article on the concept of quality, proposes that "a library's performance is nothing more or less than the sum total of the performances of it's individual staff members: (Shaughnessy, 1990: 5) and that simply by focusing the staff's attention on service quality and library effectiveness, the results will be an increase in quality (Shaughnessy, 1990: 2).

How?
Just as in the strategic planning process, performance indicators should arise out of a examination of what the library's business is. Therefore, the goals of the library service will arise naturally out of the mission statement. The difference between the two is that strategic planning is designed more to deal with possible changes either in processes or the environment, or innovations that may be planned, whereas performance indicators look more at the day to day business of the library and how it is performing. Strategic planning is looking at the future, performance indicators are looking at today.

The full process of devising performance indicators consists of:

1. Define a mission statement (see above for details)

2. Define the current goals of the library in order to fulfil this mission statement.

3. Decide on what strategies are required to fulfil these goals.

4. Describe what are the intended outputs or outcomes as a result of these strategies.

5. Devise performance indicators to measure how well these outputs/outcomes are being met. Clearly state how these indicators will be calculated (eg. Ratio of interlibrary loans supplied to those received)

6. Decide on how and how often the indicators will be measured (eg. statistics, survey, observation) and decide on targets to be reached. List these in a table (see attached appendix)

7. Report and revise indicators.

Alternatively, for those who want to short cut the process, the following can be done:

1. List the services/activities in your library that:

• you would like more information on;
• you continually have problems with;
• your management requires information on;
• you think would best illustrate the advantages or deficiencies of the library (depending on what you want to show management).

3. Decide on how to measure effectiveness/efficiency of tasks and how often (what methods will be used, what calculations will be done etc.) and decide on targets to be reached.
4. Report and revise indicators. (Silson, 1992)

When?
How and how often indicators are collected will depend on the type of information required, and the method in which the data can be compiled. For example I have a computerised cataloguing and circulation system that supplies me with much of the data I need, however, if you don't have such a system, the indicators you are able to collect will be different than mine.

Indicators should be reviewed and reported on at least annually. This is essential as you do not want to collect meaningless data, and it may be that something you thought was important to know about once may no longer be necessary. Alternatively, the data may be too difficult to collect, and not worth the time and effort expended.

Any reports you generate, as a result of this process, should be passed on to senior management. As with strategic planning, it enhances your image as a competent manager, while also informing important stakeholders of the work that is being done in the library. The information can be a formal report, and/or simply a quick precis for the organisation's newsletter.

Comments

In planning and implementing performance indicators we should never forget the basic questions we are trying to answer. That is:

• Who are we serving?
• How can we best serve them (within the existing constraints)?
• How can we show that we are providing the best possible service?

Above all, we must remember the following rules:

• Keep it simple
• Keep it achievable
• Keep it meaningful. (Silson, 1992)

Benchmarking

What?
"Benchmarking is a Total Quality Management (TQM) tool used to measure and compare the work processes in your library with those in other libraries" (Gohlke, 1997: 22)

Why?
Performance indicators can provide you with even more meaningful information when you use them as benchmarks to compare your libraries activities/achievements with those of other libraries. This enables library managers to determine how effective, efficient and economical their library operation is. This process will also show your library's value to your customers and other managers in the organisation and may help you explore either a new service, product or process that you may not have been aware of.

How?
1. Identify other libraries as partners. The other libraries must be comparable, either in size and/or in the client group served and/or the processes/systems used.

2. Decide on standard measures for work practices that data can be gathered on (performance indicators)

3. Measure and compare the results.

4. Conduct an interview with the "best practice" library - the one with the most efficient and effective work processes.

5. Adopt or adapt their best practices in your library. (Gohlke, 1997: 22).

Conclusion

Strategic planning, performance indicators and benchmarking are interrelated processes that provide information about what we are doing, what we want to be doing and what we should be doing. They are processes that many library managers will have to deal with at some time. They may be imposed by the organisation, or chosen by ourselves - but it will be to our advantage if we choose how, when and why we do them. I have attempted to offer some ideas on how to plan and implement them. However, in order for them to be meaningful, you must decide how and when they will be used in your library - because if you don't, someone else probably will! You will then be able to head straight towards the future with confidence.

Bibliography

Cope, C. (1990) "Performance indicator work in public libraries in the U.K." Public Library Journal, v.5 n.4: 95-98.

Gohlke, A. (1997) Benchmark for strategic performance improvement" Information outlook, v.1 n.8: 22-4.

Pawsey, M. (1990) Quality assurance for health services: a practical approach, Sydney: NSW Dept. of Health.

Riggs, D.E. ( 1984) Strategic planning for library managers. Phoenix: Oryx Press.

Shaughnessy, T.W. (1990) "Assessing library effectiveness" Journal of Library Administration, v.12 n.1: 1-8.

Silson, T. (1992) "Performance indicators in libraries", paper presented to the ALIA NSW Health Libraries Section.

Smith, B.T. (1992) "Strategic planning: the hospital library perspective" Bibliotheca Medica Canadiana v.13 n.3: 146-153.

Van Loo, J. (1990) "Performance indicators in the health care library: the macro dimension" in, Taylor, M.H. and Wilson, T. (eds) Q.A. Quality assurance in libraries: the health care sector, Ottawa: Canadian Library Association: 65-83.

Viljoen, J. (1991) Strategic management: how to analyse, choose and implement corporate strategies Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.

Appendix

Copies of the Appendix are available from Toni Silson, nldh@oze-mail.com.au.

Author

Qualifications: Bachelor of Arts (Lib Sci) from Kuringgai CAE (now UTS Kuringgai).
Work experience: 18 years experience in academic and special libraries, specialising for the last 11 years in medical and one person libraries. Other: National Convenor of the ALIA One person libraries special interest group, previously involved in committees for ALIA Health Libraries and Gratisnet.