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Tag Archives: data-driven management
When municipalities come together…
What can happen if you bring municipalities, all with the common goal of wanting to 
manage better, together for a full day of learning and networking? The short answer…a lot. And a lot took place took place on the picturesque campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University just a few weeks ago during Revelstone’s Second Annual Customer Interaction Day.
For the second year in a row, municipalities who subscribe to Compass, Revelstone’s web-based performance analytics and benchmarking platform, gathered for a conference-style event of education, networking, best practices exchange and more. Filling the room were municipal managers and department heads eager to hear what others are doing with their performance initiatives and to discuss the challenges and successes that go along with it. Sessions ranged from the latest updates on Compass to open discussions and interactive workshops on implementing a performance management culture and creating a 2013 performance plan.
The event provided a forum for municipalities,…
Do your meetings include data-driven discussions?
Whether you are an inspirational leader, an experienced administrator or a newbie figuring out how to have a positive impact on your local government, you can complement your “natural” abilities with data-driven management techniques. The IBM Center for the Business of Government thinks so too, and recently published A Guide to Data-Driven Performance Reviews written by the Urban Institute’s Harry Hatry, a long-time leader in measuring performance. In this article Hatry focuses on managing with data, not just on the measurement, which I have long believed is the key to why we measure.
Warning: This article might be discouraging because it addresses the management of performance in large federal agencies. However, the insights in this paper are useful for small to moderate size municipalities if we use a lean performance management perspective. Those key concepts are:
- Ongoing and regular meetings
- Involvement of the chief executive or chief administrator in the meetings
- A data-driven meeting agenda based on reviewing key measures and determining actions to…