You should be familiar with several evaluation tools in preparation for the PHR/SPRH exam. Strategy evaluation is the process of measuring how well or how poorly an organization is doing when compared to the strategic plan. The timing of the evaluations are important because they shouldn't be completed only at the end of the plan year.
When the proper tools are identified and built, an organization can regularly collect data that will allow it to respond to deficiencies quickly and adjust course as necessary — thus the importance of finding the right tools for measuring success.
The strategy evaluation tools with which you should be familiar include the following:
Financial measures: In simplest terms, these reports follow the money — how it comes in and where it goes out. An example is the company budget.
Company overview: A company overview is focused on performance and is often broken down by department. Examples include dashboards or a balanced scorecard.
Quality initiatives: These efforts exist both on a macro and micro level, meaning the focus can be on overall product/service quality or a unit-by-unit quality. Quality is often cited as a company value, launching initiatives such as Total Quality Management (TQM) or the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Productivity standards: These standards measure the outputs of effort and include calls tended or cubes per hour.
Sales targets: These targets are set for several reasons, including identifying the break-even point and providing a plan for business growth. Sample reports include comparing year over year, month over month, and individual product growth or decline.
