Build Management Dashboards to Monitor Admin Unit Performance

Finance and administration leaders are tracking more data than ever before, but many struggle to use it to inflect performance. In turn, some leaders are turning to management dashboards to better organize metrics. Dashboards are a proven tool that other industries, such as retail and finance, have long used to manage, track, and analyze data to inform decision-making.

A major challenge to effectively leveraging data to drive change is picking the handful of core metrics that best measure unit performance. Given the countless ways to measure performance, unit leaders often struggle to choose the metrics that truly evaluate operational effectiveness.

The first step to building effective management dashboards is choosing which performance metrics to monitor and display. Using the link below, review a compendium of performance metrics for over 24 administrative, finance, and student services units as a starter list of potential metrics to track.

Of course, leaders will not want to track all metrics listed in the compendium of unit performance metrics (we’ve identified more than 70 potential metrics for some units!). Units that track all possible metrics rather than a manageable set of core measures often fail to extract actionable information, diluting improvement efforts. Follow the six-step filtering process outlined in the graphic below to identify the 6-8 metrics that provide the greatest insight into unit performance gaps

While elevating the right metrics is critical, poor design can make or break efforts to better leverage data. To design user-friendly dashboards, leaders should first consider several key characteristics of effective dashboards.

Rigorous metric selection and a compelling dashboard format do not necessarily compel corrective action when performance lags. Leaders should also define associated performance targets and “action triggers”—thresholds that signal underperformance on core metrics and mandate a response or action.