This document discusses performance management for social service organizations. It defines performance management as actively monitoring data to optimize outcomes through understanding what works and making ongoing adjustments. The goal is to ensure efforts relate to outcomes. It distinguishes performance management from evaluation, noting that performance management occurs throughout a program to guide improvements, while evaluation assesses effectiveness periodically. The document provides tips for organizations to become performance driven, such as establishing clear missions, accountability systems, and using data to make strategic and tactical adjustments.

1. Measure Your Organization’s Impact with Performance
Management
July 25, 2013
Social Solutions is the leading provider of performance management software for human
services, connecting efforts to outcomes, people to social services, and service providers
and communities to funders. V1.2011

2. Social Solutions Company Overview
“To Challenge and Equip Organizations to Turn Good Intent into
Measurable Change by Relating Efforts to Outcomes”
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100+ Employees
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3. We will be covering. . .
 What is performance management?
 The difference between performance management and
evaluation
 What it means to become performance driven
 How to become performance driven
 Resources for performance management

4. What is Performance Management?
Understanding
what is and is
not working
Making ongoing
adjustments as
needed
Continuing
to improve
(ongoing
process)
Active
Monitoring
of Data
The goal is to optimize
your chances for
achieving outcomes

5. Performance Management
Isaac Castillo, 2011, ETOlution
Past
• Funders decide
what data is to
be collected
• Satisfy reporting
requirements
only
• Data collected
and reported
and never to be
used again
Present
• Human service
agency decides
on the data to be
collected
• Data used to
inform decision
making to
improve
programs
• Utilize internal
databases
Future
• Collecting data
and sharing it
with clients
• Clients will be
partners
• Client friendly
reporting

6. Success Story
Latin American Youth Center
– Residential program
• Isaac Castillo, former
Director of Learning and
Evaluation

7. 2 Types of Performance Management
Strategic
Measuring the
aggregate over
extended
periods of time
Allows for
making higher
level decisions
Tactical
Measurements
for day-to-day
monitoring of
activities
Allows for front
line staff to
make frequent
adjustments
David Hunter, 2012, Working Hard and
Working Well

8. What is Evaluation?
Overall definition: An assessment of social programs.
Two types that we will discuss:
1. Formative
1. Are we doing what we say we are doing?
2. Are we serving who we say we are serving?
2. Summative
1. Are we accomplishing what we think we are accomplishing?
David Hunter, 2012, Working Hard and
Working Well

9. What is the
difference?
Performance
Management
Evaluation
Purpose •Ensure fidelity
•Plan and guide
improvements
•Understand performance
•Describe operations
•Assess effectiveness
Timing •Throughout the
program’s life
•Once or periodically
People responsible •Program staff •External evaluator
Benchmarks •Progress is measured
against key measures
•Progress is measured by
increases and decreases
in desired outcomes that
are predetermined
Walker, K.E. & Moore, K.A, 2011, Performance
management and evaluation: What’s the difference?.
Research-to-Results: Child Trends.

10. Targeting
Conduct
Needs
Assessment
Identify
Your
Population
Select Intervention,
Develop Logic Model
& Identify Indicators
Implement Program/Approach &
Conduct Ongoing Performance
Management
Conduct a Randomized-Controlled
Impact Evaluation
[if appropriate and feasible]
Collect Data on Performance & Outcome Measures
Conduct a Quasi-Experimental
Outcomes Evaluation
[once implementation issues are addressed]
Conduct an Implementation Evaluation
[once program operations are stable]
Moore, K. A., Walker, K. & Murphey, D.(2011). Performance Management:
The Neglected Step in Becoming an Evidence-Based Program, in Morino,
M., Weiss, L. & Collins, C., Leap of Reason (111-.116). Washington, D.C.:
Venture Philanthropy Partners.
Becoming Performance Driven

11. Performance Leadership
“Relentless Operational Leaders”
• Focused on making the current situation better
“Results Focused Managers”
• Making sure that the existing program works
well
David Hunter, 2013, Working Hard
and Working Well

12. Management Structure
“Accountability system”
• Staff to Managers
• Managers to Staff
“Results based budgeting”
• Staff competencies
• Data Management System
David Hunter, 2013, Working Hard and Working
Well

13. Information and Knowledge
“Measuring and Monitoring”
• What you need to know about in order to
determine whether or not you are doing a good job.
“Evaluations”
• Assessment
David Hunter, 2013, Working Hard and Working
Well

14. What is Theory of Change?
 How we effect change
▫ Overarching set of formal relationships presumed to exist for
 A defined population
 The intended outcomes that are the focus of the organization’s work
 The logic model for producing the intended outcomes
▫ Should be
 Meaningful to stakeholders
 Plausible in that it conforms to common sense
 Doable with available resources
 Measurable
Mario Marino, 2011, Leap of Reason

15. What is a logic model?
 Logically related parts of a program
▫ Shows links between
 Program objectives
 Program activities
 Expected outcomes
 Makes clear
▫ Who will be served
▫ What should be accomplished
▫ How it will be done (specifically)

16. Data Management System
 Measure what you need to know
 All levels must be invested and trained
 Intentionality

17. ETO – Participant Dashboard

18. Goal Dashboard

19. Staff Dashboard

22. Framework for Success
 Are you working with the correct Target Population?
▫ Are you trying to be everything to everyone?
 Are you providing the most appropriate services for that
population?
▫ Have the programs/services been proven to be effective
for that population?
 Are those services being provided at the appropriate
frequency/dosage?
▫ Can you expect positive outcome results at a low
frequency of services provided?
 Can you demonstrate program quality?
▫ i.e. customer satisfaction
 Does your staff have the competencies to be most effective?
▫ Do you invest in professional development?
 Are you collecting aggregate data?
▫ Are we doing what we are promising to do?

23. “We’re lost, but making good time”
 Why do most nonprofits NOT manage to performance?
▫ Not encouraged or supported to manage well
▫ Do not recognize and reward good management
▫ Funders don’t provide financial support needed
▫ Nonprofits are a function of what funders require
▫ Cutting costs undermines the pursuit of impact
▫ Fear that information will be used against them
▫ Lack of respect for soft outcomes
▫ Too much focus on the mechanics of measurement
and not what the data reveal.
Mario Marino – “Leap of Reason”

24. Can we identify a high performing
organization?
Does the organization have:
1. Clarity of mission
2. Track record of being mission driven
3. Intentional review of activities
4. Accountability system
5. Budgeting for performance
6. Measuring/monitoring
7. Use of data to make adjustments (tactical or strategically)
8. Evaluation – evidence for likely program impact
9. Fidelity of program delivery
David Hunter, 2013, Working
Hard and Working Well

25. “Leap of Reason – Managing to Outcomes in
an Era of Scarcity”
 Mario Marino - Venture Philanthropy
Partners
 Managing to Outcomes
▫ Investing in continuous collection and
use of information to guide an
organizations decisions and
operations.
 To What End?
▫ One end in mind – helping non profits
deliver greater benefits to those they
serve.

26. • David Hunter, PhD, Consultant
 Companion to Leap of Reason
 Practical guide to developing a
culture of performance
management
 “Those who rely on social services in
order to overcome personal, economic,
and societal challenges need the social
sector to embrace performance
management, to ‘manage to outcomes’
with dedication, commitment, and
passion.”

27. Cultivating a Performance Oriented Culture
 Requires significant culture shift. It is primarily
about culture and people, not numbers.
 Outcomes and having a performance culture are
dependent on an attitude and mindset that must
come from within
 Courageous leaders who foster a performance
culture
 “Greatness is not a function of circumstance.
Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of
conscious choice, and discipline.” – Jim
Collins

28. Common misconceptions
 We track a lot of data, does that make us a performance driven
organization?
▫ Do the staff and leadership have access to that data?
▫ Do they use that data to drive their decisions?
▫ Do you and your staff know why you are tracking the information?
 We would love to monitor the effectiveness of certain staff because
we suspect they aren’t doing their jobs well.
▫ Nonprofits folks don’t come to their jobs for the pay.
▫ This should not be a punitive process.
▫ The idea is to focus on WHAT WORKS and replicate it.
 We just went through a strategic planning process and
implemented many changes based on the data, are we
performance driven?
 This is not a one shot deal. This should be daily, weekly,
monthly…monitoring…

29. Patrick Corvington, CEO,
Corporation for National and Community Service
“The issues we face everyday are too big to be left to one leader,
one organization or even one government. But more than that, they
are too big and their success too critical to be left to the chance of
good intentions. These problems will be solved only with the
courage to stand for something that matters – to stand for results.
In order to step up to this challenge, we need to reconnect with that
part of our souls that drives us to make a difference no matter what
the odds. It’s this passion that inspires me and you to take our work
to the next level so that instead of saying “I hope I made a
difference” we can say “I know I made a difference.”
But what does that mean?
Focus on a narrow set of outcomes and drive relentlessly
toward those results.

30. Questions?
Contact Information:
jalleman@socialsolutions.com