Building Better Businesses in the Social Firm Sector – the Quality Focus

1. Building Better Businesses in the Social Firm Sector – the Quality Focus Sally Reynolds Social Firms UK www.socialfirms.co.uk

2. Initiatives to Build Better Businesses • Flagship Firms Programme (current) • DIY Feasibility Toolkit • Social Firm Performance Dashboard (September 05) • Social Firm Development Workbook (October 05) • Values-Based Checklist (NOW!) • Exploring options for a Social Firm Accreditation Scheme

3. Why DIY? • More sustainable as an approach (£) • Builds capacity within the group • Raises business awareness within the group • Increases sense of ownership & determination to make it work • Decreases need for external business support • Enables several business ideas to be explored simultaneously

5. What does the Dashboard do? • Converts Balanced Scorecard management principles • Provides a template of typical key objectives & measures • Allows you to set targets and compile action plan • Illustrates how you’re doing against your targets and action plan

6. Comprehensive Objectives To provide a comprehensive framework Dashboard sets out key objectives under 6 perspectives: • Financial • Employees • Customers • Internal • Environment • Trainee The software enables you to detail up to 8 objectives for each perspective

7. Your Key Objectives Dashboard provides typical objectives for each perspective in a template that you can edit to suit the circumstances of your firm

8. Objective Details For each objective Dashboard enables you to note appropriate measures and current baseline performance You use the drop down boxes to select the perspective and key objective required You can edit the measures for typical objectives, as appropriate, and enter your current baseline performance

9. Targets Against the details for each objective Dashboard enables you to set ‘traffic light’ targets and other detail, including responsibility. You can enter your acceptable, nearly acceptable and unacceptable ‘traffic light’ target details, associated responsibility and select the year end and the review frequency

10. Performance Against Target Against your targets Dashboard enables you record performance every quarter, or any other defined period, on a ‘traffic light’ basis Every quarter, or as modified in the software, you can record your performance against the targets set with comment. You can also access the action planning feature

11. Performance Summary Dashboard provides a visual summary of performance over the last four periods that can be printed out A fully detailed performance report is also available for printout

12. Dashboard Availability • Will be launched in September 2005 • CD-Rom based • Licence issued by Social Firms UK • Admin charge £90 to non-members, £50 to SEC members, free to SFUK members • Development funded by EQUAL under the SEP programme

13. Social Firm Development Workbook • Filling the gap of knowledge about Social Firms • Designed to be in addition to business or Social Enterprise start-up / management training • Will be available, free of charge • Option to take up introductory training day

14. Values-Based Checklist • Consultation with the sector, funded by EQUAL under SEP • Agreed final list, reflecting criteria against the values of Enterprise, Employment & Empowerment • Being launched at this conference • Will be widely disseminated as a tool

15. Exploring the options for a Social Firm Accreditation Scheme • Initial feedback on this question being collated and analysed • Option appraisal being considered Autumn 2005, exploring potential costs and implications • Member views welcomed e.g. discussion topic on Members Forum

16. Further Information? • www.socialfirms.co.uk