E-Fusion 2008
sure their business. How do you go about helping a com- areas. One is the claims area, and our sales and marketing.
pany do that? The first one just kind of emphasizes some of the things
that Pat was talking about. KPIs are key performance indi-
SAPORITO: Well, we really do that through – we call it a
cators for us. We’ve spent a lot of time in our organization
performance analytics workshop – and I’ll talk about it.
thinking about what are our key performance indicators,
It’s a methodology similar to . . . just as you use systems
what are our key metrics, what do we really want to focus
development, there’s also a metric methodology. So what
our individuals on as we go forward? Because as you said
I showed you in terms of those case studies, we actually
before, there really is an ocean of data available for folks,
will go into their operations. First of all we’ll start out by
but how do you sift you way through that to look at those
taking a look at their strategic business plans, taking a
things that are really actionable? That’s the key thing for us
look at their initiatives. We literally will walk them through
going forward.
the metric trees in a workshop for a particular functional
area. Most companies will tell you that they know their On the next slide is the same kind of thing where we try to
metrics and I would say that they certainly know a lot of basically take the results that are going forward and how
the metrics but they’re not linked and actionable. So that do we turn them into action so that we can do the things
process that I discussed through that workshop – is really you’ve talked about? Not only drive costs out of the sys-
where we kick the tires. That’s where we build those pro- tem, but also increase people’s productivity. How do we
totypes and they get those “Aha” moments so that they change the way they work? What do we want to do with
really understand. That’s really testing – are those metrics our dashboarding and other tools so that people can be
actionable, do they really more productive? Because,
drive improved performance? in the end, this is really about
And I know we’re talking making people productive. And
about productivity today but that’s what I think the key is
it’s not just about taking costs as we go forward is to iden-
out which is typically what we tify those drivers and trends
think about with productivity. as well as to try to diagnose
It’s also about increasing rev- what’s happening so that peo-
enue and seizing opportuni- ple are going to actually take
ties. So I just wanted to add action and perform results.
that as well. In the case of the sales and
marketing folks, a lot of it is
TINNIRELLO: That’s a good
how to make the agents more
point and I think this is really
effective through the indepen-
key to this whole issue of col-
dent agency system or how to
lecting data – the analytical
actually increase the premiums
issue – what you focused in
that we’re going to get from the
on – really finding out what
stuff we sell.
are the metrics that are mean-
ingful to a company. We could On the next page, we just
probably do a whole presen- talked a little bit about perfor-
tation just on that topic. mance dashboard success
factors. What are those things that are important and there
McDONALD: Pat, there were a few questions from attend-
are some organizational needs to think about as well as
ees and I assigned them to you. They should be popping
some business user needs. On the organizational side it’s
up in your system. If not, I’ll mention it after Mark’s presen-
really how do we align things within the organization to
tation, but I’d like to move to Mark right now. I’m changing
focus our energy on those goals and objectives that we’re
presenters on the system here and I’m clicking you, Mark,
trying to do? How do we provide collaboration for folks?
and you should receive a prompt saying that you’re the
As well as, how do we get some visibility so that we can
new presenter.
check on whether or not the key performance indicators
are really working? One of the key things about the met-
ALLABEN: This is just a little bit of who I am. I work for The
rics is that when you start this process lots of people have
Hartford Insurance Group. I’m on the property/casualty
ideas in their heads as to what the appropriate metrics are.
side and I run our business intelligence group across the
But it becomes a process where you try some things out,
whole P&C enterprise. Some of the stuff that Pat talked
you see what will happen, and there’s a little bit of experi-
about, I’ll just emphasize in my presentation. But what I
mentation or iteration until you can really land on those
really want to do is to demonstrate what we’ve done in
right metrics. As a result of that iteration, one of the key
past presentations on a practical basis through two of our
things is that the systems that you build, either the dash-
boards or the drill-down techniques or the business intel-