The report also cited five ways that performance
information can be used to improve the results of policy
and program decisions. Those are: “demonstrating
management commitment; aligning agency goals, objectives
and measures; improving the usefulness of performance
information to better meet management needs; developing
agency capacity to effectively use performance
information; and frequently and effectively communicating
performance information within the agency.”
One example it gave was monthly meetings that the Small
Business Administration conducts with the associate
administrator of each mission and functional office –
attended by the administrator, deputy administrator, and
chief operating officer – to review that office’s
performance.
SBA offices have performance measures for office strategic
goals, production goals and project goals, all on a
scorecard, and prior to meeting, the COO’s staff reviews
the monthly and cumulative performance information for
each office, comes up with questions based on that review
and asks for a written response from each office,
according to GAO.
It said this analysis is the basis for performance review
meetings, and that “officials and management’s commitment
to regularly reviewing performance increases performance
ownership among staff and competition among the offices
to meet performance targets.”
