The efficiency gain scorecard: where outsourcing helps

Key takeaways

The GBL Efficiency Gain Scorecard rates a process from 0 to 2 on five lines: flow, focus, accuracy, capacity and visibility, where 2 means the problem is severe and the gain available is large. A score of 8 to 10 out of 10 means a large efficiency gain is available, 5 to 7 is worthwhile, and 4 or below means the process is already lean.

• 5 lines: flow, focus, accuracy, capacity and visibility.
• Score 0 to 2 each, where 2 means the biggest gain is available.
• 8 to 10: a large gain; 5 to 7: worthwhile; 4 or below: leave it.
• Score 20 minutes per process, using a week of real data.

What is the efficiency gain scorecard?

The GBL Efficiency Gain Scorecard is a five-line assessment that shows where outsourcing would make a process faster, more accurate or less disruptive. Each line is scored 0, 1 or 2, giving a total out of 10. A high score is not a judgement on your team. It shows where the process design leaves the most room for gain.

• How outsourcing can improve business efficiency
• Outsourcing efficiency checklist: 20 checks

How do you score each line?

Score each line using a week of real data, not impressions. Two people scoring separately and then comparing gives a fairer result than one person alone.

• Flow: 0 if lead time is under twice touch time; 1 if up to five times; 2 if more.
• Focus: 0 if no senior time goes on it; 1 if under 3 hours a week; 2 if more.
• Accuracy: 0 if under 1 in 50 items are corrected; 1 if up to 1 in 10; 2 if more.
• Capacity: 0 if the queue is steady; 1 if it backs up in peaks; 2 if always behind.
• Visibility: 0 if turnaround is reported weekly; 1 if sometimes; 2 if never.

• Lead time vs cycle time: what your customers actually feel
• Right first time rate: the quality number that cuts cost
• Work ageing report: find the jobs that have been waiting

How do you read the total?

A total of 8 to 10 means the process has a large efficiency gain available and is a strong candidate for a written process and a managed team. A total of 5 to 7 is worth improving, often with a process fix first. A total of 4 or below means the process already runs well, so leave it and look elsewhere.

The line with the highest score tells you what to fix first. A process scoring 2 on accuracy needs a checklist and acceptance criteria before anything else.

• Should you fix a process before you outsource it?
• Acceptance criteria: define done for outsourced work

What does a scored example look like?

In an illustrative example, a firm scores its supplier invoice process. Invoices take 10 minutes each but wait nine days for approval (flow 2), the director spends 4 hours a week on them (focus 2), one in eight is corrected (accuracy 2), the queue builds at month-end (capacity 1) and nobody reports turnaround (visibility 2). The total is 9: a large gain is available.

• Purchase-to-pay process: faster, cleaner supplier payments
• Approval bottlenecks: when sign-off holds up the work

When should you not rely on the score?

Do not rely on the score for work that is your product, your client relationship or highly confidential judgement. A high score there means the process needs redesign in-house, not a handover. Also rescore after any big change in volume, because capacity scores move with demand.

• Core vs non-core activities: what to keep in-house
• When not to outsource

How does this differ from the cost lever scorecard?

The cost lever scorecard asks where money is lost. The efficiency gain scorecard asks where time, attention and accuracy are lost. They often point to the same process, but not always. A process can be cheap and still slow customers down. Use both when building a business case.

• The cost lever scorecard: find savings process by process
• Outsource for efficiency or cost? Why the motive matters

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see when owners score their own processes: the one they expected to top the list, usually customer email, scores 6. The one they had not thought about, often supplier payments or document chasing, scores 9 because it waits on one person and is never measured.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Scorecard checklist

Follow these steps for each process.

• Pick one process with a clear start and end.
• Collect a week of lead time, touch time and corrections.
• Score the five lines separately with a colleague.
• Agree the total and the highest-scoring line.
• Fix that line first, then rescore in 30 days.

• A 90-day plan to improve efficiency through outsourcing

Next step

Send us your three highest-scoring processes and their line scores. We will tell you which look ready to hand over and which need a process fix first.