Creating an ROI Dashboard
A Practical Approach to Measuring & Communicating Organizational
Impact
Stacey Bowers
Marketing and Account Development Manager, Channel Marketing
2
How Springer got involved?
1. Your interests are OUR interests?
2. Springer LAB was formed to get a two-way communication
3. Outsell White Paper was commissioned
 “Establishing Value and ROI: Investing in STM e-journals and e-books”
4. Suggested Steps to Create an ROI Dashboard…
3
Contributing Value to the Organization
1. In the current economic climate, Libraries need to be recognized
for their contributions to an organization.
2. Libraries need to align with and contribute to Enterprise goals.
3. Communication of ROI is critically important as a validation of
Library services.
4
Measuring ROI
1. Assessing and demonstrating the value of information has
become both more difficult and more necessary
2. Libraries are struggling to measure ROI
 Increased choice means more complexity
 What is the value of a digital resource if information is free?
3. Usage is often a proxy for value but Libraries understand the need
to dig deeper
4. Softer metrics such as time saved or project streamlining are
difficult to quantify, but critical to expressing real value
Who is involved in the budget and content decision making?
Courtesy of FreePint www.freepint.com
70.0%
Overall Budget
60.0%
Individual Items
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
Head of
information
centre
Chief
Financial
Officer or
equivalent
Divisional
directors or
equivalent
Managing
Director or
equivalent
Chief
Individual
Knowledge information
Officer or professionals
equivalent
Users of
content
products
Does this look familiar?
7
Communicating Value and ROI
1.Simple, effective tools for communicating Library ROI and contributions are
needed
2.An ROI dashboard provides an ongoing summary of a Libraries contribution to
organizational objectives
3.The dashboard should tell the unfolding story of a library’s contribution to
organizational goals and success
8 Steps to develop an effective ROI dashboard
Step 1: Align with Organizational Objectives
Step 2: Identify Key Constituencies
Step 3: Conduct Internal Research
Step 4: Determine Desired Measurements
Step 5: Establish ROI Methodology
Step 6: Determine Value
Step 7: Create ROI Dashboard
Step 8: Develop Communication Plan
Step 1: Align with Organizational Objectives
•
•
•
Identify key organizational strategies and objectives
•
ROI should not simply justify costs, but actively demonstrate
contributions to the organization’s success
Ensure that services delivered align with organizational goals
Identification of key library users and groups within the organization is
critical to ensuring proper alignment of services
Align Services
with Strategy
Map current
and potential
Users
Step 2: Identify Key Constituencies
•
•
10
Segment knowledge workers and groups
Examine Group, Department and Enterprise perspectives
– Various constituents have differing views on the role and value of the library
– Executives and library stakeholders will see key library functions differently than
end users
•
•
Understand ROI measurements’ relevance to various constituencies
For all constituencies, ROI should focus on improvement across
three key metrics:
Money
Time
Quality
Source: Establishing the return on investment for information and knowledge services: A. Hendriks and Wooler Business Information Review.2006; 23: 13-25
Step 3: Conduct Internal Research
11
•
Perform internal research to determine constituent perspectives,
needs and objectives
•
Topics to explore:
– Enterprise or group objectives & library support for these objectives
– Views on the value of information
– ROI examples from other areas of the organization
– Behaviors and use of eContent (End-Users)
End-user surveys
Focus groups
Executive interviews
Informal feedback
Usage data
SpringerLink Usage Statistics :
Corporation XYZ
13
Contents
• Samples of usage data that can help you measure
ROI in various ways.
• Help you re-appropriate collections and or
budgets.
14
Usage Dashboard
Usage Metrics
Jan to Oct 2009
Visits
19,287
Page Views
44,510
Journals Page Views
31,967
eBooks Page Views
5,004
Other Page Views (Home, Navigation etc.)
7,539
Full-Text Requests
7,447
Journals Articles (COUNTER Journal Report 1)
5,769
eBooks Sections (COUNTER Book Report 2)
1,678
License denials
5,170
Journals Articles
4,553
eBooks Sections
617
Pay-per-View Requests
(Source: MetaPress, Coremetrics)
5
15
Page Views by IP Addresses
Page Views
IP Address
Jan to Oct 2009
XXX.XX.210.15
18,107
XXX.XX.2.158
13,344
XXX.XX.212.160
8,948
XXX.XX.11.16
1,706
XXX.XX.3.30
1,355
XXX.XX.188.155
211
XXX.XX.210.16
163
XXX.XX.189.2
62
XXX.XX.88.30
40
XXX.XX.11.15
30
XXX.XX.161.193
23
XXX.XX.161.169
23
XXX.XX.40.60
23
XXX.XX.189.97
22
XXX.XX.188.242
21
Other
432
Total
44,510
(Source: Coremetrics)
16
Full-Text Article Requests (COUNTER Journal Report 1)
SpringerLink Full-Text Article Requests 2007-10
(Source: MetaPress )
17
Full-Text Article Requests by Content Age
Full-Text Article Requests by Content Age: Jan to Oct 2009
(Source: Coremetrics)
18
Full-Text Section Requests by Subject Collections
Full-Text Section Requests by Subject Collections: Jan to Oct 2009
(Source: Coremetrics)
19
Article Denials by Subject Collections
Article Denials by Subject Collections: Jan to Oct 2009
(Source: Coremetrics)
20
Article Denials by Content Age
Article Denials by Content Age: Jan to Oct 2009
(Source: Coremetrics)
21
Quote from Outsell’s Establishing Value and ROI report….
“All of these metrics are fine and dandy, but they
don’t really answer the question…libraries have
been trying to answer…for years……Impact to
me is quantifying the impact on the bottom line.”
(Lab Manager: Technical Library Information
Research, Research and Engineering Lab.)
(Source: Coremetrics)
Step 5: Establish ROI Methodology
•
22
Determining ROI is complicated
Formula will be unique for every organization
ROI is a story that can be told combining quantitative and qualitative data to establish
baseline assumptions.
•
Establish methodology
•
•
Determine what “Research” (from step 3) is relevant to developing your ROI story.
Establish Assumptions
•
•
•
Cost of alternatives vs library costs
Cost of time saved = cost of wages
Opportunity costs
Step 6: Determine Value
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Establish a dollar value for library services and resources
Four basic steps are needed to find a bottom line for library services and resources.
1. Find cost data for
operating information
services.
2. Collect user
estimates of the value
of beneficial library
services.
4. Determine costbenefit ratios to
provide a return on
investment (ROI)
figure.
3. Record narrative
accounts of library
impact.
. Source: Barbara Weiner "Marketing: Making a Case for Your Library" 3 Sources, V18(5), October/November 2000, pages 3-5
Step 6: Determine Value
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Case Study: Hazelden Library and Information Resources Center
Patron Needs Met:
92.2%.
•From Survey
Time saved for other employees each year:
$106,560
•Time saved x estimated hourly wage
Annual worth of reference service:
$78,300
•Number of transactions x time to respond x cost of independent service
Library collection worth: $52,544
• Cost to maintain content.
“This is not a
scientifically rigid
study. However,
this dollar value
exercise presents
a reasonable
estimate of the
value that my
library provides to
its organization. “
ROI
4:3
•Ratio of Worth of Service vs Library Collection
. Source: Barbara Weiner "Marketing: Making a Case for Your Library" 3 Sources, V18(5), October/November 2000, pages 3-5
Step 7: Create Your Dashboard
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What to include:
•
Presentation:
– A visual system – green, red and yellow key performance indicators
– Icons
– Key Metrics in percentage
•
What to demonstrate:
– Value, i.e. penetration and use
– Utilization, i.e. use, citations, authors, decisions supported
– Time Saved
Step 7: Create Your Dashboard
•
26
Develop simple, clear structure that effectively communicates ROI
•
Results should be apparent at a glance
• Dashboard should tell a story – include past history and/or trends
Metric
Value
Health
Today
Trend
Over 1 Year
92%


Time Saved
$106,560


Value of Service
$78,300


Cost of Operation
$52,544


4:3


Needs Met
ROI
Step 8: Develop Communication Plan
•
•
•
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Establishing an effective communication plan is vitally important
Meet with management to review and adjust communications
Ensure that all relevant constituents are covered
– Over communicate – do not assume your audiences already have this
information or will not benefit from receiving it
Questions?
Contact me for more info:
stacey.bowers@springer.com