In this online course you will learn:

Social work managers operate in increasingly data-rich environments. Programs track enrollment, service utilization, demographics, outcomes, satisfaction, staffing, budgets, contract requirements, and dozens of other indicators. Yet having more data does not necessarily help managers make better decisions. Much of the information collected by human service organizations is shaped by funder requirements, compliance obligations, evaluation plans, and legacy reporting systems rather than the strategic questions facing organizational leaders.

This interactive workshop introduces a different starting point for performance measurement: What do you need to know to make a good decision?

Participants will explore a practical approach that moves from strategic decision → management question → information needed → measure → action. This shifts measurement from an exercise in reporting toward a tool for management and organizational strategy.

The centerpiece of the workshop is the Five-Measure Challenge, an interactive case exercise based on a fictional human services program. Working in small groups, participants will receive a monthly report containing a range of program, outcome, workforce, and financial measures. They will assume the role of program directors preparing for a monthly management meeting, with one constraint: only five measures can appear on their management dashboard.

Groups must select their five measures and identify the management decision each measure could inform. Participants will compare their selections and examine how different priorities produce different approaches to measurement.

The exercise will then introduce a change in program performance that requires participants to determine whether their selected measures provide enough information to respond. Participants will identify what additional information they need, what conclusions the available data support, and what questions should be investigated before taking action.

The workshop concludes by translating the exercise into participants’ own organizational contexts. Participants will identify one strategic decision they currently face, formulate the management question behind it, and identify a small set of measures that could provide actionable information.

This workshop provides participants with a repeatable process for determining what information matters in a particular management context. Participants will leave with a practical framework they can use to reconsider existing dashboards, reporting systems, evaluation measures, and management meetings within their organizations.