Learning and Growth Perspective

Futura Industries, based in Clearfield Utah, is an international company with more than 50 years’ experience in aluminum extruding, finishing, fabrication, machining, and design.

Futura employs 230 personnel. Futura holds a position in several markets to include original equipment manufacturer, floor covering trims, electronics, transportation, shower door, marine store fixture and retail. Balanced Scorecard (BSC) “Most companies use the balanced scorecard (BSC) to focus on the financial aspects or the operational metrics required by ISO quality certification.But that is not all one unique company uses the BSC for. At Futura Industries, President Susan Johnson built the enterprise's success over the past 3 years on the BSC's foundational level - the learning, innovation, and growth dimension.

This dimension provides the building blocks that generate success in the remaining 3 quadrants: customer service, financial, and internal operations. And the results have followed: a 50% increase in revenue without adding personnel from 1996 to 1999.This organization is all about putting people first; So much so that the company of 300 ranks in the top 10 Family Friendly Employers in Utah for the third year in a row. ” (Gumbus & Johnson, 2003) Futura’s Learning and Growth Perspective Futura’s President, Susan Johnson, emphasized the learning and growth perspective over the other balanced scorecard perspectives because the company’s financial metrics, customer measures and internal processes were working, as they should.The learning, innovation and growth perspective served as a foundation for the other perspectives, resulting in success for the company. Susan Johnson says, “The learning, innovation, and growth quadrant is the most important dimension in the balanced scorecard because people who are respected, trusted and challenged to grow are the foundation of Futura.

” (Gumbus & Johnson, 2003). Futura Learning and Growth Measures In this particular article, Futura measures the balanced scorecard’s learning, innovation and growth dimension.The learning, innovation and growth perspective is the foundation of the company and their knack for enticing and keeping top employees in their market. They focus on recruitment and retention to measure their turnovers. Measures used for the learning, innovation and growth perspective are: continuous improvement of their competencies, providing a safe, challenging and enjoyable workplace and hiring people aligned with Futura’s values.

I do believe the measures used by Futura capture the full dimensions of the learning and growth perspective as explained in the background materials and previous modules. Much of the learning and growth perspective is employee centered, which is the primary concern of the company. “A learning-and-growth metric (or employee metric) is a framework for quantitatively assessing employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention in the framework of the balanced scorecard (BSC). Such a metric targets the learning-and-growth perspective of BSC that is and remains the foundation for all strategy.

(Kaplan & Norton, 2001) Futura’s approach was the right decision and very beneficial for the company. Focusing on the learning and growth perspective earned the company a ranking in the top 10 Family Friendly Employers in Utah for three years in a row and a 50 percent increase in their revenues with no additional personnel from 1996 to 1999. In addition, Futura decreased their turnovers by 33 percent since 1998 and was named Utah Business Magazine’s top private employer in 2001.In conclusion, Futura’s approach made good business sense for the company. It was a good decision for the company and caused no problems. Their implementation of the balanced scorecard and their focus on the learning and growth perspective was very beneficial to the company and their success.

“The learning, innovation and growth dimension of the balanced scorecard is an area that many companies don’t emphasize as they evolve their scorecards. Yet it has worked for Futura.The key is to monitor the balanced scorecard, and, as required employee skills change, priorities change, so the BSC must have flexibility to change as well. ” (Gumbus & Johnson, 2003).

References: Gumbus, A. & Johnson, S. D. (2003, July). The balanced scorecard at FutureIndustries.

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