Streamlining Strategy and Enhancing Reporting
Efficiency: University of Sharjah's Success
with Spider Impact
The University of Sharjah (UoS) is a prestigious Emirati national university with a comprehensive academic portfolio spanning 14 colleges and over 114 programs. However, managing strategic reporting for an institution of this scale proved challenging. The university’s manual processes for gathering, analyzing, and presenting performance data for mid-year and end-of-year reports consumed extensive resources and time.
By partnering with Crystal Consulting Group, UoS implemented Spider Impact, a platform designed to automate and enhance strategic performance management. This move significantly reduced the time spent on report preparation, improved data accuracy, and streamlined performance reviews, enabling the university to focus on more strategic tasks. As a result, UoS saw a drastic improvement in efficiency, saving hundreds of hours previously devoted to manual report generation and enhancing decision-making processes.
The Challenge: Managing a Complex and Time-Intensive Reporting Process
The University of Sharjah had a clear vision for its strategy, having already adopted the balanced scorecard management methodology. However, with over 1,000 performance indicators and 50 scorecards, reporting on these metrics was labor-intensive. Preparing for the bi-annual leadership forums and board reports took more than two months of work, as data had to be compiled manually from various systems.
Moreover, the lack of control over user access and permissions caused inefficiencies, while visualizing and interpreting the data across departments was a complex task.
We were spending months pulling together performance reports across multiple departments, which impacted the accuracy and efficiency of our strategic decision-making.
Dr. David Carter,
Director of Strategy at UoS
The university needed a solution that could consolidate its performance data, automate the reporting process, and allow for real-time, reliable insights to support its leadership forums and strategy reviews.
Our Approach: Crystal Consulting Group’s Tailored Solution
To address these challenges, UoS partnered with Crystal Consulting Group to implement Spider Impact, a leading strategy management solution. The implementation was customized to meet the university’s specific needs, and Crystal Consulting provided on-site support throughout the process.
Key features of the solution included:
Automated KPI Tracking
Performance indicators were tracked and updated automatically, eliminating the need for manual data entry.
Streamlined Report Generation
Reports that previously took months to prepare were now generated instantly, allowing UoS to focus on high-level strategy.
Enhanced Data Governance
Spider Impact’s robust access control ensured that only authorized users could edit performance data, reducing the risk of errors and enhancing data accuracy.
Dr. Carter appreciated the hands-on support provided by Crystal Consulting:
The Impact: Efficiency, Clarity, and Strategic Focus
The implementation of Spider Impact brought immediate and measurable improvements for the University of Sharjah:
Significant Time Savings
The time required to prepare reports was reduced by hundreds of hours. What used to take two months was now completed almost instantly, freeing up resources to focus on more meaningful strategic initiatives.
Real-Time, Accurate Data
With automated data collection, UoS was able to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information presented in its reports. The interactive visualizations provided by Spider Impact enabled leadership to drill down into specific details during meetings, fostering more productive discussions.
Improved Accountability and Strategic Alignment
Spider Impact provided UoS with a clearer understanding of performance targets across its departments. The system helped align strategic initiatives and ensured accountability across all levels of the organization
Key Results
-
Hundreds of hours saved on performance reporting preparation.
-
Streamlined mid-year and end-of-year reports with interactive visualizations, enabling real-time insights and decision-making.
-
Improved data accuracy and governance, reducing errors and enhancing the reliability of performance reports.
-
Enhanced strategic alignment and focus across all 14 colleges and 49 departments.
