Mainebiz

V O L . X X I V N O. X V I I A U G U S T 6 , 2 0 1 8 8 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E in awards to 26 students from the Cobe College Program, which through the Ira Cobe Scholarship Fund sup- ports Waldo County students under the age of 23 who are pursuing post- secondary education. Hope Rising, a residential treatment program and safe house in Biddeford for survivors of human trafficking, was awarded a $30,000 grant from the Raskob Foundation in Wilmington, Del. The funds will support intensive clinical treatment, including mental health ser- vices and substance abuse treatment; as well as life skills development and training; educational support and voca- tional training; and job readiness and professional development skills training. TideSmart West, a marketing agency in San Francisco, unveiled a new logo and website, www.tidesmartwest.com. The agency is a division of TideSmart Global, headquartered in Falmouth. Sebago Technics Inc., an engineer- ing consulting firm in South Portland, and MobilityTech LLC, a management consulting firm in Methuen, Mass., created a strategic partnership for the pursuit of public and private Intelligent Transportation Systems projects across northern New England. Maine Medical Center in Portland and the owners of 940 Congress St. in Portland, the building that houses Pizza Villa restaurant, entered into an asset purchase agreement. Under the agreement, the hospital would acquire the building and the business for an undisclosed sum with a closing in March 2019. The hospital does not have im- mediate plans to change the property and is working in partnership with the owners of the business to identify a new operator to continue the restaurant. The city of Portland said it is a pilot member of INRIX AV Road Rules, a platform that lays the foundation for the city to communicate with opera- tors for safe and effective deployment of Highly Automated Vehicles on public roads. The platform that enables cit- ies and road authorities to assign, validate and manage traffic rules and restrictions for autonomous vehicles operating on public roads leveraging Q: How can our team identify and use Key Performance Indicators? ACE advises: Key Performance Indicators define success for a process based on what customers value — low cost, high quality and service and flexible terms. The process needs to be safe and profitable in a sustainable work environment. There are no set rules for selection and balance, but KPIs typically form a balanced scorecard in four areas: productivity and financial (output), customer service, process quality and organizational capacity. Balanced scorecards can help teams improve in multiple (and sometimes opposing) areas. Balancing a productivity KPI with a quality KPI ensures that improving your output doesn't impact the value of the work. If you push people (or machines) harder and harder, will you damage quality or negatively impact output or service? Is it okay to take longer to satisfy a customer need at the expense of productivity? Does making short-term productivity goals create a stressed-out staff that experiences burn-out or may even quit? A good organization will bal- ance KPIs to ensure that success in one area doesn't cause issues in another. We recommend that teams identify their own KPIs, but keep control of the result. For example, "number of claims processed" may depend on customers' submissions. Instead, measure "time to process a claim." Show KPIs on a trend chart to see changes from period to period. Shorter measurement periods are better — and daily measurement is better than monthly. Be sure the KPIs are easy to track and supportive of desired behaviors. People will still do what they are rewarded for. A S K AC E A n s w e r e d b y S t e v e M u s i c a , L e a n E a s t P r o c e s s I m p r o v e m e n t C o a c h i n g a n d S u p p o r t The Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) is a non-profit association of independent consultants who value "Success through Collaboration." The public is welcome to attend its regular meetings to share best practices and engage with industry experts. For more information go to www.consultexpertise.com. Do you have a question for an ACE expert? Contact Jim Milliken at jim@millikenproject.com. Steve Musica, president of Lean East, specializes in process improvement and developing high performance organizations. Contact him at steve@leaneast.com H O L I D A Y I N N Holiday Inn By t he Bay 8 8 S P R I N G S T R E E T • P O R T L A N D , M E • 0 4 1 0 1 A Stay By the Bay is Close, Comfortable, and Convenient to Everything from the Airport to the Old Port! • Stunning panoramas of Portland harbor and skyline • Specials & packages for fun, affordable escapes • Largest meeting & convention space downtown • Full-size indoor pool and fitness center • Surrounded by cultural attractions • Walk to world-class restaurants • On-site restaurant and catering • Close to Old Port shopping • Courtesy shuttle available • 239 rooms & suites I N N B Y T H E B A Y . C O M / 207-775-2311 x 2133 CALL OUR SALES OFFICE ABOUT OUR $60.00 IDEAL MEETING BUSINESS PACKAGE OFFER TODAY! Suppor ng Community We Make It Easy Jessica Reynolds Waterville Branch Manager & Loan Officer Our community is a great place because of the people who live here, and it's exactly where I want to be. 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