Performance management is a dry subject for many, but it is a vital part of successful businesses.

At a company level, performance management systems have been likened to washing machines that have to be properly installed and configured before they work properly. At an individual level, annual performance reviews have been compared to preparing tax returns - it is hard to find someone who takes pleasure in completing them, but they are necessary and regular.
Since October 2009, Docklands has been the home of eab group, an innovative management consulting company that aims to simplify the use and enhance the value generated by business performance management.
Aurel Brudan, the company’s managing director and performance architect, also a long time Docklands resident, talks about the company, its projects and why the Docklands is a great place to operate a business.

What is special about eab group?
Our expertise is in strategy development, corporate performance management, business intelligence and project management. What sets us apart is the combination of practical experience and academic research reflected in our work. Collectively, our team accumulated 5 Master degrees, 1 MBA (MBS) and 1 PhD. I myself am a PhD. candidate, researching Organisational Performance Management (University of Melbourne). Experience has taught us a lot, but linking that to academic insight puts things into a different perspective.

What services does eab group offer?
We offer advisory, training and implementation services. Last year we also launched www.smartKPIs.com, a free online database of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), supported by performance management resources and a community of users. It contains over 2000 KPI examples from various functional areas (such as marketing, sales, human resources) and industries (such as real estate, retail and hospitality). To date we have received over 10,000 visits from 165 countries and territories. Over the next few months we plan to add more features and gradually shift our business model to combine direct with internet based service delivery.

Why base your business in the Docklands?
I like living close to the workplace. Personally I moved to the Docklands about four years ago when I was working for National Australia Bank. Living in the NewQuay provides a good balance for my lifestyle - close to the city centre, the University of Melbourne and there are plenty of restaurants and shops around the neighbourhood. So when relocating the office of eab group in October, Docklands was an easy choice. We selected the Life.Lab building and everyone in the team is pleased with the location, amenities and the sense of community between the tenants.

Any KPI recommendations for Docklands as a community?
I am not across what is currently in place, but certainly community building efforts can be tracked by using performance measures. www.smartKPIs.com contains a list of KPI examples for Local Public Administration. However, such examples need to be customised to reflect local plans as different communities have different priorities. An example worth looking at is the City Indicators reporting done by the Dunedin City Council in New Zealand.

Relevant web links:
www.eabgroup.com.au
www.smartKPIs.com