The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a management tool that collects and analyses quantitative and qualitative measures and translates them into action, providing a description of what companies should measure, in order to balance the financial perspective. It views the organization from four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Business Processes, and, Learning and Growth. The scope of the study was to develop a BSC for INTERAMERICAN Life & Health Business Unit – one of the leading insurance companies in Greece, to guide them through the process of target achievement and strategy implementation. Questionnaires and interviews for the management and the supervisors of the Unit were conducted to identify the company’s strategy, objectives and the key measures per each of the four perspectives for each distinct operation within the unit. The project was executed in five distinct phases: (1) Clarification of the vision and identification of the strategy, (2) Identification and prioritization of strategic objectives, (3) Selection of measures, (4) Target setting and scheduling, and, (5) Proposal of strategic initiatives.
A primary observation was that strategy was not explicitly defined and internally communicated within the Business Unit. The need for further transparency and upgrading of IT infrastructure, as well as optimization of operational costs and resolving inefficiencies were additional observations. The study resulted in the Strategy Map design along with Balanced Scorecards for the directors and the Business Unit departments, reflecting the product leadership strategy and aiming at achieving the unit’s financial goals. The final step was recommending several initiatives that should be developed in order to reach the objectives set.
