When non financial outcomes contribute to meeting business objectives, they deserve to be valued and included in the business case.
Non financial benefits are sometimes called soft benefits by some business people. Unfortunately, soft benefits often appear as second class citizens in the business case.
Sometimes the important benefits from an action are difficult to measure in financial terms. Are these benefits soft benefits? Do they qualify as real business benefits that belong in the business case?
The answer to such questions is an emphatic Yes!—if action outcomes satisfy two conditions:
- Outcomes contribute towards meeting important business objectives.
- There is tangible, measurable evidence for the outcomes.
Notice especially that the term financial does not appear in conditions (1) or (2) above. If 1 and 2 both do apply, then non financial outcomes qualify as legitimate business case benefits.
For more on non-financial benefits, see the article Business Benefit. For in-depth coverage see the ebook in Business Case Essentials.
Never say Soft! Don't Touch Intangibles!
It is very important that case-builders understand the proper handling of two dangerous and potentially damaging terms: Intangibles and Soft Benefits.