Whether it is a start-up to growth company, or a long-lived, multi-national organization with tens of thousands of employees, organizations can easily lose sight of which Roles are truly ‘Strategic’ to their strategy and which Competencies are absolutely required to perform the Role successfully. Organizations are so focused on developing the ideas to differentiate themselves, they don’t have the time, or take the time, to make sure that the Roles, and their related Competencies, and the people performing within those Roles, are the right people…with the right skills…to do that job, based on the strategy and culture that management has set forth.
The following are 4 ways you can begin to align your organization’s Roles and Competencies with your Strategy and Culture:
- Communicate the Strategy and Culture: It is imperative that Executive Management, after developing the short, mid and long-term strategy for the company, communicate this strategy (and related culture) to the organization. The strategy needs a clear communication plan to disseminate a consistent message to everyone in the organization, and how the strategy impacts each individual (or collective group of individuals).
- Live The Culture: Executive Management needs to clearly define the Culture that is expected within the organization and live it…as well as expect and require everyone in the organization to live it. The importance of Culture in an organization is critical to align people to a common goal…Culture binds an organization together.
- Define and Redefine Strategic Roles: Organizations must be nimble. Throughout an organization, Roles (and the related tasks) need to be continually reassessed to ensure that every component of each Role is continually aligned with the strategic direction. Don’t be afraid to change what people should be doing to align the Role to the Strategy…if it is not aligned, they are working hard with little benefit to the organization.
- Focus on Competencies: When determining who should be doing what Role, focus on the Competencies, not just on the person. Although engagement and hard work is critical, aligning the Competencies needed to effectively and efficiently execute on the requirements of the Strategic Roles must be at the forefront when determining who should do what. The ‘plug-and-play’ approach (i.e. great people can do any job) is not effective. Although great people can look good doing any job, if they truly do not have the skills required for the job, the end product (and, ultimately, the organization) will suffer.
After spending the time to listen and understand the Strategy and Culture of an organization, Prism Partners International embarks on a deep dive into the organization to begin the process of aligning Strategy and Culture with human capital performance.
We can help you unlock the potential and capacity of your people by aligning people to, and assessing people’s performance against, those Roles (and their related Competencies) critical to your organization’s strategy. The result? A more engaged and productive workforce and improved financial returns.
Please contact us to learn how we can help, and we also invite you to sign-up for our weekly blog posts at http://www.prismpartnersintl.com/blog