We have previously discussed the importance of assessing the health of an organization, especially as you head into a new year, which usually brings new strategic objectives from executive management. As discussed, in The Implementation Phase, it is important to organize the accumulated individual and team task assessments from the year-end performance review process to create an organizational snapshot. The organizational snapshot will tell you where you are now and where you need to go. It will form the basis for your human capital strategy alignment.
As you begin 2014, leverage this ‘organizational snapshot’ to begin your strategy alignment for the new year. This will ensure that you align the objectives of your employees with the new strategic objectives of the organization. A critical element of the objective setting process is the manager’s responsibility to make sure the right people are in the right roles, considering where the organization is headed.
Too many times, managers just carry-forward the responsibilities of each of their team members from the prior year. They also move resources around to fill holes, without considering the competencies of these resources and whether they are the right fit for the new role.
As you begin the strategic alignment and objective setting process for 2014, it is important to take a step back to:
- Determine the roles that are critical to the organization, given the current year strategies from executive management. The roles that were critical to the organization’s success in the prior year are not necessarily the roles that will drive success in 2014.
- Eliminate or change those roles that are not strategic any longer, and create, objective-by-objective, those new roles that will ensure your team is fully contributing to the new strategic objectives of the organization.
- Determine the competencies that you need in the person that will fill these ‘changed’ or ‘new’ roles. This is where managers need to ‘earn their keep’ – addressing, in a timely manner, where there are staffing issues and making the necessary changes.
- Realign your team – create an organizational structure that is effective and efficient.
Once the above steps are completed, managers need to sit with each team member and set clear objectives based on the new strategies for the organization.
At Prism Partners International, we have experience with strategic alignment and competency alignment to assist you in making sure you have the right people in the right roles to create a results-driven team. We invite you to schedule a complimentary hour-long consultation with the Prism Partners International team to further discuss your role and competency model.
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