Posted by admin on April 3, 2008 under Uncategorized | 
Welcome to the Insight Edge blog, sponsored by Insightful Solutions, Inc. - dedicated to organizations which are passionate about success. This is the place to engage in lively discussion to spark creativity and best practices within your organization. Jump in and share your thoughts and comments about how to realize:
- Unparalleled Operational Effectiveness
- Unprecedented Service Levels
- Maximized Profits
Posted by admin on March 5, 2010 under Process Improvement, Technology |
This week I was watching an early business news show on which one of the announcers made a comment about how companies had cut costs so deeply in order to survive, they were concerned about hiring employees back too soon. Profitability is still somewhat elusive, and the cost of hiring staff (especially considering the high costs of health care benefits) poses too much of a risk on the tentative nature of our corporate recoveries.
Instead, according to the reporter, companies are turning to technology investments to streamline and optimize their performance rather than rely on the “human factor”. After all, technology does not require a health plan. Or, does it?
I certainly understand the apprehension about hiring - the economic realities are still too uncertain to invest heavily in staff. However, it is just as imperative that organizations fully consider the significant investment that will be required when implementing or upgrading technology in an organization.
Even a moderate upgrade requires a significant investment in hardware and software resources, as well as human capital resources. And, without staff involvement in the project, success may truly be challenging.
One way to ensure success of your next technology project is to conduct a thorough analysis of your needs. Start by understanding your current environment, and what you plan/need to achieve. An in depth understanding of your people, current capabilities, technology, and your expectations is critical in determining where to invest. After all, if you make a bad decision by rushing into implementing technology, your technology will require a health plan of its own - a costly one in terms of time, money and wasted opportunity.
Several years ago I wrote an article on this topic. I think the ideas are still relevant and timely.
I’d like to hear your comments on this subject.
Posted by admin on February 6, 2010 under Process Improvement, Technology |
There is a lot of literature about the reasons for the abysmal success rate of technology implementation projects. We blame the project management skills, the end users (if you can imagine), management’s lack of support and/or interest and so forth.
While all these may contribute to the demise of a project, the real reason these projects fail is that they do not address the underlying business problem being solved. The first step in any technology project needs to be the careful, systematic definition and assessment of the business problem. If you cannot articulate the business problem you are addressing, you have no business even starting a project! For more, see our latest article.
Posted by admin on January 5, 2010 under Leadership, Process Improvement |
A new study by The Conference Board (http://www.conferenceboard.org/utilities/pressDetail.cfm?press_ID=3820) released today shows an increasingly dissatisfied workforce.
A recent survey of 5,000 households found that only 45% of respondents are happy with their jobs - the lowest level since 1987, the first year the study was published. The top reason for discontent? Job design (i.e. interesting, challenging, meaningful work).
Interestingly enough, the satisfaction of the youngest portion of the population (those under 25 years of age) is at the lowest level is satisfaction level ever. It seems that many of these employees should only be in their first job. So, what does that say about their expectations for receiving personal satisfaction in the workplace?
Another startling statistic revealed by this study is that 22% of persons polled do not expect to be in their current job in a year. Considering the current state of the economy and forecasted levels of employment into 2011, that number seems very high. Just imagine if the national employment figure were closer to 5% or 6% - how many of our employees would be looking to “jump ship”?
Executives should be paying close attention to these statistics, and considering how to respond to this situation. If you were to lose 22% of your workforce, when it is likely already overstretched, what would you do? Do you have the succession plans, policies and procedures, business processes and training programs in place so you could respond quickly to this scenario? Could business continue, let alone grow, if you lost almost ¼ of your staff? Contingency planning is something we should be reviewing and adjusting on a regular basis.
Better yet, what does it take to create an environment where employees are allowed to innovate, and have challenging and meaningful work? If you could create an environment like that, how would it impact your ability to compete and thrive in the current economy? What steps are you taking to make this a reality in your organization?
Posted by admin on August 17, 2009 under Process Improvement |
I was having lunch with a couple of colleagues recently, when we happened onto the topic of standards. You see, one of my colleagues works with organizations to prepare them for certification to a specific standard in their field - usually ISO. He audits their current practices, reviews their procedures and documentation, and makes recommendations to management about adjustments that need to be made in order to meet the standard and receive certification. He also performs periodic follow-up audits.
My friend was carrying around his set of standards books for everything from quality management systems to corporate responsibility in foreign lands. To him, these were the “bibles” of corporate excellence; the measures to which all organizations should aspire. (Did you know that the International Organization for Standardization - ISO - has developed over 17,500 standards? 1,100 new ones every year… http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue.htm)
Now, granted, I think there is definitely a place for standards. I wouldn’t be happy about flying on an airplane that was built from manufactured parts that did not meet certain, minimum standards. This need is inherent in any industry - from baking to software development to medicine. Customers have the right to expect a minimum level of quality from any product or service they purchase.
Unfortunately, few organizations even operate according to their own procedures, let alone incorporate learning into constantly improving their operations. Working toward certification does encourage consistency and predictability, and results in improved operations. The question, however, is whether these published standards are enough to create an organization which strives to constantly improve. Do we get improvement after the auditor leaves and leaves his stamp of approval?
The challenge with improvement post-certification is that an organization must continually update all the documentation that substantiates their certification. Not necessarily an easy task - especially for smaller organizations. It takes a little discipline.
But, by certifying organizations to any specific standard we seem to be sending a message that no additional improvement is needed. Is this really the right message to send?
It seems to me the culture around standards certification needs to be changed to reflect the acceptable minimum performance expected from an organization, rather than the accomplishment of some lofty perfectionism. What do you think?
