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Organisational Alignment Survey Helps Create Best-in-Class Competitors
More
quality-conscious companies are asking their
employees two simple questions: "What
should organizations be doing in twelve
key customer-focused quality areas? And,
how is our organization doing?" These
questions are at the heart of Persona's
new Organisational Alignment Survey, a powerful
strategic tool for helping employees align
their behavior with customers' real needs.
The survey solves the problems that has
sunk many Total Quality initiatives—failure
to develop culture change that impacts customers.
"The Organisational Alignment Survey
is the first to relate employee attitudes
to business results," explains developer
Shaun Smith of Hong Kong's Service Skills
International. Through assessment, benchmarking
and action planning, the Survey shows a
company where it is, where it wants to be,
and how to get there. When vision and behavior
match market needs, companies achieve organizational
alignment—the goal of the Organizational
Alignment Survey and the guiding principle
of best-in-class competitors.
Supporting
a Broad Network
"Best-in-class" is a fitting description
of highly profitable Inchcape International.
Operating in 60 countries, the $4.2 billion
conglomerate is the world's 44th largest
diversified services company. Most of Inchcape's
broad network of businesses in Europe and
Asia use the Organisational Alignment Survey
as their primary tool for assessing employee
attitudes. Inchcape Pacific Quality Service
Manager Cheryl Cromer says the survey has
become an integral feature of their group-wide
culture change program. "It has allowed
us to establish the current status of each
of our businesses and action plan what they
need to do to move forward," she says.
"OAS
helps your organization know where it
is now, where it wants to be, and how
to get there."
Inchcape employees spend about an hour completing
60 survey questions relating to the twelve
key customer areas. Responses are anonymous
and, since the surveys are optically read
and computer scored, confidentiality is
absolute. Inchcape businesses receive survey
results in about 10 days, including performance
improvement recommendations based on more
than 247 tactics. Results are benchmarked
against companies in Persona's rapidly growing
international databank. Three years of results
are held in the databank, which means Inchcape
businesses can track trends over a three-year
period.
Sharpening
a Competitive Edge
Many companies use the Organizational
Alignment Survey to sharpen their competitive
edge. Australia's Fantasia Information
Network, which provides reservation systems
for travel agents worldwide, is an award-winning
customer service market leader. To make
sure they stay on top, employees across
Australia and New Zealand will complete
the survey as part of Fantasia's ongoing
"Quest for Quality" change initiative.
"The company wanted a user-friendly
assessment complement to 'Quest for Quality'
that focused on more than just internal
processes," explains Barbara Jones,
Managing Director of Sydney's Communications
Directions. "Benchmarking and confidentiality
were also important. We conducted focus
groups and one-on-one interviews to identify
the most effective way to implement the
Organizational Alignment Survey, which
all employees will complete over the next
two years."
Creating
Measurable Improvement
Companies use a variety of techniques
to improve their customer focus. Some
choose reengineering, the radical process
redesign that results from the question:
"If we could start over, how would
we run the company?" Others implement
continuous improvement strategies based
on quality teams or other bottom-up change
initiatives. But all of them share the
goal of organizational alignment—and
the same twelve customer focused performance
areas that will "make or break"
their effort to align with customers.
For that reason, improved survey scores
translate to improved business results
no matter what culture change program
is in place. Average scores for all twelve
customer-focused quality areas often rise
more than 10% per year following implementation
of the Organizational Alignment Survey.
Business results typically follow suit.
Inchcape's Crown Motors reduced staff
turnover 16% and increased revenue by
193% in 1992 after implementing a range
of actions to enhance people-care and
performance. From 1990 to 1992, another
Inchcape business improved employee alignment
by 20% and reduced employee turnover by
55%. It was no surprise that their 1992
annual Organizational Alignment Survey
scores rose 20-38% in six customer areas.
Best-in-class competitors achieve their
success through proven methods, not magic.
"It's evident that shared vision
and aligned action contribute to organisational
effectiveness," says Smith. "When
your organisation understands where it
is now, where it wants to be, and how
to get there, you'll be equipped to ensure
employees are truly aligned with customer
requirements."
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