BREAKTHROUGH BENCHMARKING:
Is Your Company a Break through Company
Achieving Breakthrough Service
Are you managing a break through organization or one that is merely
'good'? What follows is a short audit that allows you to benchmark your own organization
against breakthrough companies. For each of the following statements, give your
organization a rating on a scale Of 1 to 5 that ranks how well the statement describes
your company a 1 if it does not describe your organization; a 5 if it describes your
organization perfectly.
1. Providing Inspired Leadership
The leadership in your organization has committed itself to creating
a company that delivers total satisfaction for customers and employees. It refers to this
commitment at every opportunity.
A mission statement has been developed that emphasizes the
importance of creating value for customers, employees, suppliers, and owners.
Leadership has embraced an umbrella initiative such as continuous
quality improvement or total customer satisfaction as a device for energizing the pursuit
of the mission.
2. Defining the Business
The business is defined not in terms of products or service but in
terms of results produced for customers.
Customers to be served are clearly defined and their needs are
expressed in terms of desired results.
Managers discuss desired results before designing processes and
products.
3. Developing the Strategy
Strategies are developed that deliver maximum value to customers and
employees with value defined in terms of quality of processes and results received in
relation to the cost incurred.
All initiatives are challenged in terms of value created for
customers or employees. Those of marginal or uncertain value are foregone.
Starting from the top, everyone assumes responsibility for ensuring
that the focus of the business and strategy are maintained.
4. Creating Listening Posts
Explicit attention is given to the creation of listening posts among
customers. The people in these jobs have specific responsibilities for listening to
customers, processing, data into information that can be acted upon, and communicating
this information to those responsible for designing products and services.
At various times as many people as possible from all parts of the
organization, but especially from design, engineering, and new product development, are
given opportunities to staff listening posts.
Special care is given to recruiting, selecting, training, and
rewarding those who staff listening posts.
Employees are kept informed of the use made of information obtained
from the listening process.
5. Rethinking Human Resources
Employees who can deliver value are selected with as much emphasis
on human skills as on technical skills.
These companies are "employers of choice" which means that
many employees find them rather than vice versa.
Every effort is made to build employee loyalty with the
understanding that this is major determinant of customer loyalty.
6. Restructuring the Organization
Jobs are expanded to encompass all tasks required to deliver results
for customers or to perform a complete process.
Inter-functional teams are formed and given names unrecognizable in
the former functional parlance. They are responsible for processes and customers. Their
performance many be evaluated as a team. In the process, all managers become
teacher/learners.
7. Mobilizing Individuals and Teams to Deliver Results
Individuals and teams at all levels in the organization are given
latitude to deliver results for their customers both outside and inside the firm. They are
given the technology and other supporting tools to do so.
They are paid largely for their performance in delivering results
both for customers and owners.
As a result, spans of control are doubled or tripled. Command and
control managers are no longer able to manage in traditional ways.
Entire levels of management are eliminated, thus freeing up funds
for attracting, even more capable coaching and consulting managers.
8. Measuring and Managing for Results
Primary attention is given to a small number of critical measures,
beginning with customer and employee loyalty and ending with profit and growth.
In performance appraisals, emphasis is placed on increasing customer
and employee loyalty with the confidence that growth and increased profitability will
result.
Incentives that emphasize customer and employee satisfaction and
loyalty are implemented.
Becoming a breakthrough service provider starts with "sharpening" the strategic service
vision. How far will you go to achieve total customer and
employee satisfaction?