Planning Guidelines

Use these guidelines to supplement the IMMS.com Inside Track Webinar “Create a Learning Organization and Continually Improve Your Business.”

Planning

Define Your Competitive Advantage:

• Product
• Price
• Performance

Performance is the only advantage your competition can’t copy!

Create an Ideal Operating Model

• Begin with a blank sheet of paper.
• Diagram every step from first customer contact to final product or service delivery.
• Make sure that every step contributes to a performance benchmark.
• If there’s no legal, regulatory, financial, or customer service reason for a step, don’t do it! It isn’t necessary!

Set New Roles and Responsibilities

• Group tasks into logical “one and done” functions.
• Identify roles and responsibilities.
• Define the knowledge and skills necessary to perform a function.
• Do an employee assessment.

Develop a Transition Action Plan

• Define what must happen to make the Operating Plan a reality.
• Assign each task.
• Make Action Plans due in 30 days.
• Share the Plans and create a Master Plan.
• Appoint the person responsible for plan oversight.

Communicate!

• Lead with benefits.
  Name specific actions.
  Clarify the issues and pitfalls.
  Tell people why!
  Be sure to train.
  Communicate feedback method and timing.

Measure!

• Check results compared to plan.
• Make checks timely and frequent.
• Identify deviations.

Get Feedback!

• Determine method:
  • Verbal
  • Written
  • E-mail
• Set frequency.
• Report obstacles and relevant issues.

Adjust!

• Adjust your plans 
• Organize to resolve the problems  

Summary:

• The planning process is amazingly simple.
• The current operating model provides a powerful tool.
• Benchmarking keeps everyone focused.
• Instead of improving the current model, focus on the ideal model.
• Execution is critical.
• In today’s environment of permanent and continuous change, the personal growth and thinking contribution of every employee will have a significant impact on your agency’s long- term performance. 
• The most successful will leverage their combined skills and knowledge to outperform the competition. 

PLANNING GUIDELINES

Action Steps

1. Gather the Data.
2. Ask -- Show Me!
3. Create a Current Operating Model.
4. Establish Benchmarks.
5. Create an Ideal Operating Model.
6. Define New Roles and Responsibilities.