A strategy for improving the performance of the organisation is clearly defined and understood

Evidence

1. Top managers make sure the organisation has a clear purpose and vision supported by a strategy for improving its performance.

2. Top managers make sure the organisation has a business plan with measurable performance objectives.

3. Top managers make sure there are constructive relationships with representative groups (where they exist) and the groups are consulted when developing the organisation's business plan.

4. Managers can describe how they involve people when developing the organisation's business plan and when agreeing team and individual objectives.

5. People who are members of representative groups can confirm that top managers make sure there are constructive relationships with the groups and they are consulted when developing the organisation's business plan.

6. People can explain the objectives of their team and the organisation at a level that is appropriate to their role, and can describe how they are expected to contribute to developing and achieving them.

What this means in practice

To meet this indicator, your organisation needs to demonstrate a clear understanding of where it's heading, how it's going to get there and how people will know when the destination has been reached. Milestones that are required along the way will be clear to people and it will be possible for them to explain how these milestones link to the overall journey.

People in your organisation will feel there is good communication. They will feel involved and be clear about their roles. They will understand what their team and (at a level appropriate to their role) the organisation as a whole is trying to achieve, how they are helping to make it happen. They will be able to describe their involvement in their own terms.

People in your organisation may be managing teams or working as part of a team or individually. They will understand your plans for the organisation and will be able to describe easily how they help the organisation get to where it wants to be.
People will have the opportunity to discuss and agree what the important activities will be and how they will be undertaken. Possibly some people will be members of staff groups or unions, and it will be important to involve these people, if they wish to be involved, in developing and reviewing the business plan.

The Assessor will be interested to hear how people at all levels have been involved in planning and review activities, and to see how individuals and teams have been involved in agreeing and reviewing the activities they have been working on.

MeasurablePerformance Objectives:

• Hard numbers (production outputs, customer numbers, sales volumes)
• Proportions (profit margins, market share, capacity fill
• Milestone achievements (product launches, achievement of quality awards, project closure)
• Service factors (indexed customer satisfaction, contact frequency, response times)
• Problem solving (reduction in defects, removal of schedule slippages, cost reduction)
• Soft indicators (absenteeism, sickness)

SMART Objectives:

Specific - is it clear to people exactly what to do in each aim or objective?

Measurable - how will people know when they have achieved them?

Agreed - Do the people they are aimed at buy into them?

Resourced - Time and Money are available to meet the objetive

Time Bound - have you set a deadline for achieving each objective or specified the relevant time frame?

Example of Company Values:

In working towards our strategy, the following core values will guide the way we behave towards our clients, partners, suppliers, and our people:

1. Our relationships, inside and outside the company, are built to last

2. We seek to understand our customers and to provide a service fitting their individual needs

3. Our Company will continue to prosper through incremental, self financed growth

4. We trust people to operate and make decisions in good faith

5. We prize openness and honesty in all our dealings

6. We seek continually to increase our knowledge, skills and experience in order to improve our performance year on year

7. We value our Customers and strive to provide excellent standards of work and service, which they recognise as good value for money.

8. To train our staff to have the necessary skills and accreditations to be able to provide our customers with this honest level of quality and service.

9. We keep our staff up to date with business developments so they are well informed about our business priorities.

10. We build relationships with our stakeholders to support our development and achieve best value for mutual benefit.

11. We will strive to make a worthwhile contribution to the community as much as possible and develop social responsibility

• Start the planning process with a full team meeting or away day. Discuss objectives at department meetings and produce an action plan.
  

• Everyone ahould have personal objectives linked to the overall plan. People can discuss these with their manager on a monthly basis. Targets can be set, but people must buy in to these first so they understand why they are important.

• Teams meet regularly and discuss how they are meeting objectives.

• Be flexible with the plan - review it after  6 months - if things have chaged, make sure everyone knows and acts accordingly.
  

• Make sure everyone is encoraged to contribute ideas.
  

• Senior Managers hold meetings to inform everyone how the business is performing and what the priorities are.
  

• Individual objectives are discussed and agreed during performance management reviews or appraisals

• Ask people to give feedback on how well the communication process is working.
  

• Make a simple one-page visual plan and encourage people to keep it on display.

• Make sure resources are available for people to learn and develop their skills so they can achieve their objectives.