The secret to building a great organization

When someone talks about a successful organisation, what comes to mind? Is it a robust vision and mission? Could it be an emphasis on great skill and training? Perhaps, you think it’s a healthy work-life balance?

At NextWealth, we believe it’s a mix of all three.

It takes a great deal of organisational knowledge to see all these aspects come to fruition in terms of company policy and practice. In essence, analysis and the efficient delegation of professional responsibility form the backbone of a successful organisation. In an era where organisational structures in professional settings are changing to accommodate employees from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, it is imperative to take time to understand the value of compartmentalization of responsibilities, collaboration, and data analysis.

When one builds their dream home, they first lay the foundation and make sure the frame of the house is strong enough to carry a lot of weight. In a corporate setup, every organisation draws its strength from three foundational pillars: namely, performance, process, and people, each to serve a special purpose. Performance indicates the health of the organisation, a faultless process helps perfect the status quo and people (you and I) are the folks behind the key decisions, creative solutions, and brilliant leadership.

What breathes life into an organisation?

After all, between work and other social activities we spend a lot of time working. Here, we forge heart-warming relationships, important alliances, and core teams. What will bring a strong framework to life? The answer? Roles & Responsibilities.

Responsibilities comprise a list of tasks assigned to a type of position within the firm. The responsibilities are normally awarded to the individual based on wide consensus from the group or team and the trust colleagues are willing to place in the individual. If you’ve ever been a part of a team, you know there are benefits to delegating responsibilities:

1. No talent goes waste: When every individual in a team understands their purpose and goal, it’s easier for them to navigate their assignment and manage expectations. This deliberate dispensation of responsibilities helps employers make the most of their employee’s skills and talents.
2. Attention to detail: Often when working on a big project one might bite off more than they can chew, it leaves room for error. The exhaustion and the prospect of too much work might give employers a less than satisfactory result. If the work is distributed to a group of people on the other hand, the quality of work goes up as there are more than just one pair of eyes examining potential flaws and more than one brain coming up with solutions to complex problems.
3. Collaboration: If everyone knows what is required of them, they are much less likely to either take on too much or too little work. This fosters teamwork and an environment of honesty, respect, and mutual understanding.

KEY RESULT AREAS (KRAs)

– A metric to measure the success

KRAs create an environment that celebrates hard work and results. They marry the individual goals with the collective goals of the organisation, linking employees at the bottom of the food chain to the leaders at the top, inculcating a sense of aspiration amongst all employees while fulfilling the company’s long-term goals.

This makes sure that there’s congruence in a person’s work life. It answers a key question: what’s in it for me? We’ve all thought about it, and a place where your goals and the organisation’s aims coincide, one might feel like their dreams to succeed, work better and smarter are truly heard.

Hearing your dreams is one good thing, but I hear you ask, “Is there anything more that my organisation can do for me?” Well, yes. In fact, your organisation wants you to grow, the more you grow and learn on the job the closer everyone is to the collective aspirations and their individual goals.

The secret recipe of growth – Upskilling

In more ways than one, upskilling is a win-win for both the organisation and the employee. Segmented into two broad types, skills are often termed as the career ladders.

1. Personal or soft skills: These are elements that come naturally to people or are picked up through various life experiences or frequent practice. For example, someone who was good at debate in school may have no trouble with communication and presentation skills as an adult because they are used to talking to a large audience. Other skills might include aspects like confidence, flexibility, and self-motivation.
2. Professional or hard skills: These are abilities that are born from a thirst for knowledge and learning. It can be drilled into the head of an individual through countless hours of practice, repetition, training, and education. For example: coding, analytics, Six Sigma and SOP development.

Understanding Data

Data forms the crux of everything we do. Whatever the project may be, numbers and facts are the centre of it all. It helps by understanding the nature of the analysis first.

The data processing lifecycle involves collecting raw data, reporting it, analysing and visualising the available data and derive insights that help take necessary action.  Analysis is a vast and intricate subject and requires learning and a lot of practice. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a novice who is wide eyed and bushy tailed, here are some pointers to help you along the way:

1. Go beyond the data you have at hand. Think about your problem from different perspectives; variables that you may not have considered before can add greater insight.
2. If one doesn’t derive information using existing knowledge from raw data the research and the effort gone into the collection is futile. Apply all the knowledge you must make the most of it.
3. Simply drawing up a report may not make for effective analysis. A report must not simply reveal findings, rather breathe meaning into numbers and transform them into actionable insights.
4. The right tools like QC tools will help you riddle out the numbers, facts, or statistics a lot quicker and with minimal error. Choose a software that suits the nature of the investigation and understand it well for best results.
5. Where words and numbers fail, pictures can convey so much meaning. Make sure to allow your audience to visualise the data that conveys the magnitude of the problem at hand.
6. Data processing must run in a loop. The numbers must inform others, and everything must coincide for accuracy.
7. If you ever must get to the bottom of a problem you have to make numbers, facts and figures as your friend. They mark the beginning and end of an investigation into the where, what, and why and aid in efficient implementation of solutions.

Conclusion

It might be cliche to say that ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ but, the statement rings true here. A successful organisation with great employees, a fantastic culture and phenomenal output takes time. The elements discussed above must fuel every decision and piece of communication because it provides a sense of direction and depth to what would otherwise be a frail structure hanging by a thread.