Better Alignment, Greater Success
Successful organizations are continually looking for ways and areas to improve in order to gain a competitive advantage. Two critical questions that are often asked by senior management are, “How do we know that resources are being properly allocated, and how can we better utilize our limited resources?”
The answer is to address the critical elements that contribute to organizational success. When an organization’s systems and departments are aligned, they perform better, develop stronger leaders, create a more positive culture and achieve greater overall success.
It is not enough to develop strong departments that do not effectively work together. The interrelationships of processes and departments within an organization must be strong and collaborative. In addition, an organization’s structure must support its strategy to be in alignment.
In today’s business environment of constant radical change, uncertainty, new rules and regulations, increased customer demands and other issues it is essential ensure that your organization is aligned. Organizations that learn to Identifying new relationships between what you do and the results you seek can greatly enhance your effectiveness and competitive advantage.
What is D.I.AL.O.G?
D.I.AL.O.G. (Data Indicating Alignment of Organizational Goals) is an organizational assessment tool that provides information as to how well critical elements are working together to achieve business and strategic goals. It also identifies which of these critical elements are working against you. Our approach is unique in that we measure the interrelationships of the essential elements which become predictors of future strength. We are not concerned with measuring communication for communications sake, but rather how effectively is an organization communicating to its employees. Our approach is outcome focused rather than simply measuring non-relevant activities.
How to Get Started
First, senior management must determine there is a need for data in order to better understand their organization. Second, they must be committed to using this data to better allocate their resources to improve results. After this determination is made, an approach can be developed to gather the data from the organization.
Gathering Data
Two methods are utilized in gathering organizational data: personal interviews and a questionnaire survey. Personal interviews are conducted by trained facilitators to gain an understanding of the intensity of feelings within the organization. The survey is used to gather the depth of understanding, the views of the employees, and to determine directional trends.
Key Areas of Interest
There and eight critical areas that are measured. After years of research and validation these areas have been found to be those with the greatest impact upon the development of organizational effectiveness. Seven of these have been identified by NIST and make up the Criteria for Performance Excellence as used in the Baldrige National Quality Program.
Key Activities
- Personal Interviews
- Administration of D.I. AL.O.G. Instrument
- Scoring of Responses
- Presentation of Results
- Discussion of Positive and Negative Influences
- Provide “Gap” Analysis and Directional Recommendations.
