Policy deployment, otherwise known as strategy deployment, refers to an approach that ensures a company reaches its organizational goals by aligning its day to day functions and activities with strategic, measurable objectives. At i-nexus we are often approached by Global 5000 companies looking to improve their efficiency in deploying new policies across their organizations. These organizations usually fall into two groups:
In both scenarios, our customers are looking to combine their processes with a technology solution that could assist them in maintaining a regular ‘heartbeat’ i.e. - rhythm - in their execution process. As one of the solution advisors at i-nexus, I am involved in helping new customers understand their current challenges in order to advise them of a suitable technology solution.
We’ve found out that organizations that combine their change management’s policy deployment processes with the support of a technology solution have higher rates of success. Without integrating the right technology, policy deployment has a higher chance of failure due to the challenges of implementing all the necessary steps in strategy deployment manually, in addition to the administrative burden of tracking, measuring and reviewing.
Any company would be more successful by limiting the number of objectives they have to focus on to meet their vision. Less is more.
The process of actively deciding ‘what to do’, and equally importantly ‘what not to do’, usually involves engaging lean facilitator(s) to help the executive and management teams develop breakthrough and annual objectives.
In cases where organizations have lean facilitators in-house either in strategy or continuous deployment, we’ve found that by engaging them or with the additional engagement of external lean facilitators like Lean Methods or Strategy Deployment provide a fresh pair of eyes and really challenge the status quo within the organization to better refine the chosen objectives.
During this process a lean facilitator can eliminate administrative burden from management by using a technology solution like i-nexus to centrally capture clear organizational objectives, KPIs to measure progress and action plans within an intuitive structured interface.
Policy Deployment implies an important commitment of the entire organisation.
Some of our clients, who have achieved this successfully, did so by taking the more diligent approach of ‘starting simple’.
By aligning high impact objectives to one business unit or one division they increased the chances of success from the onset. The success of this division/unit then became a shining example to drive replication and adoption across the rest of the organisation.
Accountability and communication is key during the alignment/catchball exercise process.
To both support this process, successful organizations tend to rely on lean facilitators during early stages of the management review cycle of the plan to adapt, adjust and agree before the effective launch of the policy deployment for the financial year.
Using a technology solution makes it simple and easy to review and understand the cascaded goals, aligned metrics and actions to individuals / teams, whilst providing full transparency of ownership at all levels.
In this stage when the plan becomes effective, strategy deployment becomes all about focus.
It is at this time that stakeholders across the organisation begin to realise that delivering on the defined KPIs to achieve the breakthrough goals might require a change in what might have been perceived as ‘the norm’ within the organisation. Employees might also need to give up some of their current duties to focus on new duties that are linked to the company’s objectives.
Sometimes this change isn’t easy; some functions might find this change unsettling as their standard practices get challenged or changed.
To be successful, management will need to adopt a relentless follow up approach to ensure that the agreed performance management cadence is in place and everybody stays focused towards the same goals.
A lean facilitator can also help with coaching to inspire with a change of culture (starting with management and escalating down the rest of the organisation) and by introducing additional competencies, tools and methodologies to ensure that the above cadence is met.
A technology solution, strategy deployment software, enforces reporting review cycles through system driven email alerts and notifications, stimulating social connection and behavioural change, and ensuring commitment that follow-on actions are taken.
Furthermore, technology facilitates the standardisation of the reporting and presentation format across the organisation which reduces the number of ad hoc reports generated. It enables an improvement of mind set during management review meetings and allows the team to look forward, not just backward on a regular basis.
Once in place, relevant stakeholders can access the insight they need to ask the right questions and find the appropriate answers either individually, or in a collaborative manner.
Policy deployment has become increasing significant in enabling Global 5000 organizations achieve organizational goals alongside its day to day functions. In the past decade consultancy services (particularly lean facilitators) and software technology have played an increasingly prominent role in helping organizations focus on the right breakthrough objectives and ensuring their vision is cascaded and implemented across the organisation.
By working with a range of global corporations we’ve been able to identify the challenges of policy deployment in order to create a Saas (software as a service) solution that resolves this challenges.
i-nexus is singularly unique in giving organizations the ability to manage the entire policy deployment process and cascade goals down into actionable projects that actually drive goal achievement.
It provides a single source of truth, greater accountability and transparency and full reporting that empowers you to actively manage the execution of your strategy deployment.
To find out more about how i-nexus can help, contact us today on sales@i-nexus.com.
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Matthieu is one of i-nexus' Senior Solution Advisors. He has experience in EMEA partnerships and strategic alliances as well as revenue generation through direct sales. His experience extends in the area of Strategy Execution Software improving processes for Strategy Deployment, Business Transformation Program and Operational Excellence but also in the area of HR Best Practices applications.
If you'd like to talk more about your strategic challenges connect with Matthieu on LinkedIn.