10 Colors to SCORE The Matrix! (3)

Another week is behind us and in front of us. It is time to continue the story of changing the organisation from the "squares" into matrix, which we started with http://blog.avanton.si/2014/03/10-colors-to-score-matrix.html and continued with http://blog.avanton.si/2014/03/10-colors-to-score-matrix-2.html. Let's finally change!

6. Change!
1st rule of change: If you want for the change to work, authorize people to make mistakes! While implementing change the mistakes are quite common companion. For sure, the changes are driven by people and people do mistakes. So, empower your colleagues to do mistakes too! For we don’t do right things the first time right. But encourage them not to repeat the same mistakes twice…

2nd rule of change: The change changes something known. And we fear the unknown. So, invest heavily in communication! It will repay you beyond your expectations. Listen to suggestions of The Catalysts during the change design and its implementation – they are the one that will actually implement the change, they will fight the unknown, the fear.

3rd rule of change: Be a decision-maker! Efficient implementation of the change requires prudent and affirmative decisions. Do not forget – the owner is paying you to be a leader – so you are paid mostly to take decisions. 

7. Drop the grey squares, boxes and lines... Shift to colorful donut and curves!
Playfulness aside. Above all: adapt your organizational structure in a way that it would also to a reader mirror how do you organize – in a contemporary, dynamic way representing revitalized business environment, where it's not only the BIG that eat the SMALL... it's also the FAST that nibble the SLOW!
Go simplicity, go! Remove the layers! Between you and The Catalysts as well as between them and next crucial, middle management level of strategy implementation. Why? To reach strategic goal, there should be controllable amount of complexity. 

Pave the way for P4P!

• simplification of internal policies – most likely all regulatory stuff are written in law already. So, don’t write what is written already. A real challenge for you – do the policy on organization on one piece of paper! Write systemization of workplace on not more than two!
• define not more than 5 KPI to be managed by one person. By increasing their amount you will defocus this person’s attention from critical success factors to mediocrity of plenty. And the importance of each individual KPI in P4P story would relatively decrease. No focus, no priorities…

New representation embraces all we talked about – basic business functions of the venture, key business processes, process pillars and still some squares (“what works with what will work even better). As well as … MBTI colors, for final touch!

8. Play the game!
From design to implementation of new organization it should take you not more than 3Q of one year. Define effective activities. Perform the action plan efficiently. Reorganize! Put formalizations on a piece of paper. Sorry, two – one for organization and one for the systemization of workplaces… Can’t be done? Sure it can! The best have already did it! Draw results in a contemporary way. Adjust the authorization system from boxes to matrix – and again - do it on one page for all key processes by using the RACI matrix. Additionally, adjust compensation system for P4P. Reward people for their results!

9. Evaluate success of the SCORE implementation! 
a. Have you negotiated new procurement contracts and decreased prices for at least 5-6%? 
b. Have you implemented at least 200 proposals of cost rationalization measures for additional up to 10% savings?
c. Have you straightened the chain of command by decreasing thenumber of organizational units for more than a third?
d. Have you improved your key business processes in a “materialized” way? Have you set KPIs?
e. Have the matrix process integration led by The Catalysts decreased the importance of silos and ranks to the extent that engages and empowers people to participate all their their effort to meet the goals?
f. Is importance of individuum appraised not by the position in the organization, but according to his /her contribution in the working process?
g. Is inefficiency of redundant dualities overcame by complied interests that, interplayed in the business process, encourage employees to cooperate in healthy environment of coopetition?
h. Have employees, as empowered and engaged, become responsible for the work they perform? Therefore, they are exposed to the consequences of their action and they now that they will be held accountable for…
i. Do you compensate employees accordingly and by introducing P4P decrease negative selection?
j. DO YOUR COLLEAGUES COMMUNICATE IN A MATRIX WAY?

10. Do a follow up!
The improvement never stops! WWW – what went wrong? Or… what went wonderful? Where and how to improve?

All this in a year?

Magic triangle of achieving the high quality operational excellence within time and budget that predefines success of change does not refer to SCORE! toolkit, but to PEOPLE, which with small change in their mindset enables big change for the company:

Saved for the end… Let’s be clear:

Referring to the current recession in search of explanations for the rationale behind implementation of such approaches might be seen at least as a dubious behavior. And it really doesn’t matter whether the company is in distress or it is a blue chip in a long prospective stable industry. It’s not just cost killing neither solely business process reengineering. It is all together, mixed right.  It has to be simply the principal occupation of each and every MB – to optimize what they have been entrusted with – THE COMPANY.

For donut to work, it is not enough to remove the boxes and lines, survey and improve the business processes. We need to work with people, to enable them to interact and cooperate in revitalized organism, where they would be motivated to fulfill the set goals. Leaders should give change a chance and be an example to those that lead - not solely delegate the work.

10 Colors to SCORE The Matrix! (2)

Bye, bye Divisions… Hello Matrix!

In our previous blog (http://blog.avanton.si/2014/03/10-colors-to-score-matrix.html ) we've shown what are the preconditions and what kind of attitude and environment is needed for the organization to change. In this one let’s set the map, define the playground, and establish the basic principles to play the game of organization revitalization.

 

1.       Let’s give the game a name: It is the Matrix!
Not the traditional functional, nor the pure futuristic process organization. Let’s combine the two and organize in a matrix-process way. Know what to do? Big picture:
·         Combine what works with what will work even better!
·         Connect people to cooperate!
·         Put results before levels and ranks!
·         Adjust competences in a framework of accountability, responsibility and authority!
·         Align key performance indicators with key processes!
·         Reward results accordingly!
…you’ve set the map.


2.       Define E2E processes: Start with the key ones!
Not identify “all” 35-or-so of them. Just a few, the handful of key ones. Those vital for company to be present on market also the day after tomorrow. Those that usually produce the most of revenues, or burns the most of your resources, by means of money, time, FTE. They, in a way, usually embrace all three basic functions of every venture:
·         you have to produce something,
·         to sell it on a market, while some internal structures exist
·         to support your operations
…you’ve defined the playground.

 

The key business processes in the Matrix cross the silos


3.       Define the principles of change: Business. Professional. Ethical!
Minimize the employees’ fear of the foreseen change: outline principal rules of reorganizing! Explain how to align the change with the company’s strategy? How to put the customer in the external and the product in the internal focus of the future organization? How to transfer silos functions into a matrix? Should you consolidate or centralize same business functions across the company and the group? How to include the cross-border operations? Why strengthen individual responsibility? From perspective of communication channels, what would be the span of control - 1:10, 1:15, …? How to communicate the change?

Never forget ethical principles, especially those based on the company’s values! …you’ve defined the rules to play the change according to them.
…you’ve defined the basic rules to play the game.


4.       Make one magic rule: KISS
Keep It Simple and …. Smart! Since we avoid doing stupid things…. Both, the approach to change as well as the result of it should emphasizes the simplicity in every aspect. It is excellent to improve, but it is art to do it in a simple way. For that, use the best of combination of both, the IQ & EQ business approaches while addressing with and negotiating the employees with the change.

And, besides its right measure in the communication, don’t bring business politics into process – wherever you detect potential to improve, align on arguments and do it! Avoid dualisms of business solutions! They mostly occur due to two reasons:
·         ineffective business decisions, i.e. miss planned development or change implementation. Remember? Do the right thing (first time right)!
·         inefficient operations of taken decisions. Remember? Do the right thing (first time right)!
·         avoidance of conflict with employee or to please him/her… It’s in human nature!

Especially the last occur not so rarely. Why? Two conditions: 1)- if possible, and 2)- rather than confronting with our colleague, we introduce a duplicate solution in the business process. Really? Why do we have decentralize procurement, or hire unnecessary assistant or adviser, or establish middle office, or additional organizational layer, or have more than three vice presidents, or…? Why should owners pay for these? Dualism is never (cost) efficient – it will definitely backfire by burning you some extras of your resources.


5.       Wake up those who (should) lead!
Choose those few to be in charge of being the promoters of change. They should be self-initiative in becoming the catalysts of changes as foreseen in the company’s’ strategy. Those few leaders of new organization pillars are closely in step with the management board. Their top mission is to understand the necessary changes and to help to evolve them into and out-of the strategy. They should put their competences along with accountability in line of fire while they will promote the changes throughout the company.
 
They are to be paid mainly to bring people together to cooperate as appointed towards goals. They should become the main architects of healthy middle management environment driven by coopetition. By increasing engagement of people and putting them into interplay with intention:
·         to stimulate them how they should work together (cooperation) in the activities and processes while truly understanding what they should do in how to contribute to goals
·         to give them measurable goals (competition). But not by bucket full of KPIs! Less is more! Up to 5 measurable goals should everyone take as a maximum set of goals – as much as we have fingers on the hand that we look around for whole life!
 
Management board should fully support The Catalysts in removing all kind of obstacles. To promote cooperation, decrease the importance of formal as well as informal organizational layers and ranks relatively to importance of the “role of employee” business process, to pound dualities, to promote interplay and foster cooperation.
 
The Catalysts, if necessary, need to raise awareness among employees of what is their scope of work. And their importance in the business process. They should be fully aware of what other employees in the same process are doing. So, it is not solely a job description of individuum workplace that’s important… what really matters is entire type of work surrounding the individuum’s workplace in the process. As we said – beyond the boxes and lines in order to understand the content of work!
 
In the new organization, The Catalysts are formally in position of pillar executives. They are business integrators. They catalyze both, the business as usually as well as the changes needed. They appoint the middle management in converging strategic directions and goals, also over the KPI’s, to the everyday work of each individual employee. And affirmative engagement of the employees in the business process form results.
 
With such approach, the coopetition in Matrix will burn less of company resources than divisional decision making. For sure!
 
And remember - who is paying for dualities?? And the price for it? Not rarely, these can account in average up to a quarter of your OPEX…

Read in our next blog how to change and how to measure success! Until next week...


http://www.avanton.si


 

 

 

 

10 Colors to SCORE The Matrix! (1)

 

 

 

 

 

 Dare to take decision!

 

How many of today’s managers dare to take decisions to unambiguously move their businesses towards higher operational efficiency? Away from outdated by-the-book thinking… By prudently, yet affirmatively implementing SCORE! The Smart COst REduction. And, as a result, expect significant measurable influence on long-lasting improvement of productivity? How many management boards dare not to do this? Aaand…, be honest - how many really did it? All the way?

Take a chance on change!

Have you already faced the biggest challenge when implementing something new and different? Our inner mindset fears failure and thus prevents us from making progress (G. Kasparov). Because (business) innovators’ enemies are all those who have done well under the old conditions and lukewarm defenders are those who may do well under the new (N. Machiavelli)… But already intuitively it surely must be insane doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results (A. Einstein). So, after we successfully overcame our internal fear of change, we find out that a real lever to shift the company’s business from hinges of present operational mediocrity and move it towards operational excellence to burst competitiveness is – the SCORE – all the way to the Matrix.

 

But… control the change! 

Don’t do it “just as another” out-of-the-box approach. Even or especially if recommended by an advisor that might follow his not your philosophy of change. And will charge you time spent with you and not the solution he should leave you with (and my sincere apology to those few good one out there). Lesson? Don’t do it in a uniformed way… Do it in a uniform style, thinking of your company as a whole, as a living organism!

 

 

Avoid clear cut from past for future
Ask yourself: Is it really the right time for a clear cut with the past? And to take 2, 3 or 4 years for completing a classic approach of business process reengineering as a substitute to our proposal? Or to change from traditional functional to fancy process organization in just one jump? Would you find it sustainable for the company to implement change without “saving” all the good things of the past and present? Do you dare to open another battle field while your colleagues are fighting everyday battles to preserve that company’s very best, what survived more than half the decade of the ongoing recession?


Do the right thing (first time right)!

Business proposal to you is straight: DO THE CHANGE! But do it right. And “right” really doesn’t mean slowly – there is not much time left... So, let’s SCORE the MATRIX. Combine what works with what will work even better!
 

Upgrade and share what works!

Yes, at first and most trivial - let’s do the procurement negotiations and internal proposals for measures of cost rationalization, two parts of the SCORE! toolkit. But more important, let’s go for the essence of the company, the inner organization. Traditionally, companies are organized within boxes and connected with lines. Even though we know that while chasing the results, we daily communicate, cooperate and function as a matrix! That means we interact not only vertically with our boss, but also with colleagues of other boss(es). Because we want that the processes flow smoothly, effectively, bringing us at most RESULTS at minimum use of always rare resources and therefore lowest COSTS. So… let’s adapt our organization! 

Read how to do it in our next blog! We will set the map to let Divisions go (common functional organisation) and welcome Matrix in a simple way.

http://www.avanton.si

Right Fish on the Hook?

 

 

 

It is very important to remain realistic and being ready also for compromises. Of course, there are issues where compromising would endanger the success of the project. And we have to identify these competences we will at no price make compromise, those where we can step back (how much that we don’t bring the project under the question), and those where it would be nice to have but we could live without and the project is still doable.


Do we have right fish on the hook?

Imagine: you are selecting a key person, probably a CRO. You have seen some candidates and probably one of them has something valuable, some characteristics that make him/her relevant. At least, you think so or you have such a feeling as you have such impression, you “have heard positive things about the person”, he/she has the birthday on the same day as you, he/she has good business acumen and you like his/her presentation. Such quick, baseless conclusions are very dangerous for unskilled selector.

The halo effect is one of the most common mistakes done by managers when selecting a new employee. It is actually an overall impression based on certain characteristic which impacts also general picture of a person. Very good example of the halo effect is our overall impression of celebrities. Since we perceive them as attractive, successful and often likeable, we also tend to see them as intelligent and kind. Another example are politicians who are presenting themselves as warm and friendly while saying little of any substance. People tend to believe this and are after some speeches they are convinced that their policies are good because the person appears good.

 

Classic mistakes while hooking CRO

 

Other classical mistakes in the interview process are related to:

• the order of presentence (the first and the last candidate leave the strongest impression, those in between are mostly “grey”), 
• usage of yes/no questions 
• logical mistake when the selector doesn’t distinguish among two competencies
• central tendency – tendency to give candidates a middle rating rather than using “excellent” or “not adequate” what would clearly indicate that the candidate strongly demonstrated the competency of did not demonstrate it at all
• contrast effect – rating one candidate against another instead of against the competency.

 

How to avoid this and some other most common interview mistakes?

 

Be prepared by knowing who you are talking to, what you are talking about, who you are looking for and what you/the company expect from the candidate on this position.

 

Allow enough time – as always, time pressure is killing the process. Therefore prepare the scenario of an interview, watch the time and be the boss of the show.

 

Ask qualificative questions, starting with What (… was the situation when you took over the last position, … was the first thing you did when you entered the company, … was the hardest decision in your career), How (…did you achieve this, ...did you coordinate the team, … did you solve the conflict between sales and finance…), How much/how many (… )

Challenge the candidate by elements of behavioral interview. This is a type of interview where questions are focused and request examples of handling a specific situations, starting with Give an example (…of an occasion when you foreseen the result, … of a goal you reached/didn’t meet and how did you handle it), Describe (…a stressful situation and how did you handle it), Tell me (…about how you worked effectively under such pressure, … have you ever made a mistake). Avoid hypothetical questions (How would you react in the case if…) as you will get a hypothetical answer. Ask about experience.

 

Request exact answers and insist until you get those, do not get satisfied with long answer which doesn’t answer your question. Keep returning to it.

 

Listen – be active, make notes, encourage the candidate to speak and do not comment (…Oh, that was not wise… How could you allow something like this… You should have reacted immediately…) It is not so important what the candidate says but the context, what he/she says “between lines”. For example, to the question: What was the reason that you left the company X after only a few months? can be given an answer: Personal reasons. Halo? Would somebody change the job for “non-personal reasons” and not explain this? Or answer: New challenges. This answer has to be explained in details. What are “new challenges”, why “old challenges” were not relevant any more… Such answers open lots of issues, lights alarms and call for more detailed explanations to get larger picture on person’s priorities, goals and focus.

 

Observe – usually the gestures tell more than words. Learn about body language, pay attention to candidates uncomforting signs (sweating, unrest, nervousness…) . However, don’t get obsessed by gestures and make too quick conclusions.

 

Make notes and evaluate the competencies by marks from 1 to 5. After interviews, prepare a matrix where you compare candidates by summarizing the marks of each competency.

 

Ask candidates for one of key positions in the company to prepare a written document (with limited data and within relatively short time frame) on maximum two pages about his/her vision of the position, priorities, challenges, budget, time…, think of relevant subject to check the ability to verbalize the thoughts, to present them, to improvise and to handle the pressure.

 

Each interview has to be thorough, slightly stressful and surely not just a pleasant talk. It should be as a massage, where after the therapy, thus the client and the therapist are at least a little sweaty.

 

To conclude, let me give you a final tip: invite candidate to ask YOU some questions. Candidates' questions tell even more than his/her answers to your questions.

 

Milena Pervanje,

Amrop Adria, Director Human Capital Advisory

 

Winds of change

CRO’s 50 Shades of Greatness

CRO… a super(wo)man?

A CRO should not “only” distinguish the usually visible 32 shades of company’s most trivial call-outs for restructuring, but all 50 shades of greyness of its present mediocrity. Also inscrutable agendas and their hidden implications during the change management. Because while restructuring only few argumentative reasons stand in opposite to at least a million of opposing “reasons” arising from fear of change. 

Therefore, the CRO personalizes the complexity of the so-called Cost killer... hence 50 shades of grey to be figured out…

   

And special requirements calls for Special Forces!

How to hunt the CRO will be presented by a professional Headhunter (why should they be called differently than affectionately as we name the Cost killer?!?), associating her lifetime work in HR with one of the worldwide leading Executive Search network, with almost 90 offices in over 50 countries. Milena, please, the floor is yours!

 

Ervin Pfeifer

 

 
 

 

The key characteristics of Cost killer or CRO, the “integrated” corporate restructuring officer?

 

The cost killer cannot be just anybody, this is evident. But how does a good CRO looks like? How to evaluate competencies of candidates for such position?

 

As always when we are considering the engagement of a new expert on board to one of key positions, we have to first clearly know our goal. So, to answer all those questions, we have to identify competencies needed for tasks ahead of this professional.

 

 

 

Knowledge, skills & abilities mirrors the profile of CRO

 

In the HR theory, competencies are described as the collection of knowledge, skills, abilities and values, of everything what people need to be successful in their jobs. This set of context-specific qualities is correlated with superior job performance and can be used as a standard against which to measure job performance as well as to develop, recruit, and hire employees.

There are three types of competencies: 

 

 

 

 

 

But…, choose right approach! Or hire a headhunter to do it…

 

The secret of successful recruitment is the right approach to evaluate and assess the candidates' competencies and compare them to realistic expectations of the position and wider of organization. This is assured by different methods of selection:

• structured selection interview with elements of behavioral interview 
• assessment center with tasks focused to organizational skills, team playing skills, priority setting, role plays
• candidates' presentation of their approach to the task with budget and time frame clearly presenting the working strategy to achieve goals

To have an insight view into competencies' evaluation, the best results will be achieved by combining some of selection methods which can be cross checked also by the right battery of psychometric tests.

 

 

 

Shopping list for competencies of the CRO’s … 

 

What are the competencies of a CRO? Grouped and presented are as follows:

  

 

 

 

 

Each of those competencies has to be assessed 

 

But how…? Almost none of them can be measured, most of them are evaluated by the candidate’s references in the CV or assessed by more or less complex selection methods:

• structured selection interview
• assessment center with focused tasks testing specific competencies
• psychometric tests and questionnaires
• reference checking

 

 

Expect the expectable… or “How to prepare for the selection process?”

 

Before commencing selection process we have to have a perfectly clear picture of our expectations, clear image of what we are looking for in the process which we name identification of a CRO. In this defining process we have to create a solid job description, set clear goals for this person to achieve in a time frame, sources that will be available, responsibilities and authorization in decision making process, reporting protocols, KPIs and measures of success. We have to know our frames of rewarding system for the CRO and also his/her team.

 

After completing this preparation phase, comes the time to prioritize the competencies and set to each competence the mark of importance. At every search and selection process we are of course aiming to find and engage the "superman", what might lead the decision makers into trap of not getting to the decision searching for such perfect match.

 

It is very important to remain realistic and being ready also for compromises. Of course, there are issues where compromising would endanger the success of the project. And we have to identify these competences we will at no price make compromise, those where we can step back (how much that we don’t bring the project under the question), and those where it would be nice to have but we could live without and the project is still doable.

 

Do we have right fish on the hook? How to evaluate the competencies? Questions! Tasks!  

 

Check our blog for more about that with some secrets of selection methods’ masters at one of next readings.

 

 

Milena Pervanje

Amrop Adria, Director Human Capital Advisory

 

 

 

 

Sources:

• Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competence_(human_resources)#Types_of_Competencies
• Mark V. Bossi: Are CROs more Powerful than Turnaround Consultants? https://www.turnaround.org/Publications/Articles.aspx?objectID=6588
• Nat Wassenstein: What is a Chief Restructuring Officer? http://www.lindenwoodassociates.com/crisis-management/what-is-a-chief-restructuring-officer/