In this issue, I will share my experience acquired from the conglomerate and its operating companies. For the purpose of this article, I will articulate the Focus on the Future which is one of the eleven core values and concepts used in Malcolm Baldrige Criteria. As before, I will use case studies to show how some of the companies implement them.
To recap, below are the Eleven Core Values and Concepts of Baldrige Criteria: –
Visionary Leadership | Customer-Driven Excellence | Organizational and Personal Learning | Valuing Employees and Partners | Agility | Focus on the Future | Managing for Innovation | Management by Fact | Public Responsibility and Citizenship | Focus on Results and Creating Value | Systems Perspective
Articulated Focus on the Future Creating a long term liability of business in an organization requires an understanding of a short and long term critical success factors. Focus on the future outlook and strategies that drive for continuous improvement to meet customers and other holders' expectations should be taken seriously as a long term Critical Success Factor.
In the planning process, it should anticipate a wide spectrum of future factors that may enhance organization values to grow its market share, customer base and achieve operational excellence, employee value creation such that profitability can be sustained.
Strategic HR play a major role in this initiative, after all, it is the people who make an organization. Clear HR plan should be developed and aligned to the organization drives for excellent. It should include developing of employee at various levels, suppliers, succession planning and opportunities for innovation.
Case Study on Focus on the Future Most companies I worked with Focus on Future. Vision and Mission statement are developed and reviewed regularly. Shareholders expectations are understood, Key Performance Indicators stretch over 3 years for each year's budget planning. Unfortunately, all these are financial indicators. Few had a longer term expectation of operation strategies and key performance indicators.
Would this lack of long term focus on operational issue a good practice? Well, from my encounters, companies included operational issues into their long term focus have gain competitive advantage as these focuses help to drive down operating cost.
With regards to HR planning, it is mostly done on a year to year basis. Even that, it is more of a headcount planning instead of a Strategic Approach to Human Resource requirement determination and gap analysis to determine shortage of competency, coverage etc. Succession planning is weak, not executed or non existing.
Opportunity for Improvement Since there is a long term financial expectations for all companies, why not include a similar term of reference for operational indicators, Strategic HR and plan, development employee for key positions, upgrade competency of shop floor workers to achieve better quality and productivity . Develop a continual improvement as a culture for not stop improvement work culture. Between delegates to HR managers, leaders should take a leading role to review this long term initiative.
In summary, having understood the Focus on Future in Values and Concepts of Malcolm Baldrige, it should be taken as a strategic issue rather than operational. Most companies have placed a Marketing Strategy, some would have Operational Strategy, would you want to consider having HR Strategy too? Leaders may benchmark their CEO of Baldrige Winners on their TQM successes in this value. My next article will articulate the next Core Values and Concepts in Managing for Innovation
source for Malcolm Baldrige criteria: http://www.quality.nist.gov/Criteria.htm
