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Firm hand on the tiller during change management

ICT — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 18:14:08 +0000

The unfavourable economic situation has forced many companies to adjust their course accordingly. There is a great deal at stake, and the risks are just as significant.

The large scale of change programs and their impact on an organisation, combined with plans that are too optimistic, often result in the programs failing. More than eighty per cent of programs are not concluded as planned, and more than fifty per cent fail altogether. It is therefore time to think about managing change and how to tackle it effectively.

Not enough control

With increasing frequency, managers are discovering that they do not have sufficient control of large-scale changes, especially as far as information technology, culture change (such as making improvements in terms of customer-orientation) or new operations are concerned, and if the market is changing drastically as well. The problem is not so much the scale of change, but its complexity and the fact that the results that are to be attained have not been defined clearly enough. Working on a project basis alone will not do.

Program management

Program management is ideal for carrying out changes in complex situations that have a major impact on the existing organisation. This concerns changes with many areas of uncertainty and risks but which must be clearly compatible with the company strategy. The many line activities and projects in an organisation, the mutual relationships that exist between them, and their dependency on their environment, mean that managing change requires considerable effort on the part of the line organisation and the management. Programs achieve strategic goals through a number of activities and projects that are managed in a cohesive manner. They are aimed at achieving the organisation’s goal in the longer term, while projects are designed to produce concrete results in the short term.

Establishing the program
Managing the implementation of the program
Authorising the program (and any alterations to it)

Tempo (final date, time planning, availability of employees)
Feasibility (financial, legitimacy)
Efficiency (cost-benefit ratio)
Flexibility (possibility of modifying programme plan)
Effectiveness (contribution of project results to programme goals)

* It is essential to get these criteria as ‘smart’ as possible. It is also important to prioritise the criteria.

More control

Integrated approach to the different activities and projects with the help of clearly defined parameters
Program management provides a well-justified sequence of priorities, with regard to the activities and projects
Good risk management because the activities and projects are assessed in relation to each other
Management of the company objectives (business case); by substantiating each activity and project within the strategic framework, it is possible to consider accurately the cost-benefit ratio
The transition from the existing organisation to a new way of working is a separate part of program management (a change manager is responsible for this)

Sophiq for managing and reporting

Sophiq is ideal for use as a management instrument for operating programs that consist of multiple projects. Sophiq has been designed to make interrelationships visible at all times.

Communication is unambiguous and clear thanks to the use of uniform reporting standards and existing templates
An up-to-date overview is always available
The overall risk can be seen easily, at a single glance
The management degree and capacity of projects is maximised
The process of reporting becomes a lot less time-consuming
The relationships between activity and performance for every component are transparent, thereby making it possible to decide on any reallocation of resources.

Note: we do of course realise that there is a fundamental difference between managing programs and managing projects. However, the principles of integrated management are the same, which is why we have elected to discuss the full effects of program management only.

The benefit of improvements to productivity

ICT — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 18:12:43 +0000

With Sophiq, you keep sight of your processes. Markets are becoming more and more diffuse and complex, customers more and more demanding, and competition ever fiercer.

Meanwhile, costs are rising and you have to respond flexibly and in a controlled manner to all these developments. Thinking in terms of processes is an important source of guidance. And although the spotlight on process management, process improvements and LEAN has very much intensified in recent years, the number of managers with a firm grasp of what this actually means is very low.

An organisation is effectively a collection of processes that are managed in order to achieve the desired end-goal, to make a profit in whatever form, at minimum cost and with maximum productivity and customer-satisfaction.

Why is there always time and money available to do something again, but never to do it right in one go?
Although it is almost impossible in practice, it is what we are aiming for: doing things right first time. That, after all, is quality. Many problems in organisations result in work having to be carried out all over again. The signs that an organisation is having to perform ‘repair work’ are low levels of customer and employee satisfaction, declining turnover, and running at a loss. After all, it is not just that customers are on the receiving end of poor quality, but also the way in which it happens that is below par, as a result of which employees ultimately become dissatisfied.

Effective process management gives you a clear understanding of the real problems, thereby enabling you to concentrate on resolving the causes rather than fighting the symptoms. However, it appears that correctly linking financial information with operational data – in other words, the information on day-to-day matters – is an insurmountable obstacle. Many organisations therefore find themselves struggling not only to unlock the information about their processes, but also to use this information in an effective way for making their processes and activities measurable, and therefore to take correct decisions.

How can Sophiq help here? We describe in detail a frequently-occurring problem, that of dealing with a complaint from a customer.

Preventing damage to reputation by dealing with complaints centrally
Any organisation that fails to deal with customer complaints efficiently and professionally does not deserve to survive. The emergence of social media in particular means that a reputation that has carefully been built up can be shattered in a very short time if the organisation in question does not respond quickly to the negative experiences of its customers. However, the problem is that complaints are often not carefully recorded, so that action is not taken, or not taken quickly enough. Sophiq brings order to this process and assists organisations in properly recording and classifying complaints so that they can take appropriate measures on the basis of up-to-date and relevant information.

Complaints and negative reviews often reach the organisation through a variety of channels: in writing, by telephone, e-mail, at the counter, and of course social media. It is important to manage all these channels and to streamline the complaints. After all, no organisation wants to sustain costly damage to its reputation because it failed to register or deal with complaints in a proper manner.

Through the deployment of Sophiq, you will gain control of the complaints that reach you and of the process for dealing with them. Sophiq gives you an insight into the quantity and the nature of the complaints, so that you can take the right action via the appropriate channel, in good time. A positive response to a complaint makes a good impression among your customers, which itself becomes a topic of discussion…. In short, it is about limiting your risks by better managing complaints and thereby preventing damage to your reputation.

Integrated management through cohesion
Collecting the right information regarding complaints provides an overview, and analysing the overview provides clearer insights
Effectiveness through clear insights
This means that the focus lies on resolving the causes of problems, rather than on fighting the symptoms. As a result, the likelihood of the organisation losing customers is significantly reduced
Decisiveness through risk-aware management
As an organisation, you can now optimise the complaint management process by applying LEAN
Direction and control
Permanently monitoring, analysing, and adequately resolving problems ensures that you continue to do the right things in the right way

Risk management, from controlling to being ‘in control’

ICT — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 18:11:45 +0000

Read our vision on integrated risk management, how you can implement it, and how Sophiq supports you in the process.

We live in an age in which it is almost impossible to forecast future trends on the basis of those from the past. The continued survival of businesses, brand image, and financial results are all exposed to risk. This means that situations have to be tackled as they develop. Successful and future-proof organisations are able to do so and they have at least one thing in common – they are in control of their business. This means that:

They manage their organisation in an effective manner
They are in control of their processes and projects
They are in control of the risks in their business

Businesses have to be able to deal with unpredictable situations that do not feature in protocols or manuals, even though their hands are tied by formal regulations, protocols, and the allocation of powers.
Good management is therefore characterised by a focus on risks and risk management. No matter how difficult the current economic climate is, you cannot passively sit back and wait for things to get better. Now is the very time to stay relevant to the market and to respond to the changing behaviour of your customers. You have to be constantly alert to developments, and make considered judgements and decisions. However, decisions entail costs and have an impact on your business, so you prefer to exclude risks as much as possible.

Prompt measures

Risk management is intended to ensure that risks are identified and assessed promptly. The assessment may also allow for possible positive consequences of risks. Indeed, they could form a good reason not to avoid or reduce the risk in question, and that means making a careful choice.
Risk management must also ensure that timely measures are taken that can affect the chance of risks or their consequences occurring in a desired manner. Wherever possible, they should reduce the possibility of the risk materialising or ensure that the consequences associated with it are limited and absorbed.

Risks that threaten objectives

Categorising types of risk, based on the four types of organisational objectives, is a good way of differentiating the various levels at which risks can occur. This is all about the idea that risk control is a process that is aimed at obtaining a reasonable degree of certainty about achieving:

Strategic objectives
Concern how the organisation as a whole can realise its goals
Operational objectives
Concern the effectiveness and efficiency of processes and the deployment of resources
Reporting objectives
Concern the reliability of information (financial and otherwise) provision
Compliance objectives
Aimed at compliance with relevant laws and regulations

Constant and reliable insights

It is very important that risks that impede the realisation of these objectives are discovered in time. The weight attached to a specific risk can best be based on the extent of the likelihood and the consequences of the risk.

Matters such as decision making, anticipating the need to prevent or contain unexpected situations, and having reliable and solid information that provides constant and reliable insights are essential in today’s risk management. After all, they can be used as the basis for setting priorities and can give an indication of new and unexpected developments.

Risk management with Sophiq:

Sophiq supports your approach towards risk at every step:

An organisation should manage its risks in the following way:

Step 1. Describing and setting down the risks that threaten your objectives, as described above (= safeguarding)
Step 2. Link the person responsible to the risks that have been set down (= workflow, continuous attention)
Step 3. Description of scenarios (black swan events) that are more or less impossible to imagine or predict. Using the objective trees in Sophiq helps throw light on these risk scenarios.

Sophiq is a management instrument that explicitly highlights financial, technological and business risks, which makes it easier to control and manage them. Because they are visible, a strong awareness of risk is created – a proactive attitude to risks and a structured approach to reducing them, including relevant control measures in relation to making an inventory of them. This way, Sophiq assists organisations in focusing on areas with an increased level of risk and helps build bridges outside the confines of the organisation in order that risks can be controlled effectively. We refer here to both the reduction of risk and to the deliberate taking of risks in order to create value and make use of opportunities. This is exactly what Sophiq does: giving support when you have to take the right decisions, and managing your risks.

Poor chain management costs companies millions

ICT — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 18:09:19 +0000

Sophiq helps you keep control of your product chain. In many cases, working together with many external parties does not appear to be as profitable as was originally thought.

This is because, in practice, there is a lack of clear information about the activities and performance of outsourcing partners. Businesses realise that in today’s economy, deliveries have to be made more quickly and that they have to offer greater diversity. Outsourcing means being able to focus on your core activities. However, the complexity of the chain has increased markedly due to pressures on cost-price, the market demand for diversity, and the numerous opportunities that exist.

This greater level of complexity makes the management of chain partners very awkward. Moreover, you may find yourself confronted by high costs that are difficult to explain or disprove.

Sophiq puts you back in control

Working well with other parties requires clear coordination in the chain and seamless connections between the various parties in it. In other words, it requires perfect visual integration of the different process and communication flows. With clear agreements on reporting methods, you keep the initiative and control of every process. Sophiq helps you here and generates clear, web-based forms that every partner in the chain can use to make their reports, simply and without ambiguities. This means you always know what is going on, you can limit your risks, and also increase your productivity.

Sophiq offers you:

Integrated management through cohesion: you are always aware of how things stand with your suppliers

Effectiveness through clear insights: any risks that arise as a result of the activities of suppliers are identified at an earlier stage

Decisiveness through risk-aware management: the costs for monitoring suppliers can be reduced

With Sophiq, you have clear sight of the strength of every link in the chain.