Internal Connectivity
While it is important to focus on sales growth and profit margins, many business owners forget to think about internal connectivity. It’s critical to understand what is connected to a company’s ability to function well internally.
You know how the saying goes – “what happens on the inside becomes visible on the outside.” Here are 3 ways to determine how well your company is connected internally.
Core Values Are Crucial For Internal Connectivity
One of the first steps to creating good internal connectivity is establishing core values. It is a good idea to have a set of core values as they are connected to the culture of the company. Core values should define as:
How the company will treat the employees.
How the employees will treat one another.
How everyone will treat the customer?
When these are defined with core value statements and adhered to, the culture should be a positive one where everyone is treated with respect and dignity – even when disagreeing.
No one is allowed to violate the core values as they are the company’s foundation. Are your core values well-defined and adhered to by all?
Role Descriptions and Performance Standards
Role descriptions act as another agent of internal connectivity in two ways. First, they provide detailed information regarding what role is responsible for what tasks.
Secondly, role descriptions are connected to the training experience as they act as the training outline for the role. When a new employee or an employee moving to a new role is trained, the role description is utilized to ensure the person receives training for each task that they will be held accountable for performing.
Performance standards are connected to a couple of items as well. They speak to the bar to which the person is held accountable when performing tasks listed in the role description. Combined with the role description, this is connected to employees receiving an objective performance review. If you, by any chance, haven’t developed your company’s performance appraisal system , make sure you do it ASAP. It is a crucial step for objectively managing employees which is important for employee retention. Feel free to contact us for assistance.
Most employees prefer objectivity vs subjectivity when it comes to performance reviews. When employees feel that they are managed objectively, morale tends to be higher. So, we can say that objectively managing employees is connected to employee morale. How well is your company connected in this area?
Processes
Remember, when we listed the role tasks in the role description? Well, more than likely there is a process for completing the tasks. Analyzing your current processes via process mapping is connected to your company’s ability to operate efficiently and effectively.
When processes are analyzed with employees that participate in the process and or are impacted by the process, cross-functional connectivity is addressed to ensure the needs of all within the process are met.
As a consultant, I often find that task completion procedures are not captured in any format. Creating written or video procedures for completing tasks is connected to employees being properly trained which is connected to customers – both internal and external customers – receiving a good experience.
Procedure creation is also connected to the retention of task completion knowledge vs someone having this critical information in their head. What are the consequences should this person decide to leave the company? How well is your company connected in this area?
Internal connectivity is important to a company’s long-term viability. Look at the three areas discussed in this article. What does the internal connectivity look like at your company? Check your connections to ensure you stay on the path to longevity.