Article

Three signs your organization needs an operational review

Sep 09, 2020

Authored by Caitlin Humrickhouse, Melanie Varghese and Peter Haney

Despite differences in strategy, processes and technology, all public sector organizations work towards one universal goal: Achieve maximum efficiency to provide the most value to customers, citizens and other stakeholders. And, as COVID-19 continues to affect revenue, expenses and human capital, the need for efficiency is more important than ever.

Would your organization benefit from an operational review? Take this assessment.

An in-depth operational review of your organization can detect loopholes, elevate risks and identify new opportunities for improvement. Here are three signs your organization could benefit from an operational review:

1. Sustained inability to achieve strategic goals

Has your organization established strategic goals but is unsure of how to implement changes to achieve those goals? Or, perhaps your organization is struggling with understanding strategic direction, resulting in frustrations around day-to-day processes and manual workarounds? Establishing and defining a method to achieve strategic goals is a key element to operational excellence.

2. Pending retirements leaving your organization scrambling

An aging workforce has left many public sector organizations facing the challenge of trying to identify what is next, and how to continue growth despite losing talent in the workforce. Organizations that are not ready for this transition could risk permanently losing decades of expertise, ultimately affecting their ability to provide critical services to citizens and customers. It is important to utilize data to identify when a wave of retirements may be approaching and leverage the proper tools to:

Identify new talent and fill the workforce gap
Preserve the organization’s knowledge and expertise through knowledge transfer processes
Prevent major disruption to the organization through intentional change management

3. Lack of insight into how success is measured

Are the majority of your organization’s processes manual, leaving you wondering how your time and effort contributes meaningfully to the entity’s success? Measuring operational performance can be tough in any industry; however, it is particularly challenging for public sector organizations that may not have the necessary technology and processes in place. Identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) with associated targets is an essential method to improving transparency within the organization for how success is measured.

Here are a few tips to consider when establishing KPIs:

Build KPIs aligned with the organization’s purpose, priorities and strategic goals
Develop a target for each KPI (i.e., reduce greater than 30 day utility billing receivables by 25%)
Build accountability into the process by regularly reporting KPI data and linking it back to strategic goal attainment

The main objective of an operational review is to increase the value your organization provides. By identifying and implementing new opportunities for process improvement, cost reduction, revenue enhancement, risk mitigation and alignment with organizational strategy, you will better serve your customers and citizens and increase efficiency that may have been lost due to COVID-19.