The Value of an Operational Assessment?

Recently a business owner asked me what is the purpose of an operational assessment and why would he need one.  The short answer is that an operational assessment gives you a checkup for your business.  Sometimes as executives we get caught up in the daily operations of the business and lose touch with the bigger picture or overall health of the organization.  All businesses can benefit from an operational assessment.  Many times, external management consultants are brought in to complete one to get an objective viewpoint.  That isn’t absolutely necessary for the assessment to be completed.  The goal is to have an objective viewpoint of the processes, skills, and risks of your business.  I always suggest that you don’t use friends and family to conduct your assessment.  It is hard for them to remain objective through the entire assessment.  For you to be intentional and deliberate about your business development, you need to have honest information that isn’t skewed by bias or emotion.

Most operational assessments will include the following basic parts:

• General description of the business
  • Services or products provided
  • Demographics served
  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
  • Backlogs
• Statistics regarding services or sales such as procedures performed, clients served, quantity sold, etc.
• Equipment and software
• Human Resources
  • Staffing analysis
  • Best practices
  • Performance measures
  • Skill levels
• Financial
  • Accounts Receivables
  • Accounts Payables
  • Budget
  • Financial Statements
• Annual Strategic Plan
• Regulatory Issues
• Employee Interviews
• Customer Surveys

If an external management consultant is used, confidential interviews should be conducted with the staff. The philosophy of the consultant will determine if interviews are started from the top to the bottom or vice versa.  The purpose of the interviews is to determine if the leadership is ‘in touch’ with the followers.  If the organization’s message is not consistent from the top to the bottom of the organization, it will be revealed within the staff interviews.  In contrast, if a staff feels informed and part of the team, there won’t be a disconnection.  If human resources are an important part of your business, then it is necessary to listen to their comments, feedback, and observations. If you have multiple shifts, it is important that all shifts have equal voice and representation.

External customer surveys are commonly used to determine the satisfaction of the general population of customers. Again, the operational assessment is to provide a checkup of your organization.  There is no better way to get to the truth than interviews of your employees and clients. Until that information is received, you are working on hope and blind faith.

This is a very brief overview of an operational assessment.  It is important to determine the status of your organization in an objective way.  Until you can see things objectively, honestly, and with full transparency, it is difficult to have intentional and deliberate growth within your organization.  Operational assessments are only as useful as the information reviewed, processed, and acted upon.  Completing an operational assessment that receives no action is a waste of time, money, and demoralizing to the staff.  Therefore, the resources expended toward an operational assessment should be seriously evaluated prior to the commitment of those resources.  The very tool that can provide revealing information could also lead to the detriment of your overall organization if not handled with professionalism and sincerity.

In other words, an operational assessment is only as good as the leader willing to receive objective feedback.