3 Benefits Of Using Organizational Capacity Assessment Services
If you don't feel that you have a clear vision of the current position of your organization and its future path, then an organizational capacity assessment service might be helpful. These services look at core performance areas within your organization, such as governance, human resources, financial management, and project management.
These services are usually self-assessed; however, you can also use consultants to help you run an assessment. How will this process help your organization?
1. Create a Capacity Baseline
If your organization has grown recently, then you might not know exactly how each area of your business is performing. Even if you do have core data, it might not show you how areas interact and affect each other.
So, you might not be 100% certain how your organization performs in capacity terms. You might not know how it would perform if your capacity demands were to increase following an unexpected event. You might not know if you are following best practices across all your departments.
You usually bring in key people from each department to self-score their section of the assessment. At the end of the process, you have a baseline analysis that tells you exactly what your organization is doing well and, sometimes, what it is doing badly.
2. Create Measurable Improvement Plans
At the end of the assessment process, you have a deeper understanding of the position of your organization and its capabilities. You might also have a list of areas you need to improve to bring all your departments up to capacity.
However, improvements and changes are ongoing. Once you've dealt with changes from your original assessment, you can update it and then monitor it on a regular basis.
As time goes on, and your organization grows or changes, your assessment scores also change again. If you monitor your progress regularly, then you can identify future improvements or changes fast. You'll have closer control of your capacity capabilities.
3. Foster Collaborative Working
While every department in your organization works toward your stated objectives, this doesn't mean they work in complete synergy all the time. Each department will have its own drivers and view of how your organization works from its own perspective.
During a capacity assessment, you bring together your departmental leaders. As they score their own sections, they will learn more about other departments and how they work on a capacity basis.
For example, your finance group might learn how their budgets affect the resources that your program management planners need to use. Your planners might learn more about financial controls and their importance. This increased inter-departmental awareness creates a collaborative and informed workforce.
To find out more about how these assessments work, contact organizational capacity assessment services.