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Understanding the NEEDS of Your Business by Department

Corporate Support Services & Solutions
Hire To Competency

Definition: Understanding the Needs by Department - The behaviors you and your staff must demonstrate in order to guarantee the promise your company makes to the customer experience.

The NEEDS of your business are best defined as: The results your company achieves through the support of your people and their departments.

Example: The need for quality in your product is supported by your production department.

Example: The need to build good customer relationships is supported by your sales department or customer service

Tip: The sample list below can help you identify basic needs that departments support.

The Process:

Step One: Identify each Department that supports the Needs of your business. Start by envisioning your company as a whole entity. Next partition your business into categories or departments encompassing your operational business cycle:

Examples:

Many companies have some of these departments in common, and others will have department's exclusive to their operations. Regardless, each department supports specific needs of your business.

Step Two: Identify the individual Needs inside each Department. These needs must be meeting by each department so that each department will succeed with its primary objective - Supporting the Needs of Your Business.

Examples of Individual Needs inside an identified Department:

• Sales Department supports the following needs of your business:

  • Identify market place

  • Develop a value proposition

  • Build rapport and initiate relationships

  • Support customer experience

  • Create contracts

  • Provide profits and revenues

• Customer Service Department supports the following needs of your business:

  • Supports the customer experience

  • Compiles and tracks information

  • Communicates to all levels of the transaction

  • Supports driving results

• Production/Manufacturing Department supports the following needs of your business:

  • Supports customer experience

  • Participates in profitability

  • Supports quality promise

  • Supports time expectations

• Purchasing Department supports the following needs of your business:

  • Supports quality promise

  • Supports time expectations while keeping timeline priorities

  • Participates in profitability

  • Supports healthy cash flow

  • Supports customer experience

• Accounting Department supports the following needs of your business:

  • Accumulates valid financial information

  • Documents valid financial information

  • Provides for reporting of financial information

  • Supports healthy cash flow

  • Supports supplier relationship

  • Supports credit worthiness of customers

  • Allows for informed financial decision making

• Administration supports the following needs of your business:

  • Acts as a liaison between customers and company

  • Supports executive staff members with their daily responsibilities

  • Keeps the office organized and efficient

  • Supports the systems of the workings of the business

  • Supports the customer experience

Understanding the BENEFITS of an Individual Department

Corporate Support Services & Solutions
Hire To Competency

Definition: Understanding the Benefits of an Individual Department - The BENEFIT this department brings to support the needs of your business is best described as: The advantage the company achieves through the collective activities of an individual department.

The Process:

After understanding the Need of the department, ask the question: “What benefit does the business achieve by fulfilling the Need?” The answer to this question is the Benefit to the department.

Tip: Understanding the benefits of what an individual department provides is important because this creates measurable STANARDS. Meeting defined standards causes the achievement of the benefit - this supports the defined needs of each department - which translates to the success that each department provides your business.

Examples of BENEFITS to your business in supporting the NEEDS of an individual DEPARTMENT:

Department: Sales & Marketing

Department: Accounting

Department: Customer Service

Department: Production

Department: Purchasing

Department: Administration

Understanding the Benefits of the Position

Corporate Support Services & Solutions
Hire To Competency

Definition: Understanding the Benefits of the Position- The advantage a company receives when the employee completes a defined task and meets a defined standard. The benefit will support the need of the department in turn supporting the need of the business.

The behavior expected from your employee result in a Benefit to the department and your business. Benefits support: The process of the business cycle, ensure the customer experience and defines your promise to the market place. Each Task defines a behavior that creates a result. That result should provide a benefit to the department and business.

The Process: In the program, defining the Benefit of the Position is completed as each task is established. This is accomplished by reading the task and contemplating the expected result. The benefit is realized when the task is achieved.

Tip: The benefit your company receives occurs when the task listed is completed to an agreed standard.

Tip: Remember, all tasks must have observable, measurable and manageable results.

Examples:

• Task - Keep accounts receivable current

• Benefit - Assists in business growth, insures profitability and good cash flow

• Task - Create a marketing campaign incorporating the value proposition and collateral marketing material

• Benefit - Ability to develop relationships with the Perfect Client Profile creating opportunity for market share growth, revenue growth and increased profits

• Task - Accept all phone calls delegate the responsibilities appropriately follow up on all commitments

• Benefit - Keeps customers, suppliers and other staff up to date and on track supporting the promise your company makes to the market place

• Task - Complete all applications error free and submit them with in 24 hrs of receipt.

• Benefit - Creates efficiencies, optimizes time frames in the order processing stage, while increasing profitability

Understanding This Position

Corporate Support Services & Solutions
Hire To Competency

Defining the Fundamentals: The typical and fundamentally flawed approach to hiring a new staff member or employee begins when the position title is identified first. By focusing on a title, instead of the needs of the business, the candidates’ suitability can only be judged on a loosely defined word. When the position is defined by in-depth analysis of the needs of the company the candidates suitability is judged buy the ability to produce defined results.

The Process:

Title - Secretary

You have the title - now the question is: “what does a secretary do”? The list might develop like this: a secretary answers phones, screens calls, opens mail, greets customers, files papers, makes coffee, monitors office supplies etc. Typically this is the criteria people use to create the task list or job description which becomes the standard used to hire.

In Hire to Competency, the question is asked, what are the needs of the business and what does a person need to possess to bring a resolution to those needs. This approach will forever change your list and often the title too.

Tip: You have heard of the clever title of “Ambassador of First Impressions“ This title was developed because the needs of the business called for someone who had to provide a good impression to new clients to the company. Prior to this the position was labeled receptionist. The new clever title, allowed the new hire to understand how to behave instead of how to simply administer. The result was an increase in customers brought about by the creation of well defined needs based team member.

Tip: In Hire to Competency, the fundamental approach is achievement based. Each step in the in the hiring process is defined by the ability to identify the needs of your business. Once identified and defined you will: 1. Create a task list that supports those needs; 2. Select the competencies and skills that; 3. Qualifies a candidate. Now it is time to title the position.

Tip: The tasks support the needs of your business, not the title.

The Process:

What is the Position Title?

You have successfully analyzed and now understand the needs of your business; you have created a needs based task list; you have defined a competency list; and defined the skills that support the needs of the position, department and your business.

So, what title should be given? A title that best describes what you want them to accomplish.

Tip: Don't use a preconceived and loosely defined word, unless it fully expresses the very best you can supply.

Qualifications

The Process:

Establish base line qualifications, for example:

• Education levels

• Years of experience

• Licensing accreditations

• Titles

• Proficiencies (computer software)

• Continued education credits

Tip: After establishing qualifications the process continues. If you are adding an existing staffer or employee complete the information as detailed in the program (Name, Start date, last review and next review) information. If you are making a new hire, the name, start date, last review and next review will remain blank.

Why Creating Standards Are Important

Corporate Support Services & Solutions
Hire To Competency

Definition: STANDARDS - Those morals, ethics, habits, and tasks established by authority, or an individual as acceptable and to be used to measure a level of success. Standards provide direction, limits, benchmarks and realization of accomplishment. Standards must be observable, measurable and manageable.

The Process: Establish a set of criteria that defines an expectation for the completion of the task. The level of expectation should be based on the need of the business and the completion of the task satisfies that need.

By setting a standard each employee has a clear view of the level of achievement each must meet to support the needs of the business. Standards are based on the promise your company has made to provide an exceptional customer experience, product or service. Using the standard will allow the employer to review, mentor, and coach and support each employee in the quest to improve and to support the needs of the business.

Tip: Think of standards as a level of achievement that your employees must meet to keep your promise to the customer.

Tip: If you don't tell someone what you want, you will probably get what they want!

Example of Creating Standards:

Sales and Marketing

• Task: Develop a list of prospects

  • Benefit: A sales person has focused direction to the marketplace and the ability to identify the appropriate prospect that will most benefit from your value proposition, increasing opportunity, income, growth and profits.

    • STANDARD: 100 names

    • STANDARD: Perfect client profile

    • STANDARD: 50-mile radius

• Task: Document a value proposition statement.

  • Benefit: A sales person becomes intimate with the value of the product or service that he or she represents and is able to communicate that value efficiently providing increased opportunity, higher closing ratios, increased income, growth and profits.

    • STANDARD: A statement that aligns with vision and missions statements of the company

    • STANDARD: No more than 50 words

    • STANDARD: No less than 25 words

• Task: Create a score card that measures the closing ratios of all sales calls.

  • Benefit: A sales person can gauge their success in order to make the appropriate adjustments for continuous improvement and goal achievement. It provides high closing ratios, bigger goals, increased income, growth and profits.

    • STANDARD: Provide a document that lists attempts vs. completions

    • STANDARD: Establish a ratio in the form of a percentage

    • STANDARD: Set goals for continuous improvement

Why Tasks Are Important

Corporate Support Services & Solutions
Hire To Competency

Definition: Task - A definite piece of work, assigned to and expected of, a duty that is measurable and manageable.

The Process: In supporting the needs of the department and your business, identify in writing the individual expectations that each employee must cause to happen by action of their work. Imagine every activity your employee must achieve during the day, week, month and year to meet the needs of the department and your business. Now - itemize each behavior and you have defined a TASK

The TASK FORMULA:

1. Identify a single action to be taken by the employee that provides a single outcome.

2. Ensure that the outcome supports the needs of the department.

3. The action must be observable, measurable and manageable.

Tip: Each task must be written so that it can be observed, measured and managed. Don't write more than one task in each “TASK” section in the program. Be clear, concise and specific with what you want each employee to accomplish.

Tip: If the task is too general - Example: Do a good job - then the outcome is very subjective and the ability to measure and manage that task becomes weak and ineffective.

Tip: Each employee should accumulate between eight and twelve tasks on an average.

Examples of Defining a Task:

Sales and Marketing

• Task - Develop a list of prospects

• Task - Document a value proposition statement

• Task - Create a score card that measures the closing ratios of all sales calls

• Task - Create and maintain a client management system

• Task - Complete all paperwork including order forms, proposals and contracts per policy and procedures

• Task - Create a marketing campaign that includes your company's value proposition

• Task - Track key indicators such as closing ratios, residual value, average cash value of a customer and life time cash value of a customer and update on a monthly basis

• Task - Be available for training seminars in house and with all vendors and suppliers

• Task - Provide sample requests to company customer service rep. prior to any proposals and or contract agreements

Accounting

• Task - Post all deposits to accounts listed, and create new accounts in the software for new customers

• Task - Receive packing slips upon receipt of product and confirm match to a purchase order

• Task - Receive all invoices for vendor items, recurring operating expenses, and post

• Task - Pay invoices and expenses 7 days prior to due date

• Task - Monitor accounts receivable by sending statements out every 30 days and collecting past due monies

• Task - Provide an accurate set of financial reports weekly. To include A/C, A/P and P&L

• Task - Become proficient at industry specific software application and be able to work simultaneously with QuickBooks

• Task - Maintain all tax filings, local and federal, pay all taxes due and provide reporting on tax liability

• Task - Complete all payroll requirements and obligations, allowing all employees to be paid on time, while accumulating all payroll tax information and posting the tax liabilities to the appropriate account and pay all payroll taxes on time

• Task - Reconcile company checking accounts

• Task - Reconcile credit card balances, and expenses and keep a record of all receipts. Maintain a working available balance

Customer Service

• Task - Receive all orders called in from customers

• Task - Complete all order forms correctly, accurately and error free

• Task - Place all orders within the time parameters needed to support customer expectations

• Task - Order all products necessary to complete all customer PO while keeping the sales department and customer informed at each change in the order process

• Task - Alert all parties involved if any time frames, product qualities or price changes should occur during the process