We sometimes get asked by those who complete the Success Through People Scorecard, “How do our results compare to others?”
While it’s fair to argue that what others are doing/not doing shouldn’t be too much of a focus for how we manage our own businesses or organisations, I guess it’s natural to be at least a bit curious as to how we compare to others.
Well, the results are in, so prepare to have your curiosity satisfied!
Before we get into the nitty gritty of the results, a quick reminder that the Success Through People (STP) Model© on which the scorecard is based identifies the 8 core things that highly-effective businesses/organisations do well in terms of leading and managing their people. In our experience, these businesses consistently achieve better results, including higher productivity and profit, great cultures, sustainability and high levels of engagement.
So what is it that these highly-effective businesses have in common?:
- they have (and effectively communicate) Clear Vision, Values and Strategy
- they have Effective Leadership
- they Recruit the Right people
- they Set Clear Expectations
- they build a culture of Accountability
- they Equip Others for success in their role
- they effectively Manage Risk, and
- they Value Others.
(If you need further info regarding the Success Through People Model©, check out this page).
And so, onto the results…..drumroll please!
The graph below indicates the overall average score plus average scores for each of the 8 core components of the STP Model. (Note that red provides an indication of the percentage of respondent businesses/organisations that need considerable improvement, while orange indicates strong opportunity for improvement and green represents good progress and more modest opportunity for improvement):
- Out of a possible score of 100, the current average score for those businesses/organisations completing the scorecard is 63. This suggests that while many have at least some of the basics in place, there’s clearly plenty of opportunity to improve the way SMEs manage their people (and plenty of opportunity to improve performance, profitability, engagement etc…).
- The area in which most SME business owners/managers feel they’re performing most effectively, with a score of 72, is Equipping Others (ensuring that those in the business have the tools, resources, information, authority, attitude and capabilities necessary to succeed in their role).
- Clear Vision, Values and Strategy & Effective Leadership* come in as equal second and third, each with a score of 69%. This is particularly pleasing as we often refer to these as the “Do not pass go, do not collect $200” components of the model. Without these two components performing well, it’s extra-challenging to effectively manage the rest of it.
- As for those areas with the greatest opportunity for improvement, Recruiting Right is currently sitting at an average score of 53 (a real concern given the current challenges of securing good candidates!), and Setting Clear Expectations and Ensuring Accountability are averaging scores of 54 and just 51 respectively.
- We tend to look at these last two areas together, to the extent that they can almost be likened to the two sides of a single coin: you need to set clear expectations AND hold everyone accountable in order to achieve success. It’s not a great surprise to us that the results for these two areas are lagging, as it’s been very much our experience in working with SMEs over the last 15 years that setting clear expectations and holding people accountable is a real challenge for many.
We’ll unpack these results a bit further in a future article, so stay tuned for that….
“OK, that’s interesting, but what can we do to improve?”
We’re so pleased you asked…..
If you’ve already completed the Scorecard you will also have received a comprehensive report with your individual scores and suggestions for improvement (HOT TIP: if you haven’t yet completed the Success Through People Scorecard, you can do so here. It’s free and takes about 15 minutes).
Your STP Scorecard Report clearly identifies those areas you need to prioritise and provides a heap of suggestions, so it’s a matter of thinking through the potential options/remedies, then developing and implementing a plan to transform your business.
Those businesses/organisations scoring low in relation to Set Clear Expectations and Ensure Accountability, for example, might decide to focus on:
- Ensuring that supervisors and managers work with staff to help them establish and work toward individual goals (S.M.A.R.T goals are best: Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Timebound)
- Developing and effectively communicating a clear set of policies and procedures and/or Employee Handbook or similar, to guide staff actions.
- Ensuring that mechanisms such as performance reviews/regular coaching sessions and recognition & remuneration systems are in place and operating effectively, as a way of reinforcing expectations.
- Promptly, appropriately and consistently addressing instances of poor performance and misconduct.
- Periodically conducting staff surveys (eg. the STP Team Survey – refer Step 2 of the STP Pathway), and customer/client surveys, sharing results with your team, then developing and implementing improvement plans.
So what are you waiting for? If you haven’t already done so, complete the STP Scorecard, grab your report, then work with your team to formulate and implement your Success Through People Action Plan to transform your business and:
- Increase performance & profit
- Improve engagement & satisfaction (of you AND your team!)
- Build great workplace cultures, and
- Ensure sustainability.
*Footnote: The STP Scorecard is a self-assessment tool (and let’s face it, most leaders are going to say that they are effective leaders!). To get a more accurate picture and better understand how your business is positioned in relation to the STP Model, and further inform the steps you need to take to transform your business/organisation, ask us about having your team complete the STP Team Survey (note that STP Pioneers currently have access to special introductory pricing).