Question

Does the organization you work for or have worked for have a method for evaluating their effectiveness, achievement of organizational goals, and the meeting of client needs? If so, please describe it. If not, name a few ways an organizations can evaluate themselves. Why is this important? 

Answer 1

I currently work for a consulting firm which specializes in implementing ERP systems like SAP, Oracle etc. to clients. Hence, the main objectives of the firm include -

1. Client/customer satisfaction

2. Effective utilization of consultants on projects

3. Optimizing the resources and achieving higher profits

The firm evaluates three of these goals in the form of metrics thus ensuring effective management and understanding where they can perform better. This analysis is done on a quarterly basis and below are the metrics associated with these goals -

1. Client satisfaction index which is measured based on a set of key feedback points received from the client which are captured on a scale. Few sample questions include - how good the project implementation is going on or has gone, how likely is the client preferring the consulting form for future assignments, how likely the client is planning to refer the firm to other organizations etc.

2. Utilization overall is measured in percentage of the hours of the consultant utilized for client service out of the total hours the consultants capture in their timesheets/records.

3. The effective optimization of resources will reflect in the financials of the firm in terms of profits as consultants are the major cost elements for the cost center.

It is important of evaluate self to understand the areas where the firms are lagging, identify them as developmental areas and take action plans to improve the performance in these areas in future.