A business assessment process is a continual cycle. In it, you look at your current situation, where you want to be, and figure out how to get there. Once you’ve achieved that desired situation, you repeat the process. It’s a continual cycle because businesses are always growing and evolving – ideally – to meet new challenges and opportunities.
Stages of a Business Assessment Process
- Setting business objectives
- Breaking objectives down into divisional and departmental goals
- Prioritizing those goals for each division and department
- Mapping the current state of the business in relation to those goals
- Mapping the future (desired) state of the business in relation to those goals
- Developing a project schedule that helps you reach the future state map, based on the prioritized goals
- Executing those projects
Setting Business Objectives
Business objectives need to be focused on the wellbeing of the organization as a whole. They might include things like:
- Increasing revenue
- Improving company culture
- Increasing customer satisfaction
- Taking more market share
- Improving brand recognition and visibility
Breaking Objectives into Goals
Once business objectives are set, the next stage of a business assessment process is to break them down into goals. These will be goals that individual divisions and departments can work towards. Depending on the structure of your organization, you might have multiple levels of goals, from division to teams, or a single layer.
Every goal should:
- Be actionable by the specific group of people assigned to it. For example, marketing teams shouldn’t have sales target goals; development teams shouldn’t have customer service improvement goals.
- Directly support one of the business objectives.
- Be developed in collaboration with the people who will be working towards the goal.
- Be measurable on at least a monthly basis so that employees can see their progress towards the goal.
These goals might include things like:
- Boosting sales targets to support revenue increase objectives
- Departmental team building and development to support corporate culture changes
- Developing resources to support customer service teams in improving customer satisfaction.
Prioritizing Goals
When you have your goals decided, the next step is to prioritize them. This ensures that the most important are worked on first. Use a standard prioritization matrix or develop your own system of scoring each goal based on factors that are important to your business. Alternatively, merge this step with the project scoping and scheduling step.
Mapping the Current State
In this stage, look at where your company is in relation to your goals. You need to establish baselines so you can track progress. The metrics that you use will depend upon your specific goals, but should directly relate to each goal. For example, if your goal involves improving customer satisfaction, you might use a Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) or Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Mapping the Future State
Similarly to the previous stage, look at where you want your company to be. This isn’t a vague, vision-like requirement. Instead, use the metrics that you decided on for mapping the company’s current state. For example, if you chose Net Promoter Score as your metric, your future state might include a 2-point improvement in NPS over the next two years.
Develop a Project Schedule
This is where you move from where you want to be to how you’re going to get there. Your project schedule development process will depend on your company’s methodologies, but should include items like:
- Backlog of tasks
- Project plan
- Project charter
Executing the Project Schedule
Once you have a project schedule in place, the obvious job is to carry it out. This doesn’t just involve giving various teams the go-ahead; it also requires project management and tracking to make sure that it hits your goals. You can use tools like:
- Gantt chart
- Tracking Reporting and Corrective Action System (TRaCAS)
- Project responsibility matrix
- Commitment scale
- Stakeholder analysis
- Communication plan
- Documentation
- Burndown chart
After You Complete a Business Assessment Process
Once you’ve finished moving through these stages, it might feel like the job is done. Right? Wrong. A business assessment process is cyclical; once you achieve a set of goals, you look for your next target. Think of it like a road trip; reaching day one’s destination doesn’t finish the overall journey.
