Work Plan
Once you’ve hired your Fraction Executive, the 8-step business analysis process will begin.
Depending on the size and state of development of your business, and the discipline you’ve selected, some of these steps may not be necessary. Your business may already have a plan in place, and is simply looking for ongoing assistance with decision making and implementation.
- Introduction and observation
- Information Gathering and Research
- Stakeholder Meetings
- Present findings to Owner/CEO
- Develop draft plan
- Finalize plan and presentation
- Delegate tasks, set out implementation schedule
- Monitor key performance indicators to track progress
On the first day, a brief information session will be held to explain the process to staff and allay any fears of the purpose of the process. Your Fractional Executive will then spend the next 1-2 days as an observer at your business.
This will allow the FE to become familiar with your staff, your processes, and your customers. Extensive notes will be taken. There is no charge for this observation period, and it is critical to establish a rapport with your staff. Your FE will forge relationships with your staff to ensure they are involved in the process and providing their essential inputs.
After working with your staff, your FE will do research on your industry and business. This may include an analysis of some of your processes, your market, competitors, equipment and procedures being used, etc. You and your staff will be called upon to answer questions and provide additional information.
Now that your FE has developed a relationship with you and your staff, and has done sufficient background research, it’s time to bring their ideas to the fore.
Your FE will hold one or more brainstorming sessions with your staff and, if applicable, meetings with some of your customers. These sessions will be held without you present, and confidentiality ensured, so that stuff and customers may be totally candid.
You’ve heard that well-worn cliché: “Our greatest asset is our people.” It’s a known fact that some of the best ideas come from staff. This is not surprising, considering they are the closest to the tasks at hand.
The other source of great ideas is your customers. Listen to them and they will guide you on what they want.
Great corporate leaders know that it’s not about coming up with brilliant ideas, it’s about empowering people to be innovative, and supporting a corporate culture that fosters greatness.
The summarized results of the stakeholder meetings will be discussed, along with discussion of suggestions, possible opportunities, and associated budgetary requirements. This is an iterative process, where proposed business process improvements or sales and marketing strategies are discussed, researched, and analyzed against budgetary constraints and ROI.
Your FE will now develop a plan based on all of the work that has been done thus far. Within the discipline you have chosen, this plan will become your blueprint.
Following the mantra of “what gets measured, gets done”, specific metrics will be created to measure performance. These Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will become part of your management dashboard.
Working with your FE, you will establish easily understood and communicated goals. Progress toward each goal will correspond with one or more KPI.
If you do not already have company goals/mission/vision done, these should be created as well.
The draft plan will be reviewed with you and finalized. A presentation will then be prepared, and delivered to staff.
This presentation will be delivered by you and your FE. At this stage, we will communicate to your staff your goals for the company
Goals will be outlined, along with a discussion of deliverables and KPIs.
With your guidance, staff will be selected as necessary, and an implementation schedule created. The schedule will be reviewed with affected staff and implementation will begin.
Once the plan has been implemented, progress toward short, medium, and long-term goals will be tracked. The KPIs that have been created will become part of your “management dashboard”.
