Organizational Assessment Tools

People make the organization

Before committing to work with an organization it would do you well to do a sundry check of what you are getting yourself into. On the other hand there is a need for you to have criteria that would enable you assess your organization at the drop of a hat and make you know if you are measuring up and the things you have to do to improve. This organizational assessment tool comprises of eight key areas that you can examine and know if you are on the right path it is used by human resource experts to enhance a quick assessment of organizations:
1. Values, mission, vision: Can you recite all of these? Can employees do it too? Can you explain the focus of the company in very short terms? For instance ABC company will be a customer focused entity, quality of employee, quality of workplace and the quality of the customer should all be linked to one another. Knowing these would help determine the relationship the individual has or should have with the organization.
2. Fiscal status: Is your organization healthy or under the weather, so to say? The figures that have to do with turnover, profit, investment etc could be a major indicator. Prompt payment of salaries and stipends is a major issue. Having an idea of what they entail could help you understand how well the organization is doing.
3 Organizational Structure: Knowing if the structure of the organization suits the needs is major assignment for anyone doing an assessment. Does the organization rely on teams or individuals for results? How do the various arms of the organization work together to achieve the goals and objectives that are set for it to meet over a period?Are there smooth task transfers?
4. Policies and procedures: Policies and procedures should help the organization function appropriately. Are there any procedures or policies that hinder organizational activity? Policies and procedures are also supposed to be adjustable and dynamic. We live in changing times. And we ought to make sure that our policies change with the environment so as to be up to date and suitable for running a dynamic organization.
5. Compensation and Benefits: Its very pertinent that we benchmark our compensation and benefits against the competition. We need to consider positions, the organization, the industry(sector) and the job market generally. That means we ought to do our comparisons on three levels before we can actually do a proper analysis.
6. Staff Development: Training ought to lead to some sort of development in the organization. Is our training formal or informal? Can we describe what we have by way of training? It is better to describe what we have rather than what we don't have so as to attract the right people and also ear mark substitute programmes. What effect or uses do training have on the individuals, groups or teams that engage in it?
7.Management Philosophy: Is the the strategy for managing people, teams and resources hands on, guide and support. Is it emotive in nature where we rely on slogans and pep talks, rewarding where targets are rewarded by bonuses when results are achieved or coercive; threats of punishment if targets are not met. Some organizations combine more than one approach in this regard.
8. Physical Workspace: The physical workspace might not be out of this world, but it ought to be comfortable, attractive to some extent and conducive for the kind of work that is at hand.

When we consider all of these eight areas we are able to do a proper assessment of the organization and its stance and position in the sector that it belongs.