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Business Maturity Self Assessment

The Value of Professional Assessment

Many Executives will tell us “We know we need to work on the business as well as in it, and we think we’re mostly doing the right things, but how can we be sure we aren’t overlooking something important?” Truth is, it’s hard to know without someone or something to compare yourself to—and it’s not easy to get your hands-on information like that. One way is to ask someone who can give you an honest appraisal and provide Best Practices standards. That’s what a Navigate assessment does — along with giving you actual recommendations for how and where improvements are possible.

Some clients still believe that a professional assessment of their business processes and practices wouldn’t have much value or would only “tell us what we already know”. Scores of companies that have experienced a Navigate assessment will say they not only learned a lot that they didn’t know, but that they received enormous value from the recommendations for how to make improvements. In fact, 92% of the assessments we have performed resulted in follow-up engagements to help implement those recommendations.

The following one-page self-appraisal provides a sample of the areas we explore in a comprehensive professional assessment. You can download it here and it should take only a few moments to complete and score it for your company. If you score 75 or higher, you may not need a full assessment — although you may benefit from help in improving weaker areas. If you score less than 50, we should talk.
Business Maturity Self-Assessment
Score each statement from 1 to 6, where 6 equals Strongly Agree and 1 equals Strongly Disagree. Rate yourself based upon your honest belief about where the company is today, not where you wish it was.

If you give this assessment to 5 – 10 other people in your company – from a range of levels and functions, you’ll get a better view of the variances (which tell their own story).

When finished, the Navigate team will be in touch with your valuation.
1.Management, Strategy, and Culture
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5
Roles, Responsibilities and authority are clearly spelled out and our employees understand and follow them.
We have a current business plan – updated and shared.
Business processes are current, documented and followed.
Our Culture is healthy, free of toxic factors and influences.
Management works as a team with common, agreed-upon goals.
The leadership team members are aligned with our vision, strategy, and the plan to execute it.
We have fostered a culture of accountability where team members prioritize solutions over excuses.
Our customers and peers view our company as professionals
The business gives me energy rather than draining my energy.
2.Marketing, Business Development, Sales
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We uncover the customer's business objectives before we talk products/services.
We diligently qualify before we invest time designing, estimating, and quoting, and we walk away from deals that don't fit
We know exactly who our ideal customer is, and we spend our selling time there.
We hold our margins by solving customer business objectives, so discounting is the strategic exception, not the habit.
We keep a consistent rhythm of measurement, feedback, and coaching that holds us accountable and keeps deals moving.
We have skilled internal/external marketing resources available
We have a foundational brand platform that articulates the truth of who we really are.
Our visual identity and logo are well-aligned to what our brand is and should be.
Everyone in our organization understands our differentiators and can talk to customers about our brand in the same consistent manner.
Our Sales commissions structure / program is well understood and
incentivizes aligned behaviors and result
We conduct site surveys of existing customer sites as part of the
sales process to minimize implementation risk
3.Operations, Project Management, and Implementation
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Scopes of Work are comprehensive (more than just the Bill of Materials), complete and accurate: clear to the Client, the Implementation team, and adequately protect the Company
Internal Project Kick-off Meetings upon client project acceptance are regularly conducted and executed against standard agendas
Client Coordination Meetings are regularly conducted and executed against standard agendas
Each functional discipline understands and delivers to a documented quality standard – good cross-functional hand-offs prevent re-work
The Change Management process is documented and adhered to with clear delineation regarding the usage of Internal (cost-only) and Contract (priced) Change Order
Project Mgmt, Procurement and Warehouse support the efficient use of Technical / Programming labor – minimizing call-backs / redo
Job performance results and labor, overhead, utilization and Gross Profitability are accurately tracked, reported, and assessed – with all direct project labor tracking their effort against the project
Project Managers can see real-time costs and expended labor hours which are measured against a baseline and progress (WIP)
Lessons learned are regularly conducted on projects which exceed variance thresholds, as well as those setting the standard for success
Project drawings are kept up-to-date throughout the project and the lineage of change(s) is captured upon transition to Service
The Substantial Completion / Transition to Service process is well established and thorough – as opposed to “ring the doorbell and run”
Project Warranty and recurring Service contracts are a priority, are well defined and understood by the Client /Company
4.Finance, Administration, and Human Resources
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ERP system serves all departments with accurate, timely, aligned reports with minimal duplication of effort across multiple functions
Current Human Resource strategy is documented / adhered to
Current job descriptions exist for every position, reviewed regularly
There is a growth path for high-performers and remediation / exit path for non-performers – the “right people are in the right seats”
Financial reports are accurate and ready by 15th of the next month
We see P&L by branch, location, line of business, and vertical market
Our ERP system also tracks our inventory as well as service contracts
Applicable Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are aligned to the company’s objectives, are accurate and transparent and shared with those who are impacting them
Scoring

170 or higher:
Congratulations! Your company is functionally well-aligned and you have paid a lot of attention to repeatable and measurable processes. You are likely reasonably or very profitable. There are always ways to improve, but you are probably in pretty good shape — if others who completed this survey agree with your ratings. If they vary significantly, you should find out why. Navigate can help.

140 to 169:
You are better situated than many companies, but there may be some areas of concern, especially if other respondents differ significantly in their ratings and scores. You may not be a candidate for a full Navigate assessment, but we can help you address the opportunities to improve. Let’s explore that.

110 to 139:
There are either numerous things you need to improve or a few that are seriously sub-standard. In these companies we often see a wide disparity between management and employee ratings and a company dissatisfied with its performance and profitability. These should be addressed. You would benefit greatly from our help.

109 or lower:
Your company may be stuck in “corporate adolescence” regardless of your age or size. You need a fuller assessment and an improvement implementation plan to help you mature as a business. You may be struggling financially, and you are surely experiencing a lot of internal drama and re-work. Nobody should have to live like that. Call us.
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