How do you move forward as an organization to achieve your vision? What’s working well? What’s holding you back or bogging things down? As a mortgage consultant who’s worked in the industry for years, I hear these questions all the time from organizational leaders. And there is help! One tool that’s very effective in helping you answer these challenging questions is an Operational Assessment. Operational Assessments are a pulse check for your business. Every company can benefit from an operational assessment; it provides an open, honest, and objective viewpoint of your business’s current processes, procedures, technology, people, and risks. And once you have this information, you’ll be able to create a plan and chart a path for the future.
So how do you get started on an operational assessment? Where do you find the information? Again, the operational assessment is to provide a checkup of your organization. There is no better way to get to the truth than talking with your employees and clients.
Most Operational Assessments include the following components, so you’ll want to frame your questions and surveys around these business areas.
So, what’s the best approach to collecting data? Staff interviews and ride-a-longs are a great option, and it is through these conversations with employees that you’ll gather a lot of information to complete the assessment. Listen carefully. Because without question, you’ll gain tremendous insight into the formal and informal processes and cultural norms that drive the business. For example, does the current technology effectively support the business? Does it help employees complete their jobs, or is it a constant issue? Are leaders delivering a consistent message, uniting around common goals and direction? In short, are we all together in the boat rowing in the same direction? People are the core of the business, and it’s important to understand their feedback, comments, perspectives, and observations. Through open dialogue, you’ll uncover things that are not always seen, like workarounds, completing work in a strange order, missing key items that could make reporting better, outdated policies and procedures, etc.
For external customers, consider using interviews, or to reach a broader audience, surveys are also very effective. Do customers have a positive experience when engaging with your organization? Are they satisfied with the business relationships? You’ll want to incorporate feedback from closed and unclosed loan clients, as well as your realtor/builder partners.
An operational assessment is only as good as the honest and open feedback received, a clear view into the company’s current operations, AND leadership that is willing to listen, then adjust and apply any apt learnings.
This blog is a very brief overview of an operational assessment that could help you objectively determine the status of your organization. Once you can see things with complete transparency, it can help define intentional growth or organizational change steps. Once you know where you are, THAT VALUE can help you get where you want to be.