If financial and operational performance is trending in the wrong direction, you may be faced with the stark realization that what you are doing now will not get you where you need to be. Embarking on an Operational Excellence journey may be your only option.
Achieving your objectives from an Operational Excellence program come one way – hard work. We believe establishing a PMO to provide the governance and manage the complexities of an Operational Excellence program will be essential to your success.
A PMO is a group established to ensure governance standards, drive best practices, provide status and direction for program deliverables. We are using the term Program instead of Project because Operational Excellence is not a one and done event. It is a journey of continuous improvement and innovation.
An Operational Excellence program is a tremendous tool to drive operational and financial performance. However, these programs are very complex and fraught with risks that we will address, including:
- Financial Risks
- How will the PMO drive Return on Investment (ROI) without adding overhead to an already complex organization?
- How will the PMO drive throughput of projects, and improve capital efficiency?
- Operational Risks
- How will the change impact the current organizational structure?
- Will lines of reporting change?
- Will delegations of authority / budget authorization need to change?
- How will processes need to change?
- How will training need to change? How will technology support?
- How will Risk Management and Quality Management be integrated?
- Cultural Risks
- What is the message to the organization? Why is this important?
- What is the current view on the approach from the people most impacted?
- Program of the month, or systemic change embraced by all?
- What change management methodology will be used?
- How will deep seeded views, behaviors, and practices be addressed?
- Has leadership bought in, and committed to make it successful?
Because an Operational Excellence program will have such a huge impact on your company culture, good communication will be essential for success. It is important that your people understand that certain functions may be automated or eliminated – or changed in such a way that training or new talent may be required. Therefore, your communication strategy and how you choose to establish your PMO must be a top priority before embarking on an Operational Excellence program.
Engage believes the framework of an effective PMO is comprised of eight (8) elements:
- Strong Governance Structure
- Processes & Standards based on PMI®
- Robust Change Management Approach
- KPI’s & Project Controls
- Collaborative Learning Environment
- Innovative Tools and Technology
- Quality Management System
- Internal Audit & Lessons Learned
We will be covering each of the eight (8) elements in greater detail in future newsletters.
Having strategic guidance available as you stand up an Operational Excellence program is vital. Having readily available talent and resources is rarely something our clients have in-house. Engage is ready to assist you and provide the resources necessary to ensure the success of your Operational Excellence program and framework and tools to launch an effective PMO. If you are a leader who is focused on driving additional financial and operational performance, please give us call.
