Strategic Planning Framework - Research Paper Example

? STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK goes here] [Your goes here] [Due the paper] Strategic Planning Framework Introduction Strategic planning plays a key role in the success of any company or organization. It includes such measures and decisions that help a company carry out its business operations in an effective and well-organized manner. In this report, we will develop a strategic plan based on the needs assessment of an IT services company. The name of the company is NexGen IT Services Company, and it deals with a wide range of IT services, such as database software development, network management, and information system management. Description of the Settings NexGen IT Services Company provides different types of IT services to people living in and around New York. The company was founded in 2009 and is currently operating its business in New York. Some of the main business areas of the company include software development, network management, information system development, database development and management, and IT consultation. The company develops different kinds of software applications and makes them available in market for customers. The company also develops software products based on customers’ requirements. Along with software development, the company also develops database applications based on new technologies. Network management is another specialty of the company. Fifteen employees skilled in different IT fields work for the company. There is a separate team of IT specialists for every field. The members of the teams work in proper collaboration to provide high quality services to the customers. Mission The mission of NexGen IT Services Company is to provide reliable and highest quality IT services through commitment, dedication, and expertise of skilled professionals. Vision Broadening the scope of information technology and gaining the top spot in the list of the largest IT services providers of the United States by consistently providing highest quality services at reasonable costs. Needs Assessment As Witherspoon (2012) states, “the needs assessments reveal how a group believes things currently are versus the way they want things to be” (p. 1). The current situation of the company is not up to the standards as the company is losing its grip over its market share as well as the position it had achieved earlier in the market based on the quality of its products and services. The two main reasons behind these situations are: 1. High employee turnover rate; 2. Decreased customer satisfaction. Let us discuss these problems in some detail in order to know how these problems are affecting the overall business of the company. 1. High Employee Turnover Rate As Beam (n.d.) states, “employee turnover is the process of replacing one worker with another for any reason” (p. 1). High employee turnover means that the company is not able to retain its employees. It is a fact that experienced employees yield higher levels of productivity as compared to employees who join the company as fresh employees. The reasons behind high employee turnover ratio are usually improper employee recruitment and lack of a proper incentive plan. When we inquired the managers of NexGen, we came to know that they had started hiring less experienced employees in order to cut down the cost of retaining experienced employees. They also took this step as the result of some resignations from their key employees. However, this strategy of the company is proving unsuccessful because new employees are not able to show good performance, and their managers fire them from their jobs after a very short span of time. Another reason that we came to know through analysis was the lack of a proper incentive plan to retain high performing employees. The incentive plan could have motivated the employees to remain associated with the company instead of resigning from their positions. A couple of people who had worked for the company earlier revealed that the company did not use to reward them for their performances because of which they left their jobs and became associated with other IT companies. 2. Decreased Customer Satisfaction Another problem that the company is facing is decreased customer satisfaction. According to Andrews (2012), retaining old customers is always a better option than to find new ones. Decreased satisfaction level reduces the number of customers, which consequently increases the cost of finding new customers. If we analyze the cause of this problem, we come to know that the first problem, which was high employee turnover, causes decreased customer satisfaction. The reason is that new employees who have less experience are unable to develop high quality IT products because they have less knowledge and experience of working at critical positions. When we analyzed the situation at NexGen, we came to know that the company lacked the presence of such employees who could develop IT products as per customers’ requirements. The reason behind that was again the poor selection of employees. Most of the current employees of the company have just the basic knowledge of software programming and network management. They are unable to provide high quality IT services to the customers of the company because they are unaware of the importance of quality management. Some employees working for the company even revealed that they are working for it just to get an experience certificate that they can show to other companies to get high paying jobs. Such attitude of employees can never produce any favorable outcome for a company. Policies From the needs assessment, it is obvious that current policies are not working well for the company. Therefore, the company needs to make some major changes in the overall business policy to solve the problems and make the company achieve competitive advantage in the market. To solve the problems, managers of the company should hire an outside consultant who can provide them with possible solutions to the problems as well as the action plans to implement those solutions. Consultants analyze the business functions of the companies as well as their historic data and performance graphs and recommend proper solutions to the problems based on a proper analysis. The company should also arrange training programs for its employees in order to refine their knowledge and skills regarding their jobs. Training programs play a very critical role in improving employee productivity and job performance. Such programs include practical workshops, seminars, and presentations about the use of new technologies and knowledge in developing high quality IT products. NexGen needs to arrange technical training programs and quality improvement plans not only to improve employees’ skills but also to increase customer satisfaction. Goals of the Company The goals of NexGen IT Services Company are as follows: To provide highest quality services to the customers related to all fields of information technology; To ensure an increase in customer satisfaction level with every passing day; To retain customers of the company by providing them with reliable services and 24/7 customer support; To increase the productivity of the company every year and gain high amounts of profits; To become the leader of the IT services providing companies of the United States. Objectives of the Company The objectives of NexGen IT Services Company are as follows: To adapt to the changes in the internal and external environments of the business; To establish a link between functions of the business and internal and external needs of the IT industry; To make the best use of available resources to satisfy customers’ needs. SWOT Analysis This following table mentions the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for NexGen IT Services Company based on needs assessment and internal/external environment review. Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Experienced IT professionals; Good working atmosphere; Good location. Decreasing customer; satisfaction level No incentive scheme; Lack of employee motivation; High employee turnover. Expansion of business in other cities; Increased customer base; Increased revenue. Emerging competitors; Decrease in the revenue due to low customer satisfaction level. Action Plan Based on the analysis of the current situation and problems of the company, we would recommend the managers to take the following actions immediately. For Decreasing Employee Turnover Action 1: Hire Skilled Employees One of the ways to decrease employee turnover is to hire skilled employees who can increase their worth in the eyes of managers through their performances. Hiring right candidates results in lowering employee turnover (Mcgunagle, 2010). We have noted that the managers of NexGen have fired many employees in the past because of poor job performances. If the company starts hiring highly skilled employees and give market-based salaried to them, the employees will definitely yield higher levels of productivity, and the managers will not even think about firing them from their jobs. Currently, the company is hiring fresh employees with no experience just to save money. However, this is not the right managerial approach as experience and skills require some costs but yield a lot more profit as compared to the costs. Action 2: Implement an Incentive Plan Another solution to the problem is to implement an incentive plan which would reward employees for their performances. Incentive plan will help the company retain key employees as they will be rewarded with job promotions, bonuses, and other job benefits. Employees like to work for companies which take care of their needs and reward good performances. Therefore, the company should introduce an incentive plan for above-average job performers. This solution should work in parallel with the first solution of hiring skilled employees. The reason is that when the company will have no skilled employees, incentive plan will increase the company’s costs instead of increasing employee motivation and productivity. For Increasing Customer Satisfaction Action 1: Implement a Quality Management System One of the ways to increase customer satisfaction is to follow the guidelines of some quality management system. Implementing a quality management system helps employees develop products in accordance with the quality standards set by the system. Currently, NexGen is facing the problem of decreased customer satisfaction because the company is not able to meet the requirements of the customers. In order to solve this problem, the company needs to develop high quality IT products that should run without any bugs. Action 2: Introduce After Sales Service Another solution towards this problem is to introduce an after-sale service plan in order to help customers resolve the problems that may occur at any point of time. The company should implement this service free of cost in order to inspire and increase the customer base. Recommendation of the Action Plans We would recommend the managers of the company to implement all solutions without any delay if they want to succeed in this current downscale economy. Although the solutions may take some time in proper implementation, the process should be started right away in order to save the company from bearing more loss. For example, the hiring of skilled employees may take a couple of months, but the effects on the company will be long lasting. Similarly, implementation of an incentive plan would need a proper financial analysis. Managers of the company would have to analyze all financial factors before designing the plan in order to save the company from suffering extra costs of developing and implementing the incentive plan. Implementation of a quality management system also needs planning. Managers of the company need to set guidelines and train employees to follow those rules while developing any new product. Introduction of after-sale service plan can be done right away as no time-taking planning is needed to take such steps. The managers just need to hire some outdoor service employees to implement this step. Evaluation Plan As far as measuring the success level of the solutions is concerned, managers can measure that by analyzing the levels of productivity and customer satisfaction at least three times a year. Managers can draw graphs of employee performance level and customer satisfaction level and can evaluate them against the previous graphs for the same variables. In total, four graphs need to be drawn for employee performance and customer satisfaction variables. The first graph should be drawn at the beginning of the year to know that current levels whereas subsequent graphs should be drawn after every four months to know the changes between current and past performances. References Andrews, P. (2012). Importance of Customer Satisfaction Surveys. Retrieved from: http://www.articlesbase.com/customer-service-articles/importance-of-customer-satisfaction-surveys-5856945.html Beam, J. (n.d.). What is Employee Turnover? Retrieved from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-employee-turnover.htm Mcgunagle, D. (2010). How to Improve a Business by Hiring the Right Employees. Retrieved from: http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Improve-a-Business-by-Hiring-the-Right-Employees&id=7237201 Witherspoon, D. (2012). Corporate Wellness Needs Assessment. Retrieved from: http://ezinearticles.com/?Corporate-Wellness-Needs-Assessment&id=7161732 Read More