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How to advance organization wide integration?

Posted by: Mansour Baker

Each area addresses the activities necessary to advance organization wide Integration.

1. A culture of teamwork and collaboration, with the use of cross-functional project teams, works together to drive project success.
2. Senior leadership works together to provide direction and oversight for initiatives that impact the entire organization.
3. A standardized company project planning process ensures a consistent and inclusive approach to project planning and implementation.
4. An easily accessible knowledge repository ensures retention of best practices, approaches, and intellectual capital.

Exhibit 1

The 4 activities to advance organization wide integration

1 ​How to improve coordination & decision making?

Senior leadership works together to provide direction and oversight for initiatives that impact the entire organization.

Near Term (1-6 months) Initiatives

• Improve impact of director’s meetings by implementing meeting management best practices such as running agendas, issue and decision tracking, and management reporting.
• Establish weekly department-level meetings structured around operational plans to encourage more effective department management.

Medium Term (6-12 months) Initiatives

• Develop and implement integrated dashboard reports to provide common framework for tracking schedule, cost, and results for all company business activities.

Exhibit 2

Leadership works together to provide direction and oversight

Objectives

• ​Create effective and efficient venues for senior leadership coordination and decision-making
• Ensure leadership decisions are documented
• Promote leadership coordination and information-sharing

Key Activities

• Conduct interviews with senior leadership to assess current perspectives on company management meetings and suggestions for improvement
• Prepare recommendations for improved senior leadership meeting framework based on best practices
• Develop supporting tools (e.g., agenda, meeting minutes templates, issue and decision tracking templates, etc.) and procedures
• Support implementation to ensure effective transition
• Assess performance and recommend changes if needed

Key Deliverables

1. Draft Coordination and Decision-Making Recommendations
2. Procedures and Supporting Tools to Operational Recommendations
3. Implementation Support
4. Assessment Report and Recommendations

1. Draft Coordination and Decision-Making Recommendations

• Interviews with company leadership to assess current perspectives on meetings and suggestions for improvements
• Recommendations on mechanisms to improve senior leadership meeting framework based on best practices

2. Procedures and Supporting Tools to Operational Recommendations

• Document outlining management meeting procedures for both senior leadership and department level management meetings
• Templates for meeting minutes, issues and decisions tracking

3. Implementation Support

• Facilitation of initial restructured senior leadership and department level management meetings 

4. Assessment Report and Recommendations

• Assessment of format effectiveness 
• Recommendation on modifications (if needed)

​​​2 How to create and implement a steering committee?

​The company Steering Committee provides oversight and quality review of the implementation of the management agenda and strategic initiatives.

Steering Committee Rationale

• A Steering Committee is a group of senior-level managers who provide oversight and quality review for implementation of change initiatives.
• A Steering Committee is a mechanism to ensure implementation of change initiatives is aligned to the organizational strategy and operational activities, has full transparency and coordination, maintains quality assurance, and ensures the primacy of company objectives in all activities.
• The Steering Committee would have 5-10 members made up of directors from the core and support services departments.
• A primary subcommittee of the Steering Committee, the Management Agenda Subcommittee, would be made up of 4-5 members and oversee implementation of the management agenda initiatives included herein.
• All non-capital (strategic) projects could be overseen by a Non-Capital (Strategic) Initiatives Subcommittee, a potential secondary subcommittee of the Steering Committee made up of 4-5 members to ensure integrated and consistent oversight.

Exhibit 3

Company Steering Committee Organizational Structure

​Steering Committee Charter

​The Steering Committee is chartered to provide management, guidance, and subject matter expertise to the company management and strategic initiatives.

Charter

• Identify projects that fall under the purview of the Steering Committee, baseline program timeline by Subcommittee, status, and outstanding issues.
• Provide oversight to all management agenda and non-capital (strategic) initiatives and take necessary actions to resolve issues and mitigate identified risks.

Key Members

5-10 Members:

• Chair: CEO 
• Members: Core Department Directors
• Members: Support Services Department Directors

Scope

• Implementation of management agenda
• Oversight of implementation of new and existing capital strategic initiatives

Reporting

• The Steering Committee receives bi-weekly reports from Subcommittees on each project’s progress and new and existing issues.
• The Steering Committee reports to the Board of Directors through quarterly reports that present critical issues and recommended actions.

Management Agenda Subcommittee

​The Management Agenda Subcommittee provides expertise and manages management agenda projects outlined in the blueprint.

Scope

• Management agenda projects outlined in the blueprint 
• Other projects approved by the Steering Committee

Reporting

• The Management Agenda Subcommittee receives weekly reports from Project Managers on each project’s progress and new and existing issues.
• The Management Agenda Subcommittee reports to the Steering Committee during the bi-weekly meetings, presenting critical issues and recommended actions, and requests Steering Committee decision on matters.

Non-Capital (Strategic) Initiatives

​The Non-Capital Strategic Initiatives Subcommittee provides expertise and manages non-capital strategic projects.

Scope

• Implementation of non-capital (strategic) projects (taken from company strategic plan) 
• All new non-capital (strategic) projects with a dedicated full-time project manager

Reporting

• The Non-Capital (Strategic) Initiatives Subcommittee receives weekly reports from Program Management on each project’s progress, new/existing issues, and pending change requests.
• The Non-Capital (Strategic) Initiatives Subcommittee reports to the Steering Committee during the bi-weekly meetings, presenting critical issues and recommended actions, and requests the Steering Committee decision.

Exhibit 4

Structured and regular meetings will promote effective implementation

​3 How to enhance project planning and implementation?

​A standardized company project planning process ensures a consistent and inclusive approach to project planning and implementation.

Near Term (1-6 months) Initiatives

• Standardize best practice project planning guidelines to improve project planning consistency while allowing for innovation and flexibility.
• Establish cross-functional project teams including support areas (e.g., finance, communications, operations & logistics) at project initiation to establish end-to-end project plan, schedule, and contribution expectations throughout project life cycle.

Medium Term (6-12 months) Initiatives

• Standardize best practice project planning guidelines to improve project planning consistency while allowing for innovation and flexibility.

Exhibit 5

Establish a standardized company project planning process

Objectives

• Promote a culture of teamwork and collaboration with use of cross-functional project teams working together to drive project success
• Ensure all stakeholders playing a role in company projects are involved in planning activities and aware of their roles and expectations in ensuring success
• Enable effective oversight and monitoring of progress

Key Activities

• Conduct baseline of current company project planning approaches to identify strengths, weakness, and internal best practices
• Conduct external best practice research for similarly situated organizations
• Develop draft company project planning and implementation framework
• Review with cross-cutting work group with representation from key company departments
• Incorporate working group input and finalize company project planning and implementation framework
• Conduct training sessions
• Provide implementation support
• Assess performance and recommend changes if needed

Key Deliverables

1. Project Planning Baseline Report
2. External Project Planning Best Practices Report
3. Draft Project Planning and Implementation Framework
4. Project Planning and Implementation Framework Training Sessions
5. Assessment Report

1. Project Planning Baseline Report

• Baseline assessment of current company project planning approaches to identify strengths, weakness, and internal best practices
• Report outlining results of baseline assessment 
• Conduct training sessions
• Provide implementation support
• Assess performance and recommend changes if needed

2. External Project Planning Best Practices Report

• Best practice review of how similar institutions conduct project planning and implementation

3. Draft Project Planning and Implementation Framework

• Draft company project planning and implementation framework 
• Cross-cutting work group to review framework
• Incorporation of working group input to finalize framework 
• Development and finalization of project planning templates

4. Project Planning and Implementation Framework Training Sessions

• Training sessions for company staff on new project planning and implementation framework and templates

5. Assessment Report

• Assessment of revised project planning framework 
• Identification of needed modifications (as required)

4 How to enhance knowledge management system?

​Develop an easily accessible knowledge repository to ensure retention of best practices, approaches, and intellectual capital, and provide a central location for tools to ensure success (e.g., employee manuals, standard operating procedures, and similar items).

Near Term (1-6 months) Initiatives

• Develop a knowledge management strategy aligned to company’s strategic objectives.
• Build out company intranet to serve as a comprehensive knowledge repository and a forum for information sharing and communication.

Medium Term (6-12 months) Initiatives

• Optimize and sustain

Exhibit 6

An easily accessible knowledge repository ensures retention of best practices, approaches, and intellectual capital.

Objectives

• Facilitate the sharing of corporately owned information across the company to promote use of internal best practices and improve efficiency and quality consistency.
• Reduce learning curves by connecting new staff with corporate information, best practices, prior work, and resident experts in a wide range of disciplines 
• Establish a centralized location supporting the creation, capture, storage and dissemination of information

Key Activities

• Complete baseline of current knowledge management capabilities and needs
• Design knowledge management framework and implementation plan
• Develop knowledge management program and identify pilot program parameters
• Develop and test pilot system
• Design and initiate training program
• Implement pilot knowledge management program
• Pilot assessment and organization-wide deployment not included in scope

Key Deliverables

1. Baseline of Current Knowledge Management Capabilities and Needs
2. Company Knowledge Management Framework
3. Knowledge Management Program and Pilot Program Parameters
4. Knowledge Management Pilot System Developed
5. Deployment of Knowledge Management Pilot System

1. Baseline of Current Knowledge Management Capabilities and Needs

• Baseline for all company departments of current knowledge management capabilities against international best practices 
• Assessment of current and projected future knowledge management needs

2. Company Knowledge Management Framework

• Draft company knowledge management framework based on results of baseline and needs assessments 
• Draft implementation plan outlining needed initiatives, resource requirements, and implementation timelines 
• Review of draft framework and implementation plan with company leadership
• Finalization of framework and implementation plan following incorporation of company leadership input

3. Knowledge Management Program and Pilot Program Parameters

• Working group assembled to facilitate development of knowledge management and pilot program development 
• Draft knowledge management program 
• Pilot program parameter definition

4. Knowledge Management Pilot System Developed

• Pilot system developed 
• Pilot system piloted 
• System revised as needed

5. Deployment of Knowledge Management Pilot System

• Training program developed 
• Initial training for company staff on piloted system

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