As a public administrator, you face the challenge of achieving your organization's goals with limited resources. How can you prioritize your goals and allocate your resources effectively? In this article, you will learn some practical strategies to help you plan and execute your projects in a way that aligns with your mission and vision.
Before you can prioritize your goals, you need to have a clear picture of your current situation. This means identifying your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) as an organization. A SWOT analysis can help you evaluate your internal and external factors that affect your performance and potential. You can use a SWOT matrix to organize your findings and highlight the most important issues.
The question is important, since in my job... the photo at the moment and the inventory are preponderant.In fact, the takeover of structures in decline or start-ups having to move into structuring mode have, for different reasons, the same basic problem of “making do with what we have in the meantime”:Developments in the portfolio,The arrival of the workforce,Implementation of new services In all cases, it is necessary to think in terms of skills and availability at the moment.
1. Assess the current situation of the org in terms of revenue forecast, cost, predicted P&L, work pipeline and resources available against the work projected. Based on the business objective the company can choose focus on cost reduction or process optimisation. Alongside BCG matrix also gives a good analysis of the company's product portfolio. It helps the company categorise the portfolio into four distinct categories based on their market shares and growth rates relative to their largest competitors. Based on the results the resources should be prioritised accordingly and mapped to the respective product.
Don't just rely on your own perspective. Ask staff, astute sector colleagues, and trusted clients. Home in on what you do really well. Then chunk that up - understand the value you deliver beyond the service you deliver.
Once you have assessed your situation, you can define your goals in a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) way. SMART goals can help you clarify your expectations, track your progress, and adjust your actions if needed. You can use a SMART template to write your goals and make sure they meet the criteria. For example, a SMART goal could be: Increase customer satisfaction by 10% by the end of the year.
Add in 'why'. Visulise a sharp mental picture or a movie of this future state with the goals achieved. From this future state look back and you should be able to get some insights as to what was done to arrive at this point.
In my experience working in both public and private sectors, I've applied SMART goals effectively. For instance, in the public sector, a goal was to reduce processing times for permit applications by 30% within six months, which was Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. In the private sector, a goal involved increasing client satisfaction scores by 20% over one year through improved customer service strategies. These real examples demonstrate how SMART goals can lead to tangible outcomes in varied organizational contexts.
After you have defined your SMART goals, you can prioritize them using a matrix that compares their urgency and importance. A common tool for this is the Eisenhower matrix, which divides your goals into four quadrants: do first, schedule, delegate, and eliminate. You can use this matrix to decide which goals to focus on, which ones to plan for later, which ones to assign to others, and which ones to drop. You can also use other criteria, such as impact and effort, to rank your goals.
Once you have prioritized your goals, you can allocate your resources according to your priorities. Resources include time, money, staff, equipment, and information. You need to estimate how much of each resource you need for each goal and how much you have available. You can use a budget template to calculate your income and expenses and a Gantt chart to schedule your tasks and deadlines. You also need to consider the interdependencies and risks of your goals and resources.
To do this, I often meet with almost all of the staff in order to create my own matrix of skills outside of established functions and habits; generally, gems or multidisciplinary players are not used to their fair value. The reasons are multiple... and too often political! stripping society of the values that already make it up. With this I redesign the organization and services according to the new directions, I redo the hiring plan which will stick to the final strategy allowing it to be effective while waiting for the increase in skills.
After you have allocated your resources, you need to communicate your goals and resources to your stakeholders. Stakeholders are the people who are affected by or have an interest in your organization's goals, such as customers, employees, partners, and funders. You need to inform them of your plans, expectations, and progress and solicit their feedback and support. You can use various communication methods, such as meetings, reports, newsletters, and social media.
Finally, you need to monitor and evaluate your goals and resources regularly. This means measuring your outcomes, comparing them to your targets, and identifying any gaps or problems. You can use key performance indicators (KPIs) to track your results and a dashboard to visualize them. You also need to review your resources and see if they are sufficient, efficient, and effective. You can use a variance analysis to compare your actual and planned resources and a SWOT analysis to update your situation.
Eine gute M?glichkeit, Ziele und geeignete Kennzahlen miteinander zu verknüpfen bietet die Balanced Scorecard von Kaplan und Norton. Diese l?sst sich auch auf den ?ffentlichen Sektor übertragen.