Organisational Mapping ©BIOSS
Traditionally management has relied on two sources to understand what is happening within and over time to their organisations. These sources are financial information, and the much maligned organisational chart of reporting relationships. The problem with these approaches is that they are static, they describe the past, and therefore do not provide a clear indication of future developments. Since leadership/management depends heavily on the understanding of what is happening now in the Organisation, in order to know what to do (and when) to ensure results, something more is required to see the ‘‘big picture’’.
We believe that Organisation Mapping provides this departure point. It is a process that displays key leveraging information in a graphic format to:
- Facilitate diagnosis (or a gap analysis) of what is not happening that should be happening; as well as the potential reasons therefor.
- Decide on the most suitable actions, programme or interventions to prioritise/correct short-term needs (burning platforms) or to achieve longer-term objectives.
- Provide a time sensitive review mechanism with regard to progress or lack thereof.
The Organisation Mapping process can be applied to:
- Capability; or how individuals’ ability to manage work challenges impacts on decision-making, interpersonal relations and focus in the workplace. An example of a Capability Map is provided below:
- Workflow; or the variance between what work is actually occurring versus that required by the Organisation. An example of a Workflow Map is provided below:
- Organisation Mapping itself; or the integration of Capability and Work Flow information to determine the degree of ‘fit’ between people and their responsibilities, seen against the context of the organisational life cycle. An example of an Organisational Map is provided below:
- Mode Plot primarily for identifying the highly talented individuals for succession planning and retention strategies.