5 Point Plan For Growth – Point 3 – Capability Development

We recently shared our 5-Point Plan for Growth that could be used in these tumultuous times to smooth the waters. Point three we said, was Capability Development.

A recent McKinsey report states, ‘ In the future, the most successful organisations will develop the skills of their workforce, inextricably linking capability building with business value, and making talent development a CEO-level priority.’
 
The last three years have been exciting in the business environment, which has become more complex, dynamic, and challenging. Over this time, we have seen the following:
 
•       Rapidly evolving consumer needs and expectations
•       Transformative shopper access to goods and services
•       Dynamic and shifting retail landscape
•       Acceleration and fragmentation of media options
•       Emergence of highly focused micro competitors with global reach
•       Stricter social and environmental parameters for business activity.
 
These changes place enormous pressure on an organisation’s ability to compete effectively. It also highlights critical challenges in capability and competence development.
 
Are you set up for these ‘new’ challenges? If not, we would be delighted to help.
 
The Big River Academy can develop your competence in critical commercial capabilities to help you:
•       Accelerate business performance
•       Build a sustainable source of competitive advantage
•       Rapidly raise the standard of essential skills in the workplace
•       Improve employee retention and engagement
•       Manage your workforce development and succession more efficiently.
 
Big River Academy uses a mix of teaching methods to develop understanding, knowledge and skills:
•       Training – to establish foundation awareness, understanding and skills
•       Facilitation – to develop role-specific capabilities on the job
•       Coaching – to develop personal skills and contributions,
 
These three focus areas provide a full range of critical commercial skills and organisational enablers across the entire commercial team. Relevant support functions are identified to create seamless and supportive working methods.
 
If any of this strikes a chord, just let me know. It would be great to get your perspective to see if we can assist you.

If you would like to see how you are doing, try our quiz below

Quiz

How often do you invest in developing your team’s capabilities?

a. We don’t invest in developing our team’s capabilities

b. We invest occasionally, but not regularly

c. We invest regularly, but not enough to keep up with industry changes

d. We invest heavily and regularly in developing our team’s capabilities

Which of the following best describes your team’s skill set?

a. Our team lacks basic skills needed for our industry

b. Our team has basic skills, but could use improvement in more advanced areas

c. Our team has solid skills, but could benefit from additional training and development

d. Our team has highly advanced skills and stays up-to-date with industry changes

How do you measure the success of your team’s capability development efforts?

a. We don’t measure the success of our team’s capability development efforts

b. We track basic metrics such as on the job performance

c. We track more advanced metrics such as employee satisfaction

d. We have a comprehensive system in place for tracking and analysing the success of our team’s capability development efforts

How well do you understand the capabilities needed to succeed in your industry?

a. We don’t have a clear understanding of the capabilities needed to succeed in our industry

b. We have a basic understanding, but it’s not very detailed

c. We have a solid understanding, but there are still gaps in our knowledge

d. We have a deep understanding and regularly incorporate that knowledge into our capability development efforts

How effective are your team’s capabilities in driving business success?

a. Our team’s capabilities are not effective in driving business success

b. Our team’s capabilities are somewhat effective, but there is room for improvement

c. Our team’s capabilities are effective, but there are still areas for improvement

d. Our team’s capabilities are highly effective and driving business success

Scoring

For each question, give yourself 1 point for a, 2 points for b, 3 points for c, and 4 points for d.

Add up your points for each question to get a total score.

Your score can help you identify your biggest capability development pain points:

5-8: You have a lot of room for improvement in developing your team’s capabilities. You may need to start by investing in basic training and development and tracking success metrics more closely.

9-12: Your team’s capabilities are decent, but there is still room for improvement. You may need to focus on investing in more advanced training and development and refining your understanding of the capabilities needed to succeed in your industry.

13-16: Your team’s capabilities are solid, but there are still areas where you can improve. You may need to focus on incorporating industry changes into your capability development efforts and investing in more targeted training and development.

17-20: Your team’s capabilities are highly effective and driving business success. Keep up the good work!