Hank Tate has developed a methodology for analyzing the operational health of
any company. Called a BUSINESS HEALTH ASSESSMENT, this system was originally
developed as a Due Diligence Process. The system has been expanded into a
program that can be implemented in any company to assist management in
identifying opportunities for improving operations, profits, and customer
satisfaction. Plans are being developed to expand the program into an online
methodology that can benefit any company, large or small.
BUSINESS HEALTH ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW
Every year thousands of people visit their doctor for an
Annual Check-Up. The practice is seen as a wise habit to help identify health
problems before they become serious, and an opportunity to receive counsel on
changes that need to be made to maintain health as a person ages. When an
insurance company is going to underwrite someone’s health they want to know how
good it is before they accept the policy. It makes good sense!
Why don’t we see the same practice of regularly
evaluating the health of a company followed in the business world? Company
leaders often find themselves surprised when changes in the business world
reveal long hidden flaws in the operations of their company that threaten the
survival of the company. Investors many times find their investment destroyed
when unforeseen issues are revealed. If only something had been known earlier,
correctional steps could have been taken and the companies health and vitality
protected and enhanced.
Synogy sees a number of problems facing business leaders
who want to assess the health of their company:
uCompany employees are focused on their own challenges and
usually do not have time to step back from bumping into trees to see the whole
forest.
uProblems seen by lower level staff are often not communicated to
upper level leadership until it’s too late to respond strongly.
uThe “difficult” questions about the wisdom or effectiveness of
systems are often not asked or addressed for fear of offending leadership and
endangering jobs.
uDue diligence or assessment by most outside consultants usually
focus on the financial status of the company, not a holistic evaluation of all
functional areas and systems of the company.
Synogy’s Business Health Assessment (BHA) provides an
effective answer for all of these issues. Each BHA, whether performed for a
strategic internal evaluation of the company or completed as Due Diligence for
an investor, provides insight into all of the key functional areas of a
company’s operations. A carefully developed analysis process uses a series of
questions which provide insight into the health and effectiveness of each area
of the company. A Basic BHA minimizes the time and expense for the BHA by
focusing its assessment on input from management personnel with cursory input
from line staff. A Complete BHA provides a more complete and accurate evaluation
because much time is spent collecting and validating information, and analyzing
the effectiveness of operational systems by spending time on the “front lines”
with the staff involved in accomplishing the company’s work for each functional
area of the evaluation.
From this process a Business
Health Report is developed to reveal areas of opportunity for improvement,
growth, increased effectiveness, and expanded profitability. Many of the
suggestions presented with the Business Health Report will include an estimate
of the economic values that can be realized by improvements in suggested areas.
Synogy’s Business Health Assessment provides company
leadership, and investors, with a vehicle for determining opportunities to
improve a companies effectiveness and for identifying any crisis issues that
threaten the existence of the company. The BHA can provide a foundation for a
healthy and profitable future. We believe a Business Health Assessment will be
one of the most valuable investments made by your company.
COMPARISON CHART
The following chart reflects the comparative amount of time
spent with each level of personnel in the company to complete each of the types
of Business Health Assessment. The Complete Business Health Assessment also
includes time with Customers and Vendors to assess the effectiveness of the
company’s external relationships.
The bars demonstrate the relative amount of time spent and
are not indicative of actual time required. The actual time will vary based on
the size of the company, complexity of the company’s structure, and the level of
support and assistance from management and staff.
The following file provides an overview of the Business Health Assessment
program. In practice each Business Health Assessment program is customized based
on the structure and needs of the company being served.
The following ZIP file contains two MS Word analysis tools that use Word's
calculated fields capabilities to collect data from Management and Staff
personnel with an automatic calculation of the results. The two sample
questionnaires were developed to reveal management styles and breakdowns in
communication between management and staff. Provision is also made for
collecting narrative data. In practice, customized questionnaires are created
for each company. Data is collected into a database through web-based forms.
These files demonstrate the concept.
