How to Manage Tomorrow

On January 9 the Quality

Improvement Network of Southwest

Florida (QINSWFL) and the Chamber

of Southwest Florida invited local

area businesses to come together

at Edison Community College to

discuss change, opportunities and

challenges.

The Quality Improvement Network of

Southwest Florida is a network of

local leaders from industry,

government, healthcare and

non-profit organizations working

together to promote business

excellence in the Southwest

Florida area through a broader

understanding and application of

Total Quality and Customer

Satisfaction systems, concepts and

tools. Volunteers from QINSWFL

coordinate the Annual Quality Team

Showcase in affiliation with the

Florida Sterling Council.

Representatives from more than 30

organizations--profit and

not-for-profit, public and

private, large and small attended

the three-hour session to share

their views on strategic issues

facing organizations in this area.

What are the key changes occurring

in businesses that will have the

greatest impact for organizations

over the next few years?

What do local organizations see as

the primary opportunities that

must be seized in order to remain

viable over the next few years?

Where are the greatest challenges

in remaining competitive in

Southwest Florida?

In what ways could the Quality

Improvement Network of Southwest

Florida help prepare organizations

to address these critical issues?

As QINSWFL board members involved

in the planning and facilitation

of this event, the partners at BPM

International are happy to share

with you the thoughts of other

local business people.

Some of the

following issues may already be

apparent in your business. Some of

the issues may just be emerging.

How do the key changes,

opportunities and challenges in

other organizations compare with

yours?

To kick off the event, the 40

attendees were engaged in an

exercise to promote free and

productive thinking. After our

mental warm-up, we were put to the

task-break out into groups and

tackle these questions head-on.

Here are the results.

Change

What are the key changes occurring

in local businesses that will have

the greatest impact for

organizations over the next few

years?

* Customers demand more.

Customers' expectations are

climbing rapidly creating a need

for organizations to establish a

greater customer focus and often,

a new and better way of doing

business.

* Increased competition and

privatization. Margins are driven

down and organizations are looking

for ways to compete beyond price.

Threats and examples of

privatization stories are causing

government organizations to

rethink the concept of

competition.

* Increased pressure to improve

despite fewer resources to work

with. Access to capital is

limited. Organizations are forced

to consider creative ways to do

more with less.

* More technological options--more

unanswered questions. Changes in

high technology are offering

organizations additional options

for communicating, marketing and

conducting day-to-day business.

For each technological opportunity

a host of concerns, issues and

questions are raised.

* A changing workforce. It is

difficult to find and attract

qualified employees. Employees are

increasingly frustrated with their

workplace and employee retention

reflects this. The changing work

environment places a greater

emphasis on employees' skills

development.

While change is occurring more

rapidly in some organizations and

sectors than others, it is

apparent that most organizations

realize that these changes are

real and have to be approached

head on.

Opportunities

What do local organizations see as

the primary opportunities that

must be seized in order to remain

viable over the next few years?

Unparalleled customer

satisfaction. Truly understand

what the customer wants and

values. Re-think and re-engineer

how the organization delivers its

products or services in order to

exceed customer expectations; make

it easy to do business with and

secure long-term customers.

* Managing change effectively.

Communicate, train and empower the

entire team to anticipate, prepare

for and lead change.

* Commit to learning. Create a

culture that reinforces skills

upgrading, team and personal

development through encouragement,

training, and recognition at all

levels of the organization.

* Unparalleled employee

satisfaction. Create a working

environment based on trust,

commitment and self-worth. Realize

that only satisfied employees can

satisfy customers.

* Partnerships. Seek out and

establish partnerships with other

departments, organizations,

suppliers or groups that will

yield benefits to all involved

parties. Use alliances to reduce

costs, access larger markets,

share resources, and improve

customer service and quality.

Organizations are looking to the

development of strong, long-term

relationships with customers,

employees and business partners as

a key business factor in the

months and years ahead.

Risks and Challenges

Where are the greatest challenges

in remaining competitive? What

factors present the greatest risk

in whether or not the business

strategies succeed?

* Workforce availability. Finding

enough quality employees to help

move the organization ahead.

* Limited resources. Finding

creative ways to economically

attract and secure high-quality

employees; to investigate and

finance the application of

technology; and to make sustained

quality improvements.

* Time and commitment to planning.

Securing senior management buy-in

to changes and improvement

initiatives. Developing a clear,

unified vision for the

organization. Devoting adequate

time to planning and problem

resolution. Remaining flexible to

the changing business environment

and be willing to move outside of

the "comfort zone."

* Customer value. Understanding

and keeping up with the customers'

changing needs and expectations.

Translating customer requirements

into products or services that

consistently meet or exceed the

customers' perceptions of value.

What steps must be taken to ensure

that customers will continue to do

business with us and generate

positive referrals?

Organizations are realizing that

there is a lot more than simply

wanting to satisfy their

customers. They must find ways to

overcome human resource, capital,

and time constraints in order to

get to know and serve their

customers better than they ever

had before.

The focus group session was the

first step for the Quality

Improvement Network of Southwest

Florida toward truly understanding

their customers' needs. The

information learned from this

session is currently being used to

develop short- and long-term

services that can help businesses

and organizations in Southwest

Florida manage change, seek

opportunities and overcome

challenges in