How do you know if your staff understand the organisation's strategy?

I found a very interesting book which struck a cord with me as it outlines the basic information that must be effectively communicated to staff in order for them to understand the organisation’s strategy. Often strategy and big picture concepts are obvious to management but not obvious employees. The consequences of this lack of understanding are extremely costly as employees can’t commit to achieving a strategy they don’t understand. It is an important job of every senior managers’ role to ensure that employees understand the big picture.

The book The Executive Guide to High-Impact Talent Management, published by McGraw-Hill outlines how senior managers can assess their staffs’ understand of the big picture. It suggests that the CEO and all senior managers ask their employees the following questions:

1. Who are the customers or customer segments we serve, listed in priority order?

2. What are the services we provide now and which ones, if any, need to change as we implement the current strategy?

3. What is our value proposition and how does it set us apart in the marketplace?

4. Which environmental trends/issues (such as market, economic, societal, political or environmental) are important to our strategy?

5. What are three things your department is doing (and/or doing differently) to support the strategy?

These questions get at the intent behind the strategy. The book argues that if staff know the answers to these questions they will be in a good position to execute the strategy. The book is certainly an interesting read to start the new year.