What business leaders are learning from our Maturity Assessment
Organisations seeking to level up their performance need simple but meaningful tools to evaluate and enhance their operational and strategic effectiveness. The Ways of Working (WoW) Maturity Assessment Tool provides essential insights into organisational maturity, helping companies from various sectors optimise their ways of working.
We're seeing teams employing this tool to articulate their ways of working (and those of the broader organisation). Some are using it diagnostically, investigating noticeable trends, both positive and negative (e.g. why does nobody feel like they can find the information they need?). Others are applying it aspirationally, exploring what excellent might look like.
For the most part, however, we see it facilitating discussions —providing a framework to understand the (often unspoken) dynamics within teams or organisations. This tool serves as a catalyst, enabling leadership and teams to consider what targeted experiments could be run to improve ways of working and adapt more effectively to their environment.
Assessment high level features
Evaluates organisational maturity across 12 fields.
Provides a maturity rating from Level 1 (Emergent) to Level 5 (Exemplary).
Offers detailed reports with tailored recommendations for immediate and long-term improvements.
Click here to give it a whirl yourself
This blog post will look at how three organisations have used the tool to:
Establish ways of working baselines
Implement initiatives and experiments
Evaluate and adapt their approaches for continuous improvement
We’ll also share aggregated data from the many assessments received back to give you a peek into what we’ve been learning about common areas of strength and challenge across organisations.
What we’re learning
Our data reveals that while many organisations score well in 'Purpose' and 'Membership', indicating clear organisational goals and a strong sense of belonging among employees, they often encounter difficulties in 'Workflow', 'Information', and 'Authority'. These challenges highlight areas where organisations can focus their improvement efforts to enhance efficiency and decision-making processes.
Purpose
High scores here typically reflect well-defined business objectives.
Membership
Strong results show good employee engagement and alignment.
Workflow
Lower scores suggest issues in process efficiency and smooth operation flow.
Information
Struggles here point to gaps in communication and data access and utilisation.
Authority
Low scores indicate unclear decision-making structures and disempowered leader.
1. Establishing a baseline at a well known domestic retail chain
One of our respondents, from a well-known domestic retail chain, faced challenges in maintaining uniform standards and operational efficiency across its leadership team. Using the WoW Maturity Assessment, they established a clear baseline of the current operational state across various locations. Initial findings highlighted discrepancies in 'Workflow' and 'Authority' between stores, impacting overall consistency and performance. In response, the leadership prioritised these areas for immediate attention and developed targeted strategies to harmonise operations across all locations. Early initiatives include leadership training sessions and a standardised reporting system to track improvements.
2. Tactical improvement at a New Zealand start up
We’ve also seen a tech start-up in New Zealand using the WoW tool to sharpen their strategic focus on operational efficiency and product quality. The assessment pinpointed critical bottlenecks in 'Workflow' and 'Information', which slowed product delivery. In response, the company implemented new workflow systems designed to streamline production processes. They’ve adopted a short-term experimental approach, rapidly iterating based on feedback, which led to reduced production times and enhanced product quality. The continuous adaptation of their strategies provides invaluable lessons on agility and responsiveness.
3. Evaluation and continuous improvement at [international NGO]
An international NGO leveraged the WoW tool to establish a benchmark for measuring progress and enhancing service delivery across the region. Through regular reassessments, the NGO is planning to continuously evaluate how strategic changes influence various operational areas. Early experiences suggest that the process is supporting efforts to involve stakeholders in the co-creation of change efforts, enhancing both internal operations and service delivery outcomes.
What could the assessment tool show you?
The WoW Maturity Assessment Tool has proven to be a versatile and powerful resource for organisations looking to not only identify areas for improvement but also to actively engage in strategic planning and continuous refinement of their operational strategies. These case studies illustrate the tool’s capability to transform insights into actionable results and sustainable success.
If you are interested in exploring how the WoW Maturity Assessment Tool can benefit your organisation, click the link below OR reach out for more detailed information or to arrange a consultation
