How to Develop Your Staff and Leadership Team

Far too often employees find themselves unclear when it comes to their job function, performance measures, manager expectations, and training requirements. As a result, organizational behavior is weakened and the implementation and management of the Strategic Plan becomes a challenge for leadership. 

Clearly defining job roles can make the difference between high performing teams and those that are unstable and ineffective. With poor performing teams, leaders tend to spend their days putting out fires, with little time left to devote to strategy. 

In order to strengthen organizational behavior and shape a stronger future, staff and leaders must work with clarity and focus. Enhancing collaboration, building accountability, and improving clarity of purpose and performance leads to efficient and effective organizations that are able to propel strategy forward.

The process of assembling high performing teams begins with creating job posts and clearly defining team purpose.The team's purpose should be explicit within the strategic plan as that is the document that sets the direction of the organization. The posts, on the other hand, are designed under the guidance of the strategic plan.

What is a Job Post?

In its most simplistic form, a job post is a position of duty and responsibility. It is a tool that is designed to create a management model and drive conversation to build higher levels of order and organization. Part of implementing any plan relies on each team member's ability to do their job; if everyone is clear on what they must deliver, the chances of success increase dramatically.

When a job post is created collaboratively by an organization it is done so for an assigned function, not a specific person. Responsibilities or titles must be consistent, as well as the performance metrics used to measure the success of each job function.

A job post consists of four things: Primary Purpose, Key Activities, Key Performance Indicators, and Training Requirements 

Step 1: Primary Purpose

Step one is identifying a primary purpose for the post. The primary purpose is a single point of focus for a given job function. It is a key factor that, if missing, can mean the difference between someone really understanding how to best utilize their time and energy verses someone who is busy but unproductive. It should reflect a high-level understanding of the position's purpose to the organization and how it aligns with other job functions.

Step 2: Key Activities

Step two is identifying the key activities. Because each post has a primary purpose, it is necessary to identify the top activities that fulfill that primary purpose. 

Being mindful of the fact that if everything is important, then nothing is, we recommend assembling the top five key activities. This forces a prioritization of the actions that are most essential to fulfill the primary purpose. 

Step 3: Key Performance Indicators 

In step three of designing a Post, we identify what performance measures or statistics will be used to measure how someone is performing within their job and how effective they are. Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, are quantifiable metrics that fairly and accurately track the success of a job function. Once performance measurements are in place, it helps remove the emotional aspect of decision making, allowing for the focus to be placed on the best interests of the organization.

We set the following rules when assigning KPIs to a post. 

The person that assumes the responsibility of the post must have the authority and responsibility to be able to control the KPI. 

The KPI must be a true representation of what is being measured. As statistics can be interpreted many different ways, it is important to constantly be assessing the units and means of measurement to accurately reflect a post's success.

Step 4: Training Requirements

The final step in the process is to identify training requirements for each Job Post. These requirements should outline the training and development that must take place throughout the duration of an individual being assigned to a post.  

The prioritization of training, coaching, and mentorship, helps ensure an individual’s success within their post while simultaneously increasing bench strength for the organization. 

Post Benefits

A post is an unemotional look at the types of functions or positions needed in an organization that best aligns to the strategy and structure. A person assuming a post ideally has all the necessary qualifications, understanding, and training needed to achieve the KPIs and primary purpose of that post. Using the post format:

Creates clarity regarding job function and employee satisfaction

Defines the ability to measure the success of a position 

Prioritizes what actions really lead to success 

Removes clouded judgment when assessing job performance

Builds accountability through every team member knowing their positions