Akintola Benson-Oke
The balancing of competing interests, judicious allocation of resources, and the increase of productivity are often the major challenges that confront the management of any organisation, whether it be a full-fledged commercial entity or a governmental outfit such as the Lagos State Civil Service. In order to achieve equilibrium in these endeavours, the managers will need to define organisational objectives, itemize, rank and evaluate its resources, and adopt an approach to allocating the resources to meet the stated objectives.
The management of the activities described above represents the core essence of strategic planning in an organisation. But the endeavour goes much deeper than that and, as the saying goes, the devil is in the details. It is thus the detailed examination of the benefits, features, different approaches to, and consequences of, strategic planning in a setting such as the Lagos state Civil service that will be central focus of this two-day workshop.
Those who have carefully followed the programmes of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration for the Lagos State Civil Service will rightly identify this training as critical to realising an essential piece in the jigsaw of organisational productivity. Since assumption of office in 2015, the Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration has exposed Lagos State Civil Servants to a number of workshops designed to increase, and in some cases, deepen the soft skills essential for success in a 21st century public service. These include soft skills such as office etiquettes, communications skills, office relationship skills, emotional intelligence skills, and problem-solving skills, amongst others.
The Ambode’s administration also identified the ministries, departments, and agencies where core new hard skills were needed, and initiated trainings and workshops required to augment skills and knowledge in these ministries, departments, and agencies. Furthermore, the administration’s strategy for retooling the Lagos State Civil Service led to the exposure of a number of officers and officials to international trainings for the purpose of obtaining the comparative knowledge that will stand them in good stead to aspire to global best practices while pursuing the objectives of the Lagos State Civil Service.
After engaging in all of the above, why is it necessary to now emphasise and teach the values and benefits of strategic planning? It is precisely because strategic planning is the essential piece in the puzzle to institutionalise the framework for productivity in the Lagos State Civil Service. While all the foregoing interventions were aimed at ultimately promoting productivity, it is apparent that strategic planning is the glue that holds them all together, it is the essential piece in the jigsaw puzzle.
I propose to reiterate the benefits of strategic planning to organisations and to give an overview of the best practices for the development and implementation of a strategic plan for institutions such as the Lagos State Civil Service. In a piece published by Envision Incporporation of Baltimore, USA, the following were highlighted as the benefits of strategic planning to any organization: Strategic planning allows organisations to be proactive rather than reactive. A strategic plan allows organisations to foresee their future and to prepare accordingly. Through strategic planning, organisations can anticipate certain unfavourable scenarios before they happen and take necessary precautions to avoid them. With a strong strategic plan, organizations can be proactive rather than merely reacting to situations as they arise. Being proactive allows organizations to keep up with the ever-changing trends in the society and always stay one step ahead of the competition. Strategic planning sets up a sense of direction. A strategic plan helps to define the direction in which an organisation must travel, and aids in establishing realistic objectives and goals that are in line with the vision and mission charted out for it. A strategic plan offers a much-needed foundation from which an organisation can grow, evaluate its success, compensate its employees and establish boundaries for efficient decision-making.
Strategic planning increases operational efficiency. A strategic plan provides management the roadmap to align the organisation’s functional activities to achieve set goals. It guides management discussions and decision making in determining resource and budget requirements to accomplish set objectives, thus increasing operational efficiency. Strategic planning helps to obtain valuable insights from the organisation’s stakeholders. Through a dedicated strategic plan, organisations can get valuable insights on stakeholders’ views as well as feedback on the organisation’s service offerings which may affect the organisation’s perception by the stakeholders. Strategic planning can make an organisation more adaptive to changing times. Organisations are like living organisms. There are good times and there are bad times. Furthermore, there are constantly changing trends, public demands, stakeholders’ expectations, and service offerings. With a sound strategic plan in place, organisations are better suited to adapt to these changing trends, demands, expectations, and service offerings.
Pierre Bertrand is an organisational efficiency consultant who has done extensive work with public institutions and not-for-profit entities. In a recently-published article, he argues that anyone who has experience in managing organisations understands the importance of excellence in strategic planning. He further stated that “every few years, or at least upon the occurrence of a fundamental change in the organisation, it is essential to sit back with the right internal and external stakeholders and take stock of where the organisation has come from, where it currently stands, and where it is going in light of its opportunities and challenges.”
Based on this consultant’s approach and experience, I would like to suggest the following five key practices to developing and implementing excellence in strategic planning in an institution such as the Lagos State Civil Service: The first key practice is to have a plan to develop and implement the strategic plan. Like any major project, it is essential to have objectives, a timeline, a budget and the right leader(s) and team to develop the strategic plan. Many planning exercises have been sub-optimized, derailed and/or delayed simply due to the lack of planning.
Strategic planning should involve the right people. Building on the first point, the decision makers should take the time to think about and engage the right people both internally and externally in the development of the plan. In order to do this, a list of officers, advisers, and specialists (such as management consultants, accountants and lawyers) whose expertise and experience will be essential to the successful development and implementation of the plan should be made. This larger group may then be divided into core teams that will be fundamentally involved in all aspects of the plan and will also form supporting rings of other stakeholders who are brought in as required to tap their knowledge and build engagement.
Ideally, all officers should participate in the exercise at some point in order to identify and develop solutions to the organisation’s main current and potential challenges. This could be done in team exercises scheduled over the necessary number of half-days. The staff should be kept informed of the progress of the entire planning project It is also important to make the planning process enjoyable. Although often unavoidable due to time and budget constraints, try to avoid all-day planning sessions because people lose interest and effectiveness after a half-day.
Dr. Benson-Oke is the Honourable Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions.
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