Strategic clarity involves defining, adapting, communicating, and implementing business strategies effectively. To be effective, leaders must continually define and communicate vision, purpose, and goals clearly for everyone in the organization.
This is true in virtually all areas, but possibly even more so, in information governance.
Based on our experience, the information governance needs assessment and gap analysis process can help organizations develop strategic clarity by answering (or, at least providing insight into) five key questions:
1. Are information governance goals clear and measurable?
More specifically, are the organization’s information management goals well defined and achievable, and does management really believe in the need for improving its records management practices?
2. Are these goals articulated at all levels?
A well-constructed needs assessment and gap analysis can help organizations verify policy clarity, training sufficiency, and data labeling consistency across departments, all of which are crucial for both compliance and efficiency.
3. Do people understand daily tasks?
Evaluating task clarity through information governance needs assessments and gap analyses enhances productivity, compliance, and risk mitigation. For instance, disparities in email management practices can pose risks during litigation.
4. Do people feel ownership?
Assessing employee engagement and buy-in identifies areas where individuals can take ownership and contribute proactively to achieving goals. This is especially true, in many cases, where individual non-executive managers set the cultural “tone on the ground.” Do these individuals see records management as a chore or do they really believe in it?
5. How do we compare to competitors?
Benchmarking information governance practices provides insights into strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement, guiding strategic decisions for enhanced competitiveness and market positioning.
If people are excelling on those power practices, performance follows. Both generally and from an information governance perspective!
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