Case Study: Developing a New Role – Aligning Skills and Business Strategy Now and Into the Future

I’ve been fortunate to work with a highly respected family owned Capital equipment manufacturer in Western Victoria for a few years now and they called recently advising that they had lost an Estimator some time back, but at the same time its Contract Manufacturing business – which supports its traditional operations, with the aim of securing full plant utilisation- had become ‘front and square’ in the organisation’s strategic growth plan. The company felt it lacked the right people to not only manage, but also that drive this business and embrace the growth agenda.

I was invited to the site in Western Victoria and met with two Line Managers, HR, the CFO and the Managing Director and we brainstormed for a couple of hours and also talked through different priorities in the business. In an interesting discussion, we ultimately ‘white boarded’ and drafted a brand-new role that contained Estimating responsibilities as part of a position to drive its Contract Manufacturing division.

From there, the key objectives for the role were formulated and agreed and a detailed Position Description was ultimately developed (albeit through a few iterations!). We had to agree and define the mix and emphasis on Estimating, Technical Drawing skills, Sales and Business Development, but also the commercial acumen and overall leadership skills required to drive the business. Whilst also taking account of what was needed now, required in the future, but also what skills existed in the business already. Of course, there’s no blank cheque book either, so it had to be developed around budget and salary parameters.

Having the group together and I guess I played a role as Facilitator, but also hopefully an ‘expert’ on the market, skills and salaries, was quite a rewarding experience. The role definition actually came out quite differently to what several of us thought, but it was certainly an excellent outcome. We took into account where the organisations strengths were, but also its weaknesses, as well as skills gaps in the organisation.

The role is now advertised and I’m also undertaking some targeted searching and developing a number of discussions. I’d say at the time of writing that the signs are very positive!

By collaborating together we have developed a role that truly meets the organisation’s current needs but also a clear understanding of the skills and background required to command the role.

It also demonstrated an important exercise. Don’t be too hasty just to replace a role that has been vacated but take the opportunity to realign the business and strategy and determine what is needed, whilst also assessing the current skills in the business and what is likely to be required in the future. You may also be surprised by the results, but it will certainly earn you a better outcome.