Reading the Situation(al Analysis)

NeonLogic

What is Situational Analysis?

You can’t make good decisions without knowing stuff. It’s a simple statement. Nothing elaborate here. Its simplicity doesn’t invalidate its truth, though.

As a consultancy, how can we, or anyone, suggest or propose a marketing direction for an organisation if we don’t understand what they do, the environment they operate in and who their audiences are? If we don’t know stuff, how can we say anything with any confidence?

And that’s what it’s all about, really. When an organisation comes to NeonLogic they have a problem or a need. That may be attracting candidates, promoting a product, launching or refining a brand, lead gen or any other marketing requirement in today’s complex mix. We are tasked to solve that problem in the arena of marketing and communications.

Discovery

Of course, we have our own methodology. Its first step is Discover. This is a catch-all for research and understanding. We have embedded it into our culture for the very reasons noted above. What does it mean, though? It’s all very well to say, ‘we’ll do some research.’ Where do we start? Is there more of a craft to it than that?

A Situational Analysis

There are lots of strategic frameworks out there. They can be mixed together or applied depending on the situation. For research, a valuable exercise is the Situational Analysis. You may find it outlined as the first step in the SOSTAC marketing plan model, but it’s certainly not restricted to just that. A Situational Analysis is a review of the current organisational state, competitors and various things that are happening in the marketplace.

A situational analysis brings a number of benefits:

Defines audiences
Understands competitors
Identifies opportunities and threats.

The backbone of the Situational Analysis are the 5Cs. These are:

Company

This is where we try to understand who the organisation is, what are its objectives, its products, brand equity and what is unique about its offering. We use tactics such as reviewing current marketing activity and assets, workshops, SWOT Analysis, interviews and desk based research.

Competitors

Who do we see as competitors in the marketplace, and who are best of breed examples? At this stage, we need to assess how they position themselves, how their products and marketing strategies differ and what is working for them. We review their marketing activity, cross-reference their product suite and measure their value proposition and activities against our own.

Customers (or audiences)

This is perhaps one of the most crucial. We need to understand who they are, their market size, segments, what channels they spend their time with, what are their concerns and worries, buying power, or perceptions about the organisation. There are a number of market research tools we can access here, as well as reviewing current marketing response activity, such as Google Analytics or social listening. Customer Surveys are often a simple, but invaluable method to gather both qualitative and quantitative data. A valuable exercise in this stage is developing audience personas and segments. These begin to give a clear breakdown of certain groups of audiences. They can be refined over time and used as a sense check against marketing activity.

Collaborators

This group is a mix of other entities an organisation may work with. They may be other businesses, suppliers or contractors. We need to know how they impact the organisation and if there are any further opportunities in the relationship. A matrix can be used to understand these.

Climate

Finally, there is the climate. Markets changes. Trends are trends. What is a must-have today, tomorrow is merely a fancy. At this stage, we need to understand the wider environment the organisation operates within. This can cover a range of topics from the economy, legal restrictions, social change and politics. Simple examples here are the recent global events impacting the talent market, or the shift in behaviour as people work more from home. There really is no quick approach on this one. Good general knowledge is key, but so too is a will to go out and acquire research and reports. It can also be the most fascinating. It’s very easy to find oneself learning all about a small piece of government legislation or a new technological development.

Bringing It Together

It can seem overwhelming when faced with all the gathered research. The first step is organising it – though often this happens along the way. Mind Maps and a matrix can offer easy to navigate structures as well as space to expand thinking. The next task is to assess the research. At this stage we’re looking for insights, to tie that data into knowledge that can shape a piece of communications or marketing. We are interrogating what we have discovered. Often this can open up more questions, so we may need to go back to clarify, test or expand on a topic. Learning doesn’t stop.

The Situational Analysis is a framework to get to that point. It’s not an end in itself, but is the groundwork for strategy. It enables an understanding of the core elements that impact an organisation. It’s how we get to learn stuff. It’s how we make good decisions.

Further topics: The Situational Analysis can be expanded or include a range of approaches. These may include a SWOT Analysis, PESTLE Analysis or Porter’s Five Forces. But these are subjects for another day! And perhaps another blog.

Why employees leave great cultures

NeonLogic

It’s such a great culture … but I’m leaving.

There’s a difference between having all the elements of what ‘should’ make for a great workplace culture vs having it truly engrained in the everyday and embodied in employee behaviours. The latter cements loyalty and reduces attrition.

How do we define an organisation’s culture? An intangible ‘vibe’? How you do what you do? And what makes a great one. Free fruit in the lunchroom? Friday drinks? In house Pilates? There’s so much more to it than these kinds of ‘surface’ benefits.

There are three parts which need to align to deliver a successful organisational culture: Actions, Processes and Practices, all guided by Values. When they don’t line up, you can lose top performing employees.

So, what do these gaps look like? Well, your company might promote a healthy “work-life balance” but there may be an expectation that employees stay late on a regular basis. Or, you might promote your organisation as supporting learning and development but not give staff the time to complete further study.

These gaps cannot be fixed with committees or one-off events. So how can a weakened workplace culture be repaired? A place to start is by reviewing the Actions, Processes, and Practices you have in place.

Actions

Some organisations treat the development of values as somewhat of a token exercise to ‘build culture’. When they are hidden away in an induction pack or some deep corner of the corporate websites’ About Us section, they lose all meaning and worth. However, they really come into play as a measurement by which employees assess their leaders – are the leaders living the Values through their actions? Does that inspire employees to do the same? The traditional top-down approach of a handful of senior managers having the ability to define and implement an organisational culture no longer stands however their everyday interactions are still a yardstick for their team members.

Employees need to clearly understand what is expected of them in relation to the company values and their behaviour. How can these values be enacted and expressed in the workplace and how will that be rewarded. Some of that comes down to interpretation and leaders need to have these conversations with their employees. What do they value as an individual? Do certain KPI’s earn more attention than others? Is one team member late to every meeting but is meeting their sales target so its overlooked?

When everyone knows what behaviours are expected, time isn’t wasted trying to identify them.

Processes

Technology, internal systems, even job titles play into strengthening or weakening the culture. There are some key processes that must be considered here:

Recruitment – Values are often rolled out in the recruitment process – the candidate will most likely have dutifully mentioned how much they resonate during their interview, however cultural fit is often just hiring based on likeability and recognised similarities. Clarifying behavioural expectations means hiring managers can look for candidate behaviours which complement this, which moves us towards a company enriched by diversity.

Feedback – Employees must feel that the thoughts and opinions they provide through feedback assessments and engagement surveys are heard and enacted upon.

Rewards – The criteria for promotion and recognition must be transparent and fair and tied to both expected behaviours and technical skill in order to be a representative of a balanced, positive culture. What you know and how you act, rather than who you know.

Practices

Practices include everything from events, meetings, how feedback is delivered and how good and bad news is delivered. Are processes consistent and transparent? Can employees challenge the status quo? Are senior staff leading by example?

Some would say culture is intangible however taking the time to define, consider and continually improve what’s on offer ensures gaps in your Actions, Processes and Practices don’t appear and you don’t lose key team members.

In this post pandemic climate, consideration must also be given to how your organisational culture is shaped by your working environment. As more and more organisations forgo the traditional ‘9-5 dedicated desk’ and many employees may go days, if not weeks, without seeing their team members or managers in person, the office is no longer the key point of connection and culture can become fragmented. The traditional ‘top down’ approach may be met with resistance as bonds between remote workers strengthen and ‘microcultures’ form. It’s not a case of removing this remote working flexibility to drag employees back together, but instead embracing this new distributed way of working, ensuring leaders find ways to connect with intention and ensure their staff feel seen and heard, no matter where they are.

Investing in employer branding gives you the tools to gain a better understanding of your organisation and behaviours, to take a deep-dive into what your team members truly value and to market and manage your employment story. Talk to NeonLogic about how we can help.

Reading the Situation(al Analysis)

Discovery