SFU - Strategic Follow up

Follow up of strategic information - SFU Strategic Follow up

Strategic Follow up (SFU) is a tool which drives the internal communication of strategic messages. The survey measures how well each management level is succeeding in informing, discussing and involving their employees in strategic messages. SFU also shows how long it takes for a message to reach out to all parts of the company.

 SFU is a tool for change which drives and monitors communication about strategic messages, such as, for example, strategic goals in your organisation. It is carried out in the form of four follow up surveys which continually encourage the managers to inform, involve and discuss the strategic message with their employees.

Strategic Follow up (SFU) shows:

• Where in the organisation the strategic message is communicated.
• When the managers carried out this information work.
• Whether the employees understand the context.
• Whether the employees are involved in the breakdown of the strategic message.

A survey which aims to improve strategic internal information

SFU is a survey and a tool for change which drives and monitors the company's trickle-down process - i.e. internal dissemination of important messages, links and background, for example, the organisation's new strategic goals, or during major organisational change.

In large organisations, it is usually the immediate line manager who is the most important channel of communication. The managers must communicate and live out the senior management's overarching strategy. The managers are the extended mouthpiece and ears of the senior management. It is therefore important to see which managers are succeeding in their communication of the important strategic message.

The aim of the SFU is to contribute to stronger agreement between your organisation's overarching goals and each work group's or individual person's duties and goals. The tool maps out and drives the managers' work efforts and the workforce's understanding of the message.

This is how you measure and drive internal strategic information

SFU is carried out in the form of 4 follow up surveys which, at the same time, encourage the managers to inform, involve and discuss the current message with their employees. The survey, which contains 4 question modules and a total of 20 questions, goes out on 4 occasions.

The survey shows:

• Where in the organisation the message is being communicated and where it has ground to a halt.
• To what extent the employees have been involved in the message.
• Whether the employees have understood the context and whether the information is relevant to the employees' operation.
• How long it takes for a strategic message to reach out to the whole organisation.
• Which efforts need to be made in the feedback stage, and where, in order to make communication efficient.

The advantages of assessing and driving strategic information with the help of SFU

• Your organisation attains a stronger agreement between the company's overarching goals and each work group's or individual person's duties and goals, which leads to quicker adaptation to change.
• The employees become involved when they know and understand the goals, which lead them to working with the same objective and more efficiently.
• An increased degree of involvement among the employees also leads to higher commitment.
• Your organisation risks less energy/time wastage on uncertainty, defective information and rumours.
• Efficient sharing of information saves costs and frees up time for increased productivity.
• The tool and the survey drive a leadership behaviour which is important from a profitability perspective.
• The reports show the organisation's flow of communication, and where action is necessary.
• The senior management gets a clear overview of the flow of internal strategic information.

SFU - Strategic Follow up may be appropriate for organisations which, for example:

• Are highly decentralised.
• Have geographically widely spread managers/departments.
• Are carrying out major organisational changes.
• Are carrying out a change of comprehensive strategic direction.
• Are affected by legislation or political directives.
• Have diversified channels of information.

Reaching out with strategic messages is more difficult, the larger an organisation is, which is why we recommend that SFU is used in organisations with at least 4 management levels and with at least 75 managers.

Opportunities for further organisational development

The results from SFU can be analysed to beneficial effect, together with your employee survey.Then, you have the opportunity to obtain information about, for example, how the behaviour of the senior management needs to develop in the organisation.