Improvement Gaps in Communication and Information Technology

This paper identifies improvement gaps through the case study of Luke, the distributions manager at the company and the entire sales and department. It also explores a portfolio development through a personal reflection of a new training a development manager employed to grow sales by 8% using an existing sales team.

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University
Communication and information technology
by
Name
Date
Lecturer’s Name

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Communication and information technology
Introduction
As the quest for performance improvement through human resource development,
process improvement, quality improvements, and technological advancements the call on leaders
to take charge and become more accountable becomes more evident in all organizations. Each
organization spends so much money towards the developments of these programs; the programs
mainly focus on the employees, systems, and customers. This paper identifies improvement gaps
through the case study of Luke, the distributions manager at the company and the entire sales and
department. It also explores a portfolio development through a personal reflection of a new
training a development manager employed to grow sales by 8% using an existing sales team.
Part 1
The case employee’s skills do not seem to match the job description, therefore leading to
the poor performance of the whole department. The proposal is not only designed for the
manager but also the entire sales and distribution department whose performance has been
affected by the manager’s lack of leadership skills.
The lifespan: The plan is expected to last for six months, after which all the external
support acquired for the sustenance of the program is withdrawn. The period is decided based on
the number of employees expected to benefit from the program and the program scope. Any
period shorter than the stated period would not be adequate for the full implementation of the
program, at the same time a more prolonged period would fall out of the program budget. It is
also assumed that the period would be most appropriate for the development of the managerial
skills required for the department and the entire sales and distribution team at the company.

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Sustainability: The sustainability of the program would be based on the continued
employee engagement and growth encouragement. According to Epstein and Roy (2001),
identification of the organization's performance gaps and development of a sustainable
implementation is the most critical process in the development of communications and
information technology performance programs. The sustainability plan for the program would be
based on the research from other business entities sustainability plans, and an outline of the
business goals and objectives (Morrison et al. 2010).
Exit strategy: the primary goal of the exit strategy is to ensure that the impacts of the
program remain sustainable at the end of the program. Hoyt and Sherman (2004) state that the
best exits strategy is one which raises the height of the exit barriers and consequently reducing
the organizations’ strategic flexibility. An assessment would be done on all the employees with
the department to ascertain their level of improvement based on the lessons learned from the
program. The manager would be assessed differently to determine whether he has acquired the
skills needed for the roles of his position.
The financial resource requirements: The central financial resource required would be for
the outsourcing of training services, purchasing of training materials, and refreshments during
training. The program would focus on value for money; it is expected that the program would be
worth the return on investments after its completion. Most companies do not want to spend
without the return of investment guarantee; this is because there are several other profitable
programs within the organizations that require funding. Rummler and Brache (2012) explain
that aligning the expected result to the financial resource requirements is the most appropriate
means of ensuring that funding for a program is approved.

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Human resource and other capacity requirements: There would be no direct human
resource requirement from the organization. Because the program would rely on outsources
human resource services. However, support staff for various functions such as IT systems
installations at the training room, and service staff would be required.
Risk assessment and mitigation: the program focus would be towards those who have the
relevant skills but lack the knowledge to apply the same to the overall growth of the company.
An identification process will be done with the help of the human resource department and
various departmental heads to ensure that only those with the ability to benefit from the program
are considered. The identification is to reduce the risks of spending the organization's resources
on those who lack both the skills and the will to develop. The same would also be used to ensure
that those within the program do not drag the rest behind during the program; every one must be
at the same level during every stage of the program (Liviu et al. 2009).
Program implementation: The program will have both short and long-term goals; based
on the progress, it would be much easier to isolate the long and short terms performance
development plans for the department. The most immediate plan is to equip the entire team from
the department with communication and information technology skills to help grow sales and
improve the department’s performance standards. All the participants are expected to commit to
the program and offer improvement suggestions. According to (Vasantham, 2015), getting
feedback during the program would be very helpful in strengthening the program and improving
its sustainability.
Measurement: the key KPIs for the program will be punctuality, performance
improvement regarding work output, personal habits observations, attitude checks, personal

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presentation review, client surveys, and random checks. The evaluation will be an ongoing
process to include all areas individual achievements and work ethics.
Part 2 Portfolio
To increase sales by 8%, the following factors would be critical. I would perform an
assessment of the sales skills of the fifteen staff members of the sales team. Because of the
increase in the number of offices to two, these fifteen would be the main my main sales drivers.
The skills assessment would help in determining whether all the existing employees have the
relevant skill necessary to the achievement of the projected sales growth. It is also important to
note that the company has a staff retention policy; therefore irrespective of the assessment
outcome, all the current sales team employees must fit into the positions fit for their skills and
experience.
The second step would be to determine the company leverage levels. Some of the
questions to ask in considering leverage are; the customer’s perceptions of the company’s
product and services, the marketing budget, completion, and pricing. These factors are critical to
the performance of the company’s sales projections and the application of additional resource
requirements; both human and financial.
Based on the above factors, I intend to set sales targets per member of the team which
must be achieved on a monthly basis. A sales review meeting will be done on a daily basis to
assess the level of success and identify challenges for early intervention. I would also draft an
effective route to market plan to ensure that the supply meets the demand in the newly developed
markets.
Some of the approaches I would initiate to get the 8% sales growth would be:

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1. Increased penetration of the existing market: It is known that the sales team knows what
moves best in their current, market. I would encourage each member of the team to
ensure that their strength is felt within their market segments.
2. Extension of new product line: The development of complementary products is one of the
most straightforward methods of growing sales.
3. New client segments: There is always a gap in all market segments; it is important to
indent the gap and develop an appealing product to fill the market gap.
4. New distribution channels: Growing the distribution channels would be one of the most
effective methods of realizing the expected growth. By aggressive opening up options for
sales through various distribution channels, the risks are reduced in the process of
growing sales (Armstrong et al. 2015). The strategy is one of the best moves aimed at
smoothening erratic purchases commonly associated with existing clients. It also offers
the company with an opportunity to replace non-performing and disloyal clients from it
customer database with more effective distributors.
5. Implementation of performance improvement programs: the program focus would be
towards those who have the relevant skills but lack the knowledge to apply the same to
the overall growth of the company. An identification process will be done with the help
of the human resource department and various departmental heads to ensure that only
those with the ability to benefit from the program are considered. The identification is to
reduce the risks of spending the organization's resources on those who lack both the skills
and the will to develop (Phillips 2012). The same would also be used to ensure that
those within the program do not drag the rest behind during the program; every one must
be at the same level during every stage of the program

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