In the previous post, we have shared on my personal experience opening new business outlets.
Behind it all, a team for ‘centralized management’ was set up for the business expansion plan.
After 3 years in business operation, the 4th year was the time when the company’s Board of Directors decided to meet up specifically to review on the years ahead plan in business. At that time, me and my other director was the only BOD appointed without any involvement of anybody else.
Then we realized, to grow, we have to change and bring in more ‘right’ people . One of our biggest advantage was that the business that we are currently managing was already had its operational’ SOP and system.
Related article : SOP
Therefore, our team just need to focus on the business development side.
The questions came in:
What will the company be in the next 5 years?
What type of business will make the company grow by then?
How long will the company remain in the business?
Will there any possibility too venture onto a new industry with the current resources?
When will the company able to appoint a new CEO?
… and a few more questions was in the list.
Let me share here a fe steps of what my team went through during the process:
1. Restructuring the company’s organizational chart.
We have decided at that time to set up a set of management team which will focus on all task items which are ‘disturbing’ and ‘slowing down’ our operational team.
Well, it just a preschool business? What’s so important?
YES! It is important. We found that all the first 3 outlets that we named had similar ‘situations’ every year. As it is predictable, meaning that it is a recurring matter and it considered as a routine.
We had re-structure the people in the team as below:
Centralised management team:
CEO
CFO
HR & People Development Manager
Payroll Officer
Account Executive
Finance & Credit Control Officer
In the process, each of them had involved in creating their own job description and KPI.
Example :
- The CEO is also being responsible of the CMO job scope.
- Payroll Officer will be uncharged to assist the HR Manager on all issues related to legal matters.
- The HR & People Development is taking the responsibility to conduct the auditing procedures for all operational centers.
Centres Operational Team:
Centre Manager
Admin Executive
Senior Teaching Staff
Teaching Staff
Support Staff
This team was set up for each individual outlet.
They were given a specific roles and responsibility which they themselves review every 12 months.
IMPACT
All the centers operational team are now focusing on result of their services.
All repeated tasks, functions and items in a year operation is take care by the ‘centralized management’ team.
The tasks include:
+ Human resource matters : Hiring, Terminating, Disciplin, HR issues, payroll, perks and benefits
+ Staff Development : Trainings, in house and external development program, appraisals.
+ Education : Internal audit, centralized coaching on standard earlychildhood issues and practice
+ Finance and account : Sales report (monthly), outstanding record (ageing), bills and utilities payment, bulk purchase and ordering, credit control.
2. Reviewing the company’s strategic planning.
Through a specific learning process, we realized that the company has yet to have its own blueprint on its venture.
Since they have been focusing on operating a franchise business, they forgot that as a franchisee company, the company is still a separate entity which needs to survive on its own.
Regardless of the expansion plan of the program, the company as a legal entity in business need to be given the right treatment.
In year 2012, we had our first strategic planning session and we had an external moderator to come in and assist us in the process.
In the session, we finally set our Mission and Vision to be achieved by 2014.
We had also agreed to set the company’s KPI and also departmental KPI.
Related Article : Business Management
3. Getting an advisor (consultant) to come in.
In year 2012 (4th year of operation), we had our business status evaluated by an agency for FREE. We have found out that at that time our strength lies on the team and people management. Our main weakness was on the financial management part.
From here, we decided to continue with what we had agreed in the strategic planning meeting done earlier.
In April 2012, we have agreed with a consultant to come in with us to assist the process of strengthening the current and new system for implementation.
The Centralised Management Team and The Operational Management Team.
Hidden Fact:
+ The training amount allocated for managers for a year (training fund for staff was allocated differently) was used (consultation service) during this process.
+ The Board of Directors were attending a ‘sponsored’ program from a government agency towards understanding the management theory and its application during the time.
+ The process it self was an elimination process. There are some managers who were underperformed were able to be assigned to another tasks. They were voluntarily as they understood the process and the needs of the ‘right’ people in the team.
+ We did not expect any other results than the business to be expanded. In actual fact, of all these activities was leading us to the decision of planning for the company’s exit plan.
+ The exit plan made the whole team prepared to strengthen the centralized management processes and procedures which later to be decentralized gradually.
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People might wonder, why do we spend time and money to do all this process. It was basically about business.
We had one agreement in our team : “We will seriously do a serious business.”
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I will share more in the next post on what me and my team gone through during the process. It was a lot of surprising results especially in the business decision making process.
Send me an email at noraminah.omar@gmail.com for any questions on preschool management. Click HERE to find out more.
Have a great day ahead!
