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The CAT capability development plan

One of the objectives of the CAT is to facilitate a programme of supplier development aimed at improving the effectiveness of Agency suppliers. The CAT assessment on its own will generate no measurable change or improvement to the way companies operate. The key to making this happen is to build upon the information recorded in next steps 'where we plan to be in 12 months' to:

• draw up plans of specific actions based the strengths and areas for improvement identified during the self-score and validation activities
• generate ownership of improvements and implementation amongst key people in the company
• acknowledge the company's strengths
• identify key issues to address
• select areas for quick wins
• define ownership of actions for improvement
• describe how the action plans will be monitored and measured
• target actions

During the self-score and validation activities a number of areas for improvement will have been identified. Prioritisation and focus are vital. It will be helpful to group the areas for improvement under common themes before deciding on relative priorities. This might be carried out by deciding on selection factors such as:

• survival and success - what will contribute most to the company's purpose, direction and key objectives? What is important to the organisation?
• nagging problems - is a one-time fix needed?
• customers - how will customers and other stakeholders be affected by the plans?
• urgency - does it have to be done now, or can it wait, say, twelve months?
• easy to do - would the effort required be straightforward and undemanding?

It is vital that the management team support the conclusions of the CAT exercise and the capability development plan, whether or not they participated in the CAT exercise itself.

It is sometimes helpful to encourage the team to reflect on their experiences of previous events involving change, ie, what has gone well in the past and what has gone less well.

This will help with the putting together of the capability development plan, as it will raise people's awareness of the importance of clearly defining and agreeing:

• clear goals and outcomes
• responsibilities
• plans for achieving these goals - actions, timescales and resources
• how progress will be monitored
• how to involve people and promote ownership