The concept of organizational maturity generally refers to the evolutionary process of an organization building its people, processes, and capability through the adoption of quality practices.
Maturity also relates to the adoption level of dedicated performance management tools, the shaping of internal processes, the mechanisms and processes through which performance management systems are administered, and the final degree of performance.
Organizational maturity frameworks provide a transitional set of common characteristics against which maturity can be assessed–this provides us with five levels of evolutionary growth.
In this blog, we cover each of those 5 levels: Functional (Not Present), Transactional (Limited), Efficient (Defined), Strategic (Cascaded) & Innovative (Perfectly Automated).
The 5 Levels of Organizational Maturity
When applied to a growth or customer-focused context, this conversation often starts with a marketing or sales organization that wants to improve customer intimacy or experience and transform the way the organization is working internally. To get an idea of the marketing or sales group’s current state of maturity, your leadership and supporting teams work to identify the organization’s place across the following five levels:
1. Functional (Not Present): Marketing is a support function for sales and executive teams, with minimal or baseline digital capabilities. The organizational focus is on Marketing Communications and Sales enablement.
2. Transactional (Limited): Marketing is a support function for the organization, with some digital capabilities. The focus is on ensuring work requests are fulfilled with accepted effectiveness and efficiency. The marketing department is generally not seen as contributing to market differentiation.
3. Efficient (Defined): Marketing is a core function of the business. The people and the organization are digitally savvy and leverage data deliberately. Marketing technologies are leveraged and consistently optimized.
4. Strategic (Cascaded): Marketing is a partner in day-to-day business performance, and the organization’s leadership is proactive and data-driven. There is a bias for digital channels, which are integrated across the customer experience.
5. Innovative (Perfectly Automated): Marketing leads the business, and its focus is on managing brands. The organization also has abundant digital and creative innovators and marketing leadership is a valued member of the CEO’s Leadership Team.
Keep in mind these levels are looked at as a continuum. Success also doesn’t require every marketing or growth-based organization to perform at Level 5, all or any of the time. For instance, some organizations’ environments and customers may enable them to effectively function at a Transactional level. As an organization matures, however, there is a baseline level of customer intimacy that is expected to grow alongside the maturity level.
Final thoughts
This model of maturity highlights the main stages an organization is traversing when trying to successfully put into effect its strategy and performance management system. Many organizations tend to overlook the complexity of implementing a performance management system as well as the tie-ins it has with already established organizational processes. To find out how you compare – take our sales maturity self-diagnostic survey: https://lnkd.in/gGpMT6aP