Interaction in a document
The business plan module in Framsikt must ensure that the companies work towards the same goal, and thus carry out the adopted action and financial plan in line with the guidelines of the municipality.
For the municipality of Lindesnes, the module was also useful when three municipalities, with different working habits and methods, were to be merged into one municipality.
Sonja Svardal, financial manager in the municipality of Lindesnes together with municipal director Kyrre Jordbakke.
The Municipality of Lindesnes today consists of the former municipalities Lindesnes, Mandal and Marnardal. The municipality is the southernmost municipality in Norway and has just above 23,000 inhabitants.
Sonja Svardal, finance manager in the municipality of Lindesnes, can tell that she was familiar with Framsikt from her previous work in the municipality of Marnadal.
- We had used Framsikt analysis for many years, and in 2018 we started the process of acquiring a budget and business program, and our choice fell on Framsikt. It turned out that Framsikt also functioned well in municipal mergers. We started to use the budget module in early 2019, to create a budget for 2020 and an action plan for 2022-2023. We started the business plan module in 2021, where we created a business plan for all units.
The municipality of Lindesnes started with Framsikt's modules Analysis, Financial Plan, Annual Budget and Reporting. By the fact that the municipality has now also adopted the Business Plan module, this provides an opportunity to concretize adopted goals and initiatives from the municipal plan and thematic plans via the financial and action plan further down into a business plan, with, among other things, assignments, tasks, deadlines and responsibilities.
Determined work with processes and indicators
The module is also well suited to getting an overview of and following up on verbal decisions, political matters and other tasks and initiatives that do not necessarily have money attached to them. Different types of assignments and tasks can, for example, be delegated outside the organisation. The municipality itself determines the types of assignments and chooses names for concepts in relation to its own management system.
Svardal can say, that the three municipalities that were to be merged, had different traditions for using business plans:
- Two municipalities had used it actively and one municipality had not used it previously.
What made you see the need to use the Business Plan module in the new municipality of Lindesnes?
- A business plan is a good tool for setting goals in relation to the municipal plan. It is a good way to bring in employees. Through the Business Plan module, we get to work purposefully with processes and indicators. It gives us a common thread from the municipal plan to the budget and action, says Svardal.
The business plan helps to provide a complete overview
For others who are going to start with Framsikt's Business Plan module, Svardal recommends having a clear idea about delegation and structure in advance:
- It is important to think about delegation, at which level goals should be entered and how you set the structure in relation to your goals. It is also important to involve the employees in the process. Input from the employees is important to get the business plan firmly rooted in the organisation.
In the municipality of Lindesnes, the business plan is anchored by the councillor, where assignment letters go out to the municipal managers, who in turn create assignments for their level again. Municipalities that use letters of assignment or allocation can enter these in Framsikt's Business Plan module as a basis for the prioritisation in the company, and thus make visible what the senior manager will focus on this year.
- We have rooted in from the councillor, where assignment letters are sent out to the municipal managers who create assignments at their level again. Each unit has its business plan. We have a steering group on business management, which regularly holds meetings on fundamental questions in relation to business plans.
To ensure that the businesses work according to the adopted overall goals in the municipality, the business managers can see the goals and measurement indicators they are to work towards in the Business Plan module. In the module, the senior manager selects the goals to be worked towards for the individual company, and delegates tasks to the companies linked to the goals.
In this way, the Business Plan module can help to give business managers a full overview of their goals and priorities, and update status and results together with all other reporting in the Reporting module. Precisely the connection with Framsikt's other modules is something Svardal emphasises when talking about the Business Plan module:
- I am very satisfied with the tool. It is recognizable in all modules and gives us interaction in one document.
