When you have a company, the most important thing is to know it thoroughly. That is why, from time to time, It is important to carry out an internal analysis of a company. But what is this type of analysis? Are there different types? How it is performed?
All of this, and some more things, is what we are going to tell you about below. Take a look at how to know if your company is doing well, is productive and adapts to the present and future times of the market.
What is the internal analysis of a company
To begin with, you must take into account the concept of internal analysis of a company. This is a study that assesses the resources, competencies and abilities that a business has. The objective of this analysis is, without a doubt, to apply a series of tools to improve the results.
In other words, it is about carrying out an audit with which you can fully understand the situation of the company, but also the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and shortcomings that it has. I mean, yes, We are talking about something similar to a SWOT analysis (or SWOT), also known as SWOT matrix.
What tools are used to carry out an internal analysis of a company
When a company performs an internal analysis, there are a series of important tools to carry out this audit. The main ones are the following:
- Value chain. It is a tool that analyzes the different business activities, that is, production, logistics (not only internally, but also externally), technological development, human resources management, inventory (or supply system), infrastructure and sale (here we could also include after-sales).
This will give a global view of the state of the company, but it is not the only tool that can (or should) be used. - Analysis of resources. It means knowing what the company has or what it lacks. And resources are not only materials, but also personnel, finances, etc.
Types of internal analyzes
Depending on the framework in which the internal analysis is carried out, a company can choose several types. Each of them will satisfy a series of objectives. We discuss it below.
GAP analysis
This type of analysis helps us know the current situation of the company and the future situation or the one that has been set as an objective. Thus, the strong points are established but also the weak ones to work on them.
SWOT analysis
As we told you before, it is also known as SWOT analysis or SWOT matrix. The analysis produces a matrix in which we can find the strengths and weaknesses of the company. But also the opportunities and threats in the environment or sector in which the business operates.
VINEGAR
The OCAT analysis It is mainly used to review the performance of the organization, looking for bugs or important problems to improve it. It is also known as an organizational capacity assessment tool.
McKinsey 7S
This is one of the most complete types of analysis because, as its name indicates, it investigates seven aspects of the company, which are the following: strategy, structure, style, system, values, ability and personnel.
Thus You can know what the situation of the business is at a complete level.
How to carry out an internal analysis of a company
If you have a business or a company, and you want to carry out an internal analysis, you must know what steps must be taken. Although it may seem difficult, in reality Once you have the script it is easier to apply. These are:
Objectives
Establish the objectives for which an internal analysis of a company is carried out. For example, It may be to assess the current state of the company, to review the situation in the event of a merger, identify opportunities in the sector...
Select the frame
In this case, You have several options that will depend on the result of that analysis.. For example, the framework may be to locate which are the worst areas of the companies, or on the contrary, the best ones to enhance in development.
Perform the analysis
To do this, it is important to carry out research to gather the information you need. This involves locating internal sources.
Once it has been investigated, The results must be captured, which would be the internal analysis of a company. This is where you will have to choose the type of analysis that will be carried out (based on those we have seen before).
Of course, once the analysis is carried out, a series of strategies must be carried out with which to meet the objectives or improvements for the business.
Advantages of an internal analysis of a company
Now that you have a better idea of what a company's internal analysis is, you may still have the question of why dedicate resources and efforts to carrying out one. But it is actually quite interesting to do it for several reasons:
- You can learn about the company's strengths. And not only that, but also the weaknesses. With the former you can enhance and differentiate yourself from your competition; Furthermore, if you use them well, they can be beneficial when offering services or products to customers. With the latter you can improve them or even turn them into strengths.
- Know the viability of the market. This is very important because it will help you know if it is a good time to launch a product, service or company at that time. For example, imagine that you have a law firm specialized in divorces, and after the analysis there is a new service that you can offer based on the results of that analysis.
- Discover opportunities and threats. On an external level, yes, but they influence internally. For example, opportunities are those key points that can be encouraged to bring something new or novel to the market. For their part, threats are problems that are seen (change in trends, competition...).
As you can see, the internal analysis of a company is a very important tool with which you can assess the state of a business and act to improve it or to avoid situations that are reducing the growth of the company. Have you done this before?