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Leading global risk management provider, SAI Global, recently released a comprehensive list of common errors and problems organizations face which hinder them from achieving their goals.

SAI Global, an international provider of integrated risk management solutions, assurance and property services, has revealed the top reasons why Australian businesses fail to reach their targets. The company which has audited over 200 companies in more than 130 countries said failing to set realistic goals is a leading issue that hamper organizations’ success.

“We have highlighted the most frequent audit failures, because we believe Australia still has a long way to go to producing the highest quality services and products,” David Smith, Principal Advisor in Business Improvement at SAI Global, said in a statement.

“Problems associated with quality usually come from organizations failing to set realistic objectives; and not effectively marrying their processes, systems and employee talent cohesively within their organizations to meet those objectives.”

In the report, SAI Global noted that the lack of effective strategic planning is one of the main problems small to medium businesses face. These enterprises give less focus on strategy and have the tendency to be narrow-minded, leaving a smaller room for growth.

Smith explained, “They are too busy running their business and don’t have the resources to look at the bigger picture. As such, they have less of an understanding of the competitive environment, are less able to compete, and often struggle to identify opportunities and grow.”

A problematic leadership also leads to several organization issues. Short-sighted leaders often focus on just their areas and not the company as a whole. They also fail to orient mid and junior-level employees of the company’s objectives which, again, doesn’t benefit the company’s main goals.

“This leads to the ‘silo’ effect, where internal teams are working independently of each other. Businesses that fail this aspect of their audit commonly struggle to meet their objectives.”

Other common business fails include failure to monitor important business functions and conflicting internal systems -- both affecting the quality and efficiency of work.

Failing to identify and solve problems as well as unsuccessfuly nurturing employees’ competence also impede the growth of the company. Instead of developing a continuous path for expansion and success for the team, employees -- and the organization -- stay stagnant.

Audits reveal that even when problems are identified, managers are not trained and equipped to solve them. "As a result, they have difficulty in fulfilling the requirements of their role, particularly early on,” Smith noted.

SAI Global hopes that through its comprehensive list, Australian businesses are able to pinpoint rooms of improvement that can help not only the company grow, but its employees as well.