Organisational performance delivery - a systems view success
We all have to tighten our belts and understand where the budget is being spent and why. This is also true for HR and Training Managers who have to report on the impact and value of the budget spent. Often, in consultation with management, we suggest solutions and interventions for performance issues, without evidence of what caused the performance gap, where the gaps are, what the reasons for the gaps are, and how to measure and evaluate the results and impact once the solution has been implemented.
I’m sure you will agree that it is not very credible to report on your HR spend without the necessary evidence of how performance improved and an increase in organisational results.
Questions HR managers should consider
- Does every rand being spent in your budget address organisational performance gaps and what was the value and impact?
- Do you know exactly where the performance gaps are? Are they inherent in the people and processes, or attributable to organisational factors?
- Do you know where to start fixing these performance problems?
- Can you adequately provide facts on where these gaps are? Or are they just assumed?
- Can you adequately measure the value of the HR spend?
- Does the HR value chain truly deliver on what your customers want and do they experience this as value?
- Are your HR consultants skilled in providing a performance-improvement consulting service to the business and in providing credible advice on performance problems?
If you answer “no” to any of these questions, view the performance gaps from a systems view to provide the answers and make your HR budget deliver on results. It could simply mean you need to change your strategy and practice to solve performance problems in the organisation.
A systems view provides both, the solution that may have been lacking in assisting you and line management to solve performance problems, as well as the ongoing tracking of the impact and results your HR budget is delivering.
Improving performance is something most organisations discuss, but in order to achieve the improvement, two kinds of actions are needed. Firstly, organisations need to understand and expand their thinking about the assessment and measurement of performance and secondly, they need to learn more about the direct and indirect enhancers and inhibitors of performance.
The old saying “if it can’t be measured, then it isn’t performance” is true in every sense. So often we have good ideas about strategy implementation but when it comes to the practical measurement of human performance we do not follow a systems way of doing it. Performance elements linked to the Balanced Scorecard are introduced but the performance outputs required by the employee are not achievable in reality, due to barriers which prevent individual performance. Inhibiters to performance are usually incorrectly identified and measures to address performance are inappropriate to deliver on overall organisational performance.
Issues in a Performance Improvement system
- A performance management system should take a holistic view of performance, i.e. the individual performance requirements should be linked to the organisational performance through the value chain.
- Performance should be quantifiable and cognisance of the inhibitors to performance understood and ironed out; i.e. if people do not have the tools to do their job, performance will not be realised.
- Performance should be realistically achievable by minimising inhibitors and maximising performance enhancers. Remember, poor management practices and leadership styles can directly indirectly impact organisational performance.
- A systematic way to identify and solve performance problems should be part of any Performance Improvement system. A performance management system alone will not provide the information - it is merely an historical view of performance at the individual and in some instances, the team performance. A systems view to performance is necessary.
- Understanding that performance is a total, whole system and that the individuals and teams in the performance system are linked to organisational performance.
- Understanding that the foundation of performance is the alignment of people, to processes and to organisational strategy and objectives. The holistic approach in a Performance Improvement system is aligning the workplace (organisational), work (processes and value chain) and the worker (individuals and teams) by ensuring that the alignment does not have any deviations.
- If there is no evidence that alignment in the total performance improvement system exists then most of the interventions and solutions to address performance problems will be wasted – even the most workable or sophisticated, customised performance management system or excellent training will not yield the results.
The way forward
A structured approach to identifying inhibitors to performance and appropriately addressing the gaps with a step-by-step process can provide organisations operating in a competitive environment with a strategic edge. The human performance technology (HPT) (also known as human performance improvement) consists of a systematic set of methods, procedures and strategies for solving problems or realising opportunities related to organisational performance. In essence HPT is a methodology that embraces performance from a system as well as from a systematic perspective (see the model below). The value of HPT lies in its principles to bring about two major focus areas in improving performance, which means moving closer to the business and being jointly accountable with management for measuring service delivery of the HR and training function.
The principles in the HPT methodology
- Focus on results and outcomes and not so much on the activities associated with this. In other words work with the performance improvement output in mind and then work jointly with business to achieve this.
- Work in partnerships with management, experts and all stakeholders; prioritise and address the needs of management in a realistic way. This also means that managers are responsible for removing barriers to performance.
- Add value to any solution or intervention implementation - if it does not add value, don’t do it. Focus on the “bigger performance picture” without losing sight of the small parts that make up the whole performance system and the results can be achieved.
- Solve performance problems in a systematic and systems way. Performance problems can only be solved if the evidence is provided relating to the real causes of the problem - what are the real causes organisationally, from a process perspective and from the employees’ perspective? Don’t jump to conclusions through assumed prior knowledge of the gaps and problems - find out and confirm the findings with validated evidence and be jointly accountable with management.
So where do you start? The following guidelines and easy steps will move your strategy alignment to a performance improvement system that will consistently deliver results, one which is flexible, can change with the global demands and keep employees happy and motivated and moreover, to retain talent which we all heavily invest in. Have a look at the toolkit.
