HR Pulse

Focus on outcomes for sustainable performance improvement

The world is becoming highly competitive and this also applies to HR and training professionals. Information through technology is flattening the world and we need a way to distinguish ourselves from other HR practitioners. As business partners we are responsible, alongside management, to drive and improve performance in the organisation. 

We also need to be credible and provide performance solutions that are backed by a methodology which will consistently produce results in all our performance initiatives.

The international standards that the International Society of Performance Improvement (ISPI) sets for performance improvement, are very specific in guiding performance consultants in their work; whether assessing performance gaps at the individual level, process level or at the organisational level. The standards provide a benchmark for performance and how to follow a systematic process of staying on track.

These standards are also the guidelines for performance consultants to achieve certification in the field of Human Performance Improvement. They are:

• Focus on outcomes and results
  
  

• Take a systems view and be systematic in the approach to solve problems
  
  

• Add value and be relevant in closing performance gaps
  
  

• Work in partnership with clients, specialists and other performance stakeholders
  
  

• Conduct needs and opportunity analysis to determine the performance misalignments
  
  

• Analyse the causes and drivers of poor performance
  
  

• Design the appropriate solution for the identified gap(s)
  
  

• Develop the interventions which will bring about the change in performance results
  
  

• Implement the interventions and solutions and focus on the change results
  
  

• Evaluate and measure the impact of the solutions and whether the original anticipated results were achieved
  
  

Focus on outcomes and results

In this article we will be focusing on the first standard. Focusing on outcomes, that is, results puts you in a position to question, confirm and reconfirm that people share the same vision and goals (workplace level), the job procedures that support efficiency (process level), and that people have the skills and knowledge they require (people level) to bring about sustainable performance. You determine what it is you are trying to solve. You measure the outcomes or results of an intervention and assess whether performance has improved as a result of it. 

Sometimes it is necessary to challenge the assumed answer to a problem or the expected event or activity of an intervention, and to focus instead on the accomplishment or business need that is the client’s true priority.

As a performance consultant you are required to help the client to focus on outcomes and results by doing the following:

Determine the outcome or expected result(s) of the project. You may:

• Help clients specify what they expect to change, or what benefit they expect to gain as a result of the effort or project
  
  

• Help clients come to agreement on what they expect to accomplish
  
  

• Guide or facilitate clients in focusing on accomplishments instead of activities or events
  
  

This is an important first step in assisting the client to focus on results and outcomes, as most clients are automatically driven by process steps or activities. Also, clients tend to assume that performance consultants focus on a list of activities, rather than the end result.

Determine what will be measured or accepted as evidence that the business need was met:

The work of the performance consultant is driven by measurable performance improvement interventions. If we cannot measure the outcome, then it may not be seen as a result. You and the client should be very specific about the measurable results to be achieved. This is extremely important as any deviation will lose the impact of what you and the client anticipated.

Explain the importance of focusing on accomplishments:

The client should know through your approach as a performance consultant that the focus of accomplishments and results is to provide the required change in performance. Do this so that you and the client will better understand what is needed to realise the end results.

Evaluate if the effort was successful and the produced outcomes were of worth:

Determine in the beginning what information will be collected and how it will be collected to measure the fulfillment of the desired outcome. Communicate what the expected outcome is to team members and other stakeholders.

Establish goals and performance measures with staff and key clients:

Design your fact-finding (analysis) efforts and recommend solutions that are more likely to accomplish the desired outcome. Celebrate and recognise those efforts that accomplished desired outcomes.

By rigorously following this performance standard and tracking the results of your work and how you went about producing those results it should be clear how you supported the client, the organisation or society’s goals.