TEN STEPS TO A HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE

In the present climate business performance is key to business survival.  You and your organization cannot afford to underperform.  But how do you ensure your performance management system actually works and works well!

Follow these steps to develop and implement an effective performance management system

1. Show leadership from the top

Those at the top of the organization must be committed to a performance culture and be prepared to change their behavior if necessary to reflect this.   the performance management framework  must be operated throughout the organization from top to bottom.

2. Develop business plans

Business planning must be realistic – what can be delivered with the resources available.  How will those available resources change over time?  Take into account the people management implications – if you invest in training – how will that effect your business plan?   Once plans and priorities have been established, they need to be translated into department, team and individual performance plans through out the organization.  Can you see the the organization’s objectives reflected in the most junior employee’s performance plan?

3. Establish what good performance looks like and how it can be measured

All performance indicators and other criteria used to measure performance must be clearly communicated to staff and all in the organization. Think about what really matters and focus on measuring that.  Keep the number of measures to a minimum.  Want to know more about performance measures – follow this link

4. Monitor and evaluate

Systems need to be set up to ensure that performance, and its effect on service delivery, can be monitored and evaluated throughout the year.

5. Agree specific performance objectives

The organization’s plans and priorities must be translated into department, team and intividual perforamnce objectives, usually by using performance appraisal and staff devlopment processes.  Individula plans are most effective when both manager and employee agree them.  Objectives should be SMART

• Specific
• Measurable
• Agreed
• Realistic
• Time bound.

6. Develop an internal communications approach

Effective messages should target the intended audience in the whole range of ways available to you.   Develop a plan for how you will use them to target different communities within the organisation using for example:

• email
• intranet
• newsletter/house magazine
• notice board
• team brief
• video and in-house TV.

In addition, regular surveys and suggestion schemes are important ways of ensuring that employees have the opportunity to feedback on a wide range of issues that impact on  performance.

7. Ensure that performance framework systems are truly in place

A performance review/appraisal system is traditionally used to set objectives, identify support needs and measure progress against objectives. For it to work effectively, it must be clearly understood by both managers and employees. This requires that:

• managers have access to guidance and training to ensure they manage performance effectively throughout the year
• all employees have the necessary support, guidance and training to actively engage in the performance appraisal process.

If you don’t have these in place it is unlikely that you can become a high performing organisation

8. Support employees to succeed

Effective induction and probation processes for new employees are extremely important in setting the right expectations of performance for both the employee and the manager. Personal development plans (PDPs), resulting from the performance review process, should explain how development needs will be met.

9. Encourage performance improvement

Occasionally, performance does not meet the required standard. At organizational level, this should be addressed by identifying what the barriers are to effective performance and putting in place a plan to deliver improvement.

The principle is the same at both the team and individual level: there must be clear procedures for dealing with inadequate performance.

10. Recognize and reward good performance

Good performance needs to be recognized and, where appropriate, rewarded.

Recognizing performance is also about sharing success stories and knowledge across the organisation and highlighting how good performance helps the organisation as a whole.

If you would like to know more about how your organisation is performing follow this link to find out more about Making Performance Meaningful Reviews

BUILD SELF ESTEEM IN YOUR TEAM – BE GENEROUS

Remember building self esteem is about valuing and feeling valued! Why don’t you be generous and start a value chain – your team will reward for your endeavor!

Be generous with encouragement
It may sound trite, but if a member of your team does a good job, let them know you have noticed. You know what looks like good and when you see it say so! Let the team know what you have seen and that your recognize a job well done and value it!

If a someone makes a mistake but they are doing their best, let them know that it’s okay. and back them up.  They already feel bad about letting you and the team down and what more can you expect than their best effort? It’s fine to give them pointers on what they can do better next time to help succeed, but don’t berate them just because they fail occasionally – value them.

On the other hand, if they are not giving it their best, point that out, and let them know that you expect more – and that they should, too. Your team members will respect you for this, especially if you apply this standard to the whole team (star players should never be exempt).  Make sure each link in the chain knows they are a diamond!

Be generous with rewards
We all  love to get rewards.  Think about what might be the right kind of rewards for your team – might not just be money?  May be its a a meal out occasionally or going to a sporting event!  What about shopping vouchers or tickets for a show?  What do they really enjoy?  So long as you have set some clear standards – give rewards when these are exceeded.    Don’t underestimate even the power of a certificate or plaque for “Team Member of the Month” !  A simple award ceremony over coffee and a recounting of the achievement can make the whole team feel good.

Be generous with your social time
Sure, you’ve spent hours at  work this week but the work is over and you are ready for some relaxation time.   Maybe one Friday a month you could spend the evening together with a quiz night or even just bowling.  Make sure you spend some time with each member of the team getting to know them away from work.  Le them know they matter to you as people.

MANAGING CHANGE – MAINTAINING A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR SUPPLIERS

When your organisation is going through change and specially in a time of financial stringency, a good relationship with your suppliers becomes much more important. Here is a Checklist from G&W Consulting which should help you to achieve the firm relationship you need!

SUPPORT FROM WISEWOLF

Wendy Mason has spent many years, both as a line manager and as a consultant, delivering change and support to individuals and organisation going through change   She is happy now to offer this support to you and your organization.   If you would like to talk to Wendy about how she can help email her directly at wendymason@wisewolfconsulting.com or ring ++44(0)7867681439 

MANAGING CHANGE – SIX STEPS TO IMPROVING QUALITY – SETTING UP A QUALITY STANDARD

In managing change as well as projects and programmes, we all talk a lot about quality and quality standards but how to you establish a standard.  Here are some tips

1. Do you already have quality standards in your organization. Do you work in a large organization.  If so, someone has probably done the job for you.  If you have a central programme or portfolio office or Centre of Excellence they should be able to guide and advise you. If you have a central unit the chances are, you are required to use their standards anyway.   Even if you don’t have a central unit ask other managers what they use and consider using their’s as a starting point from which to develop your own ideas!
2. Set up a quality group. Assemble a team from those with an interest in your work or your  project .  Start out by asking them what they think acceptable standards would be for the area they are interested in.  Then use them to monitor as you go to make sure you achieve the standard.    You’d be surprised how willing people are to help with this kind of activity!
3. Understand how others perceive quality. You can conduct interviews with interested people and your stakeholders to ensure you understand the expectations for what you are trying to deliver.  For example, for an IT project, you could discuss expectations with managers about  usability and support. Ask them what they think is needed to deliver a successful project. You may think this is an obvious question, but some responses may give you a very different perspective on your stakeholders’ values, and also what isn’t important to them. Don’t underestimate the power of these interviews: they can help to align your perceptions of quality with those who have the major interest in what you do!
4. Start with a template. There are lots of standard quality plans and templates out there – trying searching on the internet!  So you shouldn’t have to start with a blank sheet of paper. Use a good, robust template with options to pick and choose what might apply to your organization and project.
5. Develop a consequence for each quality standard. For each standard you should identify what will happen if you don’t achieve it!  If the answer is not much, then it isn’t a real quality standard .  Don’t throw everything in – focus on what really counts.
6. Review. Putting standards in place is a great way to ensure the quality of what you are delivering.  But you need to make sure they continue to be right!  Include a regular review.   Find whether or not they were used and what happened as a  result.  Revise and up date them as necessary to ensure they continue to  meet your organization’s needs.

MANAGING CHANGE – WHAT TO DO ABOUT ENERGY DRAINERS

If you are involved with any kind of change you will find it drains your energy as you come to terms with new situations, deal with confusion and your own, and other people’s, anxieties.  You will find yourself giving out lots of your energy in support of others.  But some people seem to take just a little too much – more than you can afford to give if you are going to stay fit for the task ahead.

We all feel insecure in the middle of change but energy drainers are usually people who are insecure and negative in their everyday life – quite often they find it difficult to tolerate their own company. You may find people like this start to depend upon you to help them make all kinds of relatively simple life decisions.  They may phone or text you several times a day on any pretext – they can eat you as well as your time and sap your life force!

Very often these sad people are stuck in “Survival Mode.”  They don’t know how to tap into their personal energy reserves to survive and like children, they haven’t accepted responsibility for their own lives. But they find a variety of ways, including emotional blackmail,  to persuade you to provide them with the emotional support  and the reassurance they need.  Life is frightening and they are very scared indeed!

We all know people like this – they can be old friends, family and work colleagues.  You want to help but their needs are overwhelming.

So, what do you do?  Keep in mind that you may need to conserve your energy to manage a complex change.   If they are part of the change, you are certainly not going to be in a position to cut them out of your ife.  Anyway, at the end of the day, most of us would actually like to be in a position to help.

The stance you take depends upon what your relationship with the person is, and upon the level of your energy reserves. However, your first responsibility is to yourself. You, too, may have to adopt a “Survival Mode” attitude.

It is certainly much easier to deal with someone who is an acquaintance or a work colleague. You have no personal commitment to them and you have every right to say goodbye when you finish work.

When you are dealing with them try to stay in a neutral space – give neutral responses and try not to get drawn into their or your emotions.  When you dealing with them, imagine you are wearing a breastplate to defend your energy – withhold your energy behind your breastplate – deliver a neutral, and deliberately, low energy response. Offer no more and no less than is necessary to accomplish the transaction.

As a personal survival technique, this approach is also applicable for family and old friends. However, you may choose to take a more compassionate and supportive stance,- demonstrate your love but it may be “tough love.” Your goal here is to move them from negative to positive and to move them back into using their own energy resources. In this way, you can help them to become self-sufficient.  Get them to think through their own options – to make choices and plan.  When they do so give them lots of quiet praise – move them on from whining to thinking about concrete ways they can help themselves!

Be aware, though, that Energy Drainers will resort to many forms of subtle emotional blackmail to get access to your energy. Don’t let them! Let them know, through your actions, that your energy is no longer accessible to them. Encourage them to make decisions on their own and to enjoy their own company by simply not being available: physically or emotionally.

It will not be easy for you or them.  You are breaking established patterns of behavior and setting a brand new precedent. But eventually a new dynamic should be established.  They should take responsibility for their own life and their own decisions.  You may have to support them through a change as part of your role but do so in a managed way! With friends and family, if they will not take action, success will be impossible. So recognize when you have banged your head once too often against that proverbial brick wall and when the wisest step is simply to “let go.”

Making Performance Meaningful with KPIs

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help an organization define and measure progress toward organizational goals.

Do you have good KPIs defined?  Are they ones that reflect your organization’s goals, ones that you can measure and that you can use as a performance management tool?  Find out how to get them at Making Performance Meaningful

SPONSORING A PROJECT? HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF!

If you are the senior manager responsible for a project, here are a series of questions to ask yourself at the start to ensure success!

1. Are the objectives and benefits achievable? The project may be very well intentioned and it may sound very grand but can your organization actually do it (even with advice) and will it be worthwhile?
2. Is this the right investment for the organization at this time and how does this project fit within the existing programme of projects and competing priorities for the organization. It may sound right but you may have a lot of other priorities right now – can the resource be made available?  Will some other project already underway make this project redundant even before it starts?
3. Who are the stakeholders and do they agree on the  objectives and benefits? What other parts of the organization and the supply chain will you be dependent on?  Will your  customers appreciate the benefits you plan?
4. Is there anything novel in terms of process or technology and can you cope with it?  This particularly important for IT based projects – leading edge is one thing – bleeding edge quite another? If it is IT and you don’t know the difference then definitely take advice!
5. Are you clear about the scope – is there a project brief that describes the project in full and from a business perspective? Do you understand where the boundaries of your project are?  What is  in and what is out?  If you don’t know, you may find it very difficult to know when you have a success and also to control your costs!
6. Does the project fit well with  your organization’s  strategic initiatives, frameworks and architectures? Does this fit well with the overall direction of the organization, is it compatible with your existing service contracts – if it is IT,  will it fit in with your existing systems?
7. Have you tested the underlying assumptions within the project brief and business case? Have you really challenged the team on the assumptions they have made – are they being realistic and do the figures really stack up?
8. Does the project have an agreed set of performance measures against which performance can be measured during the life of the project, and at its conclusion? How can you ensure the right quality is being delivered!   What will be the key milestones and how will you know when you have got there?
9. Does the business case reflect the full cost of the project including associated business change costs? Buying an IT system for example is not completing a project – what about   the cost of training you staff? What about the cost of the time they spend training?  How much will you pay for support? How will funding be tracked?
10. Are you confident that you are the right person to sponsor for this project? Do you have the knowledge needed – if not,  have  you the time to learn – can you find a mentor?  Have you got the time to do it?  Are you senior enough?  Will you have to refer key decisions further up the line?

If you would like advice on any of this then Wisewolf Consulting will be happy to help!  You can contact us at this link

HOW TO RECOGNISE A COMPETENT PROJECT OR PROGRAMME MANAGER

A competency framework for project and programme managers!

If you plan a career in project and programme management or if you employ project and programme managers and want to assist them in their professional development you will find the document at this link invaluable!  It is a competency framework for the programme and project management profession produced by the UK Department of Work and Pensions.

The DWP has a long and successful history of delivering major IT and organizational change programmes.  They take the professional development of their staff very seriously indeed and it would be a pity if the work they have done to develop this was not available a wider audience.

But, be warned if you recruiting – you will be very lucky indeed if you find someone who can demonstrate all these competencies to a high level.  If you find someone value them highly – they are like gold dust!

Here is the document.

DWP Competency Framework

NAO – WHY SERVICE CONTRACTS FAIL!

Common causes of contract failure – summary of NAO Report at Making Performance Meaningful – the G&W Consulting blog – link