| My first article on revitalizing your performance | | | | some of the potential reasons why this might be the |
| management solution discussed the merits of | | | | case. To do this, in conjunction with the results from |
| conducting an organizational assessment to better | | | | the organizational assessment, I normally try to answer |
| understand why your current performance | | | | the following question: |
| management solution is not working to its full potential. | | | | 1.Does the organization have clearly defined and |
| After going through "why" an assessment is crucial, | | | | articulated mission, vision, strategies and goals that are |
| we are going to discuss "how" to use those results to | | | | regularly measured, monitored and communicated? |
| develop a revitalization plan. | | | | 2.Are there targets in place to measure against |
| To keep this simple, I use the results of an | | | | organizational results? |
| organizational assessment of a hypothetical company. | | | | 3.Is there a single person accountable for achieving |
| The summary of the assessment results are as | | | | individual organizational results? Do the individuals, who |
| follows: | | | | are accountable for achieving these results, have the |
| - 71% of the organization uses the Corporate | | | | resources and the authority to ensure that these |
| Performance Management (CPM) system; | | | | results are achieved? |
| - 71% of the organization uses the CPM system to | | | | 4.Do employees at all levels of the organization |
| produce mandatory reports; | | | | understand how they contribute to the organization's |
| - 29% of the organization uses the CPM system for | | | | goals? |
| monitoring purposes; | | | | 5.Are there incentives in place to ensure performance |
| - 14% of the organization uses the CPM system to | | | | management information is used to make decisions |
| make strategic decisions; | | | | within the organization |
| - 29% of the organization uses the CPM system to | | | | 6.Are there processes in place to identify opportunities |
| manage day to day activities; | | | | for improvement, to develop and to implement |
| - 29% of the organization uses the CPM system to | | | | solutions? Do employees take part in this process? |
| develop improvement strategies; | | | | 7.Are learning/training plans linked to performance |
| - 14% of the organization said the information from the | | | | improvement? |
| CPM system meets their business needs; and | | | | There are many other potential questions; however, |
| - 71% of the organization said they trust the quality of | | | | these ones provide me with a good understanding of |
| the information from the CPM system | | | | why performance management is not being fully |
| There are a few interesting things in the above | | | | utilized within the organization. Question 1-3 address |
| example. Despite the fact that people within the | | | | any fundamental organizational issues that need to be |
| organization trust the information produced by the the | | | | addressed while questions 4-7 deal with certain |
| CPM system, they use the information mainly to | | | | processes and practices that may not exist within the |
| produce mandatory reports (71%) instead of focusing | | | | organization that hinder it from attaining the full benefit |
| on strategizing (14%) and meeting the business needs | | | | from its performance management solution. |
| (14%) of the organization. As you can see, conducting | | | | This approach, i.e. by conducting and analyzing |
| this type of assessment enables you to dig down | | | | assessments and by asking pertinent questions, allows |
| deep to find out what the underlying issues are and, | | | | me to identify the appropriate action plan that will |
| most importantly, identify opportunities for | | | | deliver quick wins and consistent benefits, and will win |
| organizational success. | | | | the hearts of employees throughout the organization. |
| Now that we have a better understanding of what | | | | In the next article, we will discuss how to devise a |
| some of the issues are that prevent an organization | | | | winning project plan and start to implement an |
| from taking full advantage of its performance | | | | effective solution. |
| management solution. The next step is to understand | | | | |