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A Case Study in Performance Improvement Analysis

In a given situation, how easy is it to identify the person who outperforms others in the workplace? If you were judging a person’s work merely on time and how quickly they complete their tasks, perhaps so. But what if you had other criteria you were required to judge them on, such as quality? Would it make your assessment any easier? Here’s a short case study to help you determine who, out of two employees in a given workplace, is the most successful at the work they do.

Performance of Fleet Sales Professionals

At a mid-west auto dealership two sales professionals, Roger and Lisa, handle accounts for companies in their immediate region who generally purchase a fleet of cars, trucks and vans every 2 to 3 years to serve as transport, delivery and service vehicles. Sales for the dealership have been moderate during the recession, but both Roger and Lisa have been able to meet or exceed their sales goals each quarter. Roger is a dedicated sales professional. He’s neat and orderly. He dresses very professionally, often comes to work early and usually is one the last few people to leave the sales office each day. Roger scored at the top of his class in a recent sales training the dealership sent all their sales professionals to. He is a model sales professional and when he makes a sale, it’s usually a big order. Lisa, on the other hand, is almost the complete opposite of Roger in terms of professional appearance and approach. She dresses very casually, comes in to the office late and sometimes leaves early. Her desk is disorganized and she’s not much for small talk. She always seems to be on the go. In the same sales training Roger attended, Lisa scored in the middle of the class. She’s not your usual sales professional, but she’s able to make her numbers. She has a lot of customers and most of her sales are usually 2 to 4 vehicles at a time. Given the information provided about Roger and Lisa, who do you think is the better performer?

  • Roger
  • Lisa
  • Not enough information to make a quality assessment

If your answer is “not enough information”, you are correct. What more do we need to know in order to make a fair assessment? Roger’s clientele are comprised of number of large multi-million dollar companies. He deals with many executives and purchasing managers who tend to conduct most of their business over the phone or sometimes over evening dinner meetings. On rare occasions, Roger meets with his clients on weekends at special events to talk a little business. Lisa’s clientele on the other hand are a lot of small to medium entrepreneurial start-ups with a portion of them dedicated to green technologies. As of late, Lisa has been selling a lot of natural gas powered vehicles and hybrid cars – something she’s been doing quite a bit of research on to be knowledgeable of the subject. Some of her clients operate on capital from angel investors so they can’t been too extravagant with their spending and buy in large volume like Roger’s clients can. The owners of these companies are young and causal, often are very busy working side-by-side with their co-workers. Therefore, time is precious and she meets with them to talk business early in the morning or late in the afternoon – which explains why she seems to be late to work or early to leave. So, again, given this new insight who is the better performer?

  • Roger
  • Lisa
  • Not enough information to make a quality assessment

Maybe it’s “none of the above”?

Conclusion

The lesson from this case study is this: the clues that are visible on the surface may not tell the entire story. You have to look at the context of the situation in relation to the data you collect in order to make a educated assessment. The initial question to this analysis may have been, “Why isn’t Lisa more like Roger? Why aren’t the volume of her orders as large as Roger’s?” Well, does Lisa have to be more like Roger in order to do her job and perform to specific standards? The answer is no. Based on the clientele Lisa serves, she is performing up to the standards (the quarterly sales figures) expected of her by relating to her customers, staying informed of her customers’ needs and doing what she can to meet those needs. If the issue was Lisa was not meeting her sales goals despite working (and looking) like Roger, then the performance improvement intervention would be to suggest Lisa alter her approach to match more closely to her clientele and relate to their fleet vehicle needs. In addition to the context of the performance problem, if you wish to fix a performance discrepancy you must define it clearly between what’s currently happening now and what the desired behavior should be.

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By Justin Beller – November 15, 2010

To Train or Not To Train

I’ve been following a discussion about training in the workplace on a LinkedIn Group I am subscribed to. The topic is centered on whether or not you should train employees. In other words, what are the circumstances under which you would decide to train or not? While the discussion has been lively and focused on creating engaging training, so as not to bore your learners or turn them off from your learning objectives, most of the responses have been missing a key fundamental point regarding training.

Training should only be implemented when there is a clear need. That need must be based on a defined lack of knowledge, skills or abilities in the target audience. Anything less is merely communicating to your employees – to inform them of anything new or updating them on the status of the organization, for example.

Still, the question as to whether or not training should be implemented wouldn’t be posed unless there was some sort of issue that needed to be addressed. If communication between management and employees is needed, take the necessary steps to make information accessible. There are a number of solutions that can be implemented such as e-mail newsletters to employees or perhaps a blog where managers and executives can post information and solicit feedback. The possibilities to distribute information and communicate to your employees is only limited to your imagination and available resources.

Before you commit to training, ask if there is a lack of knowledge, skills or abilities in the target audience or if they simply need to be informed in order to perform at their job better. By doing this, you will avoid developing costly training that will have little or no impact and address a need that can be resolved at minimal expense.

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By Justin Beller – October 18, 2010

Feedback in the Workplace: Part 5 of the Successful Workplace Series

This is part 5 of the series referencing the original post, 5 Steps to a Successful Workplace.

Feedback is the most often overlooked method of communication to create an effective working environment that boosts morale and guides employees toward reaching not only their own goals, but the goals of the organization.

The reason feedback is most often overlooked is due to how it is perceived. In our culture, any criticism of another person’s work or actions can be deemed as an affront toward that person. However, if feedback is handled as constructive criticism and focuses on observed behavior and actions of the person, it cannot be deemed as any kind of attack on them.

Constructive criticism, when used properly, gives employees an opportunity to understand what mistakes they are making and how to correct them in the future. This type of feedback opens the door to opportunities for self-improvement. It’s really no different than a coach or swimming instructor giving their student tips on how to improve their technique. More importantly, this opens up a dialogue between the employee and their supervisor.

How should one go about giving feedback in the workplace? Here are some important steps to follow:

  • Stay focused on what you observed, whether that be a particular behavior or action of the person you are giving feedback to.
  • In context of the current situation you are basing your feedback on, address the needs that are being met or unmet.
  • State the requests you have to improve the behavior, action or situation.

When it comes to providing feedback to an employee, timing is everything. If your feedback is in the form of praise, do it in public among other coworkers and soon after the action or behavior is observed. If feedback is based on criticism of a negative behavior or action, do it one-to-one in privacy away from other coworkers. As a supervisor, it should never be your intention to embarrass or single out an employee. It does more harm to the morale of the entire group than to the individual.

Feedback is what improves and sustains morale in an organization when it is used consistently. Delivered honestly and in a timely manner, feedback will become your most effective communication tool in the workplace.

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By Justin Beller – October 6, 2010

Accountability in the Workplace: Part 4 of the Successful Workplace Series

This is part 4 of the series referencing the original post, 5 Steps to a Successful Workplace.

Accountability is such a “hot topic” in today’s business climate because we see far fewer examples of it on a daily basis. Over the last two years many companies have failed outright due to poor accountability and some companies, despite being unaccountable for their actions, were bailed out in a controversial fashion by the federal government because they were deemed “too big to fail”. Failure due to lack of accountability, some would argue, is the primary cause of the economic recession we are in.

It’s estimated that failures in accountability at all levels of business costs companies tens of billions of dollars a year in terms of theft, re-work, defects in products, inefficiency in processes and procedures, and workplace conflicts (just to name a few). This leads to poor workplace practices, poor leadership and bad behavior among supervisors that rubs off on employees who become discouraged, disillusioned and cynical. In business, accountability reaches well beyond the walls of corporations. Customers who feel the impact of poor accountability and will quickly turn off at the slightest sense trouble in a company they do business with.

When a company takes on a culture of accountability, employees who are self-motivated (empowered) will contribute to the overall success of the organization. Start with the individual to develop a mindset where they become aware of their actions and how they impact others, not only those around them but at all levels of the company and beyond to the customer who they ultimately serve.

To build a culture of accountability in the workplace, attempt the following:

  • Define accountability in your organization, not only what it means, but what it looks like to those in charge. Also define what accountability means and looks like to the customer.
  • Recognize not only your power (if you are a manager or executive), but also the power your employees or those who report directly to you have. Identify and recognize what you and they have ownership in and what results are expected on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
  • Deal with the present, not the past. What’s done is done and cannot be changed. Only address what can be now and in the future. It’s about taking ownership and being responsible for the results and outcomes, good or bad.

When it comes down to it, accountability begins and ends with the individual charged with certain responsibilities within a company. It is in the fabric of the company’s culture. Provided employees have a vested interest, are self-motivated and have common goals to reach along with their fellow  co-workers, accountability will emerge as a key factor to success in the workplace.

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By Justin Beller – October 4, 2010

Creating Work-Life Balance in the Workplace: Part 3 of the Successful Workplace Series

This is part 3 of the series referencing the original post, 5 Steps to a Successful Workplace.

It goes without saying that many companies want the work their employees do for them to be top priority when they are on the clock, but the reality of the hectic world we live in is people have conflicting priorities between the work they do to support their livelihood and the responsibilities they have outside of the workplace. These conflicting priorities have been known to be the cause of cause stress that leads to poor performance and poor productivity.

Studies have shown that work-life balance programs help attract and retain top talent and is a key factor in overall employee satisfaction. Programs that address the needs of elder care and child care have been showing increasing demand. More than 25% of employees surveyed have indicated that work-life balance is more important to them than wages or job security. As demands increase in these and other other work-life balance needs, companies that ignore this trend affect their employees by holding them back from performing effectively.

Work-life balance programs come in different forms:

  • Flextime – employees choose the start and end times for the workday.
  • Flexible week – often referred to as a compressed work week. Employees choose to work 10-hour days for four days during the work week. This gives them a day off during the work week or extended 3-day weekends.
  • Work at home (telecommuting) – some or all work can be done offsite.
  • Part-time telecommuting – on specified days work can be done offsite.
  • Part-time – offering a reduced work schedule.
  • Job sharing – roles and tasks for a specific job are divided between two people.

Any one, or a combination of these types of programs, usually find success in the workplace and are viewed favorably by employees if implemented properly.

Review your company’s current policies and programs and how they relate to work-life balance. Survey, poll and interview employees about what they think should be implemented to create an effective work-life balance program – one that will meet the needs of your current roster of employees.

By implementing a work-life program based on current employee needs, managers and executives should expect to see the following:

  • Reduced absenteeism – largely attributed to the flexible work schedule.
  • Reduced turnover – loyalty to the company is built due to the company taking employee work-life balance issues into account.
  • Increased productivity – less stress lends to greater focus on the part of employees.
  • Reduced overtime costs – also attributed to the flexible work schedule.
  • Client retention – employees provide increased service to clients.

Work-life balance programs in the workplace are built on a basis of strong communication between management and the employees. Management needs to let employees know what is available to them and employees need to let management know what works best for them. Everyone is different when it comes to work-life balance needs, so it is important for management to remain flexible and be willing to change the program based on reasonable demands.

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By Justin Beller – October 1, 2010