The performance improvement journey
A business performance improvement journey needs a reason, a plan and a set of principles to follow.
The reason can simply be to improve your business performance. Some reasons can be much more diverse and complex. So, a possible starting point for your journey would be answering the following question: What would be your main reason for managing the organizational performance?
The plan is the set of steps that requires determination, patience and abilities to implement:
See where you are right now: analyze the business context, the organizational mission, the common understanding upon performance, the procedures in place, and the internal capabilities. The question to answer: what is the organization’s current status?
Set your direction: analyze what is the gap between your business current reality and where your organization will be by reaching performance.The question to answer is: where do you want the business to be, in a certain time from now?
Create the improvement performance plan: know the strategies you plan to implement, the resources you need and the way to get them. Plan how to cover the gap from your current status and where you want to drive your business. The question to answer is how to get to the performance you want.
Implementation time: put your plan into practice through consistent effort that encourages change and improvement. Set the organizational view upon improving results, processes and procedures through learning. Give it time, as it will not happen at once. Involve your employees. You need both KPIs and committed teams to excel in your journey. What does your organization do in order to achieve performance? Monitor: gather data, review your plan and see your improvements. Compare them with your plan. Control what your data say and make future actions so that you keep on track with your performance improvement journey. The question to answer is what is the current performance level, compared to the initial plan?
The Best Practice Guide proposes a set of principles to follow along your journey can be:
- Start simple, with a reason, a plan and a set of principles
- Measure what is important
- Clear responsibilities and decrease bureaucracy
- Use the technology suitable for your business
- Measure the improvements
- Base the decisions on data and facts
- Action drives the improvement, not data
- KPIs and committed teams work together!
The performance improvement journey requires preparation, action and measurement!
Further reading:
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Tags: Introduction, Management performance, Performance Measurement, Theory
