Performance Consulting: A Strategic Process to Improve, Measure, and Sustain Organizational Results - Softcover

Robinson, Dana Gaines; Robinson, James C.; Phillips, Jack J.; Phillips, Patricia Pulliam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1626562296 ISBN 13: 9781626562295

Verlag: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2015

Inhaltsangabe

“A potent tool and practical resource for everyone who practices in the talent development and organizational improvement field.” —Chip R. Bell, author of Inside Your Customer’s Imagination
 
NEW EDITION, REVISED AND UPDATED

In America, organizations spend $175 billion in training initiatives and more than $500 billion in human resource solutions every year yet often have little to show for it. One reason is that people “jump to solutions” before they identify the causes of the problem. Performance consultants are effective because they partner with clients to clarify business goals and determine root causes for gaps between desired and current results. Only then are specific solutions agreed upon and implemented.

This third edition of the classic book that introduced performance consulting adds a wealth of new material. There are new case examples throughout and four new chapters providing detailed steps for measuring results from performance consulting initiatives on five different levels, including ROI. The book includes a never-before-published Alignment and Measurement Model, allowing you to connect organizational needs and performance consulting initiatives designed to address those needs with the appropriate level of measurement.

This remains a profoundly practical book, featuring tools, models, and checklists. It will enable you to make a difference in your organization that is valued, measurable, and sustainable.
 
“This book offers leaders and practitioners the evidence-based approach that will drive lasting strategic impact in our organizations. It’s the most exciting business book of the decade!” —Jean Larkin, EdD, Vice President, Talent Management, Tyco

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Dana Gaines Robinson is the founder and former president of Partners in Change, Inc.. Along with James C. Robinson she is the author of multiple books, including Strategic Business Partner.
James C. Robinson is the former chairman of Partners in Change, Inc.. Along with Dana Gaines Robinson he are the authors of multiple books, including Strategic Business Partner.
Jack J. Phillips is chairman of the ROI Institute. Along with Patricia Pulliam Phillips he is the author of numerous books, including Show Me the Money.
Patricia Pulliam Phillips is president and CEO of the ROI Institute. Along with Jack J. Phillips she is the author of numerous books, including Show Me the Money.
Dick Handshaw is chairman of Handshaw, Inc., and the author of Training That Delivers Results.

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Performance Consulting

A Strategic Process to Improve, Measure, and Sustain Organizational Results

By Dana Gaines Robinson, James C. Robinson, Jack J. Phillips, Patricia Pulliam, Phillips Dick Handshaw

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

Copyright © 2015 Dana Gaines Robinson, James C. Robinson, Jack J. Phillips, Patricia Pulliam Phillips, and Dick Handshaw
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-62656-229-5

Contents

List of Figures, xiii, 
List of Tables, xv, 
Preface, xvii, 
Introduction: Stop Jumping to Solutions and Make Performance Your Business!, 1, 
What Is the Alternative?, 2, 
Performance Consulting Process, 3, 
The Proof, 5, 
1 Performance Consulting: The Process, 7, 
2 Performance Consulting: The Mental Model and Logic, 21, 
FIRST PHASE: Identify Strategic Opportunities, 39, 
3 Build Client Partnerships, 41, 
4 Identify Strategic Opportunities Reactively, 57, 
5 Identify Strategic Opportunities Proactively, 75, 
SECOND PHASE: Assess Business and Performance Needs, 93, 
6 Define the SHOULDs, 95, 
7 Assess the IS, 119, 
8 Identify CAUSEs and Select Solutions, 139, 
THIRD PHASE: Implement and Measure Solutions, 165, 
9 Alignment and Measurement Model, 167, 
10 Develop and Implement the Measurement Plan, 183, 
11 Determine Return on Investment (ROI), 209, 
FOURTH PHASE: Report and Sustain Results, 235, 
12 Report Results and Develop Plans for Sustaining Results, 237, 
Conclusion: Commit Now to Make Performance Your Business, 251, 
Performance Consulting and Measurement Toolkit, 253, 
Glossary, 257, 
References, 261, 
Index, 263, 
About the Authors, 281, 

CHAPTER 1

Performance Consulting: The Process

If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing.

—W. Edwards Deming

What is performance consulting? We define it as a strategic process that produces business results by maximizing performance of people and organizations. The use of the word strategic is purposeful. Strategic work is critical to sustaining future business and organizational success. Performance consulting is a process used to partner with management on these types of initiatives. However, strategic work is not the only type of work we support. This chapter begins with a look at the types of work in which performance consultants engage and the people with whom they partner. It then describes the performance consulting process.

TYPES OF WORK

Performance consultants typically encounter three categories of work when working with a function that is focused on the "people side" of business.

Transactional Work

Transactional work is administrative in nature. Typically this work addresses the needs of a specific individual. When a manager seeks guidance in how to interpret a specific organizational policy or when an employee inquires about the status of her tuition reimbursement payment, transactional requests are received. Procurement managers need to process requests regarding suppliers, and call center representatives need to respond to questions from customers—each of which is a transactional request. This work must be done effectively and promptly. This category of work is important, but it is not strategic. Transactional work is increasingly being outsourced or transitioned to self-service through technology. The goal of many HR, learning, OD, and other functions today is to accomplish transactional work through alternative means, thus freeing up time to work on more strategic opportunities.

Tactical Work

Tactical work focuses on the design and implementation of solutions that support successful workgroup performance. Examples include utilizing an e-learning methodology for compliance training or the introduction of a more efficient work process. Tactics are intended to support a strategy. The problem is that many tactical solutions are implemented with minimal or no linkage to a strategic goal. In these instances, the solutions are essentially programs or events. How many times have we seen a manager take a single action, such as reorganizing the function, in hopes of achieving greater efficiency? Yet over time, greater efficiency is not achieved because other needed changes are not implemented. Or what about a training program rolled out to hundreds of people with limited connection to a business goal? Solutions implemented as stand-alone tactics have minimal probability of a long-term impact on business results. Certainly there are times when a single solution is appropriate—for example, to certify employees in handling specific types of projects. But more often than not, single solutions do not bring about sustained change in performance or long-term business results. Instead, they consume valuable resources in terms of money, people, and time.

Strategic Work

Strategic work benefits the long-term and overall aims and interests of the organization. It requires clear business goals that guide the performance requirements of people who support those goals. Strategic work is inclusive of tactical work—a strategy with no tactics is just a dream. As performance consultants, we want to ensure that the work we do to design and implement tactics directly supports one or more strategic goals of the organization.

How do you know you are working on a strategic initiative? The characteristics of strategic work are as follows:

* It focuses on business units, functions, or the entire enterprise. It is macro, not micro, in focus.

* It is long-term in scope, frequently taking actions that will benefit the organization over the long term (over one or more years) and not short term (the next quarter).

* It is directly linked to one or more business goals or needs of the organization.

* It is solution-neutral in its early stages. The role of a performance consultant is to work with clients to identify the problem or opportunity before beginning to work on tactics.

* It requires multiple actions to be implemented; single solutions do not yield strategic results.

As a performance consultant, it is important to focus on the strategic results needed and not just the tactical solutions to be implemented. You want to make sure you are not just doing something, but that you are doing the right thing. Chapters 6 through 8 will help you accomplish this, because doing the right thing generally requires some level of assessment.

OUR PARTNERS IN THE PERFORMANCE CONSULTING PROCESS

When you work strategically, you are focused on delivering results to the business or organization. You, however, cannot achieve these results alone. Many factors are controlled by business leaders, factors that can be changed only by those leaders. Partnering with these individuals becomes critical to your success as a performance consultant.

It is important to clearly identify the appropriate individual(s) with whom you should partner when working on any type of performance consulting initiative. We use the term client to refer to the individual with whom you should partner. You may prefer another term, such as customer or partner. A common mistake made by performance consultants is determining too late in the process that they are not working with the "true" client. A client is someone who

* owns (has accountability for) achieving business results within the organization and in this...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2015
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1626562296
• ISBN 13: 9781626562295
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 312
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: eucomply OÜ; hello@eucompliancepartner.com; ; Pärnu mnt 139b-14; Tallinn; 11317; Estland