A Joined-Up Approach to Performance Measurement

We were absolutely over the moon a couple of months ago when two of our clients made it into the “Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For” list. So what makes these companies different?

Amongst other things, they both have consistent ongoing development programmes for staff, including leadership and other soft-skills measurements and training. It is significant that companies who join the ranks of the 100 Best Companies to Work For generally have two things in common – they invest in their people and they reap the rewards by outperforming share indices over time. Historically, as a group, these companies have had up to 18% higher growth in share and dividend return over a 5 year period. There is a real business case for the investment in people.

But the investment must also take the form of a mixed portfolio. It is unrealistic to expect a narrow training and development perspective to make enough difference. There should be measurement of current performance to show where development is required, training across teams and for individuals at all levels of the organisation, and a company-wide perspective showing the bigger picture of where the skills gap lie. Only this sort of joined-up approach will deliver the organisation-wide abilities that enable the company to achieve its strategic goals consistently.

The current view is that the only competitive edge possible in today’s business climate is innovation. But innovation requires a solid base to build upon. The first step must be to build that solid base through sound management programmes and team performance initiatives. Once that has been embedded, the organisation can take advantage of the innovations conceived by a diverse work force to gain the lead in the market.

Team performance is a key element in this sort of organisational growth. Critical success factors in building a high performance team are openness and trust, followed by communication.

Case studies show that measuring these factors and others enables organisations to pinpoint areas for development to enable teams to operate at peak.

Comments

[thebizofknowledge.com]

I completely agree with you that innovation needs a base upon which to build, and that base is indeed sound managment practices (no micromanagers!) and opportunities for employee professional growth.