Performance Management & Employee Development

A. Performance Management

We help clients build performance management systems that result in better performance, greater efficiency, and increased revenues. And we have been doing this since the early 1970’s. We design and implement systems that include job specific behaviorally based approaches, job family criteria and expectations, department/unit based competencies, organization wide competencies, and training to support all of the above. With some clients we have linked team based performance management with broader empowerment systems. With other clients we have used self evaluation as one component of the performance management process. Now we are seeing renewed interest in management by objectives as a way to link individual performance to the organization’s strategic planning efforts. Whatever the process, we consistently maintain our knowledge and expertise so that you can save your company money.

B. Coaching

Coaching is more than just professional development for a single person. It is a way to help managers and leaders work more effectively within their organization, thus benefiting the entire company. Effective coaching starts with a careful job analysis to help the coach understand the unique needs of the business. The second step is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the individual to be coached. The third step is development planning, where we create an action plan for the coaching to follow. The fourth step is the coaching itself which usually occurs over a six to nine month period. The end result is a stronger, more effective leader who can help the organization meet its goals.

C. 360 Degree Surveys

In the past several years, 360 degree surveys have seen a huge increase in popularity. These surveys provide feedback to individuals on how their supervisors, peers, and direct reports see their performance. The idea is simple: if people know how they are performing, they can learn from it. There are two types of 360 surveys: written and verbal. Written surveys ask multiple questions about and provide quantitative scores on a person’s performance on specific dimensions such as team effectiveness or decision-making. Verbal surveys do much the same thing, but allow people to offer more specific feedback about an individual. One of the most useful questions is, “If you could change one thing about this person, what would it be?” We help you figure out what kind of 360 degree survey will work best for your organization. Then we help you interpret the survey and use it in coaching and development for your people.

D. Training

Our training philosophy is that adults must be treated as adults.  With that in mind, we design our training to include a combination of lecture, discussion, case studies, individual exercises, and small group exercises.  We arrange the room to encourage interaction.  We take five minute breaks every hour or so.  We use lectures to present material that is then practiced and debriefed.  We use team assignments as appropriate.  All workshop participants receive high quality handouts, usually in a three ring binder, and we always make our electronic material available to participants.  We engage in several training engagements every year, ranging from four hour workshops to five-day offsite training retreats.  In our 35 years of experience developing and delivering effective training, we have conducted hundreds of training seminars created over 70 training modules that are on hand and ready to be customized and delivered.  These modules cover the range of:  employee selection processes, employee performance appraisal and performance management systems, productivity programs, management and organization development topics.  To see a complete list of our training modules, click here.

E. Interpersonal Communications

The most common complaint we hear from people in our client companies is that they want to “improve communications.” What they usually mean is that they want themselves and their colleagues to provide better performance feedback to each other, make decisions faster, and solve problems together. People also want to hear a clear and compelling direction for the organization and how they contribute to the effort. We help organizations, teams, and individuals improve their communications in all of these areas. We facilitate retreats to help people talk about vision and strategy, coach managers to run more effective meetings, and help structure organizations so that employees get good feedback regarding their performance. The result is that everyone in the organization pulls in the same direction.