Building a High Performance Workforce

Building a High Performance Workforce

Research from the Corporate Leadership Council concludes that to build a high performance workforce - organizations need to think beyond the typical performance management system. A high performance culture is much more than filling in appraisal forms and following a performance management process. It is not a quick fix and it requires commitment to creating a sustainable approach to performance improvement. It is a culture that goes beyond short term metrics and one that must include a range of organizational, managerial and employee principles.
Research predicts a minimum of 5% productivity improvement all the way up to 35%. As a way of visualizing this - the minimum 5% improvement is equivalent to your people having an extra 2 hours productivity per week.

1. Organizational Principles:

1a. The Performance Management Approach.

Be clear on the expected standards of performance. This ensures that all employees understand what is expected of them in their role and how their role contributes to the success of the organization. Any system for providing feedback should allow for multiple sources of feedback - not just the direct line manager.

1b. A High Performance Culture.

Ensure there is a regular and open communication of business performance data. Managers and leaders should make a clear distinction between employees making good and poor contributions. They should encourage employees to take suitable risks and remove the fear of failure.

2. Managerial Principles:

2a. Interaction with employees.

Managers should set clear and consistent expectations and try not to constantly change plans and priorities. Using a coaching style of management helps your people find solutions to business problems. Managers should provide the resources needed by their people to allow them to be successful.

2b. Formal Reviews.

The emphasis should be on the positive aspects of performance. Performance weaknesses should only be discussed when the manager has also thought of specific suggestions for improving performance. Formal reviews should also include a discussion and agreed actions relating to your employees' medium- to long-term career aspirations.

2c. Informal Feedback.

Informal feedback should be provided on a regular basis. The most powerful driver of high performance is feedback which is specific, timely, accurate and balanced and comes from a knowledgeable source.

3. Employee Principles:

3a. Day to day work.

Take some time to provide the big picture for your people. Help them understand how their roles and current assignments contribute to organizational success. People who understand and enjoy their work deliver greater contributions - so take time to carefully match people to their roles.

3b. Opportunities.

Understand your people's strengths and then look to provide them with opportunities to utilize those strengths. Timely training and on-the-job coaching provides the most effective learning. Any learning and development provided should be relevant to people's assignments and their role.

Implementing a High Performance Workforce

The good news is that these principles are simple to understand and both managers and employees can intuitively understand the connection to improved performance. Done effectively - the benefits of high performance workforce can be achieved without the need for huge capital expenditures, high-profile change programmes and major upheavals.
However simple should not be confused with easy. To execute successfully - the organisation's leaders must position high performance as a key priority. They have to insist that line managers (not Human Resources) become the champions of high performance activities.
The first step is for the managers of other line managers to hold those line managers accountable for performance improvement in their staff. This starts by including performance management-related goals into managers' own performance expectations.

Visit http://exceptional-performance.co.uk for free resources and inspiration to help you develop your workforce.

Peter Leather is a specialist in improving the productivity of your workforce and he is a recognized expert in implementing skills frameworks and developing Communities of Practice. He is MBA qualified with over 20 years experience advising major IT, financial services and professional services organizations. He prefers to work collaboratively and to coach and motivate internal teams in order to bring about sustainable change.

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