Are We Creating a Performance System or Hodgepodge of Interventions? Training Session Created by Ryan Watkins and John Wedman Published in the 2011 Pfieffer.
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Are We Creating a Performance System or Hodgepodge of
Interventions?
Training Session Created by
Ryan Watkins and John Wedman
Published in the 2011 Pfieffer Annuals
Objectives
• Identify what it takes to accomplish something.• View accomplishments from a systems
perspective.• Connect accomplishments to performance
improvement.• Analyze a situation using a performance
improvement model.• Critically view performance improvement from a
systems perspective.
Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.
~Thomas Edison
Short of following Edison’s mantra, how are significant results
accomplished?
Significant Accomplishment
Good Idea• We choose to go to the moon
Resources• Money (lots of money), bright scientist, committed
politicians, etc.
Support System• Scientific knowledge/skills• Rewards for innovation and risk taking• Communication and coordination• Desire to succeed
Alignment
Good IdeaResources
Support System
Significant Accomplishment
Systems Dynamics
If the new ideas are not better than the status quo, obsolescence is unavoidable.
The support system consumes resources while enabling the idea to become reality.
Accomplishments generate new resources and set the stage for new ideas.
If the support system consumes more resources than produced by the accomplishment, a ‘death spiral’ results.
Performance Improvement View
Resources Vision, Mission,& Objectives
Organizational Culture
Continual Monitoring
Continual Monitoring
SignificantAccomplishment
PerformanceCapability
Knowledge& Skills
Motivation &Self-Concept
Expectations& Feedback
Environment, Tools, &
Processes
Incentives, Rewards, &Recognition
Wedman’sPerformancePyramid
Pyramid Questions
PerformanceCapability
Knowledge& Skills
Motivation &Self-Concept
Expectations& Feedback
Environment, Tools, &
Processes
Incentives, Rewards, &Recognition
Are they mentally, socially, & physically able to perform?
Are they want to perform? Do they think they are competent?
Do incentives drive change? Is good performance rewarded?
Is the environment OK? Do they have the tools to do the job? Do processes work?
Do they know what to do and why? Do they know how well they are doing?
Do they have the knowledge and skills needed to perform?
Performance Interventions
Sample Interventions:
Performance Capability
• New Employee Recruitment• Employee Selection &
Retention• Resource Allocations• Workforce Forecasting• Outsourcing• Succession Planning• Job Rotations• Cross-training• Interview Standards• Competency Models
Sample Interventions:
Skills & Knowledge
• Traditional Training• Job Aids • Knowledge Management• On The Job Training• E-learning• Brown-Bag Lunches• Train-the-trainer• On-boarding & Orientation
Performance Interventions Cont’
Sample Interventions:
Motivation & Self-Concept
• Career Coaching• Motivation Workshops• Team Building• Self-esteem• Job Rotations• Counseling• Confidence Building
Sample Interventions:
Expectations & Feedback
• Performance Reviews• Balanced Scorecards• Retreats and Roundtables• Town Hall Meetings• Reference Manuals• On-boarding & Orientation• 360 Degree Evaluations
Performance Interventions Cont’Sample Interventions:
Tools, Environment, & Processes
•New technology•Workplace Redesign•Process Redesign•Ergonomics •Electronic Performance Support•Labeling•Color Coding
Sample Interventions:
Incentives, Rewards, & Recognition
• Awards Programs• Employee of the Month• Recognition Messages• Peer Recognition• Job Sharing• Flex Hours• Telecommuting• Financial incentives
Systemic Analysis
• Goal: Examine each subsystem to determine its relation with the performance gap (i.e., difference between current and desired results).
• Example: Expectations & Feedback– Do staff know what results they are expected to achieve?– Do staff receive timely feedback on their performance in
relation to the achievement of desired results?– Do managers meet routinely with staff to describe
expectations and provide performance feedback?• Example: Organizational Culture
– How does the organization’s culture support the achievement of desired results?
– What elements of the organization’s culture oppose desired performance?
Performance System Design
• Goal: Create holistic performance systems that accomplish desired results.
• Example: Incentives, Rewards, and Recognition– What incentives can be used to encourage
staff to accomplish desired results?– How can we reward the achievement of
desired results?– How can we recognize those employees who
achieve desired results?
OK…but…
Resources Vision, Mission,& Objectives
Organizational Culture
Continual Monitoring
Continual Monitoring
SignificantAccomplishment
PerformanceCapability
Knowledge& Skills
Motivation &Self-Concept
Expectations& Feedback
Environment, Tools, &
Processes
Incentives, Rewards, &Recognition
.…is it a system
?
General Systems Theory
• Ludwig von Bertalanffy
• Béla H. Bánáthy
• Used in many scientific disciplines and “real world” applications– Biology, physics, psychology, economics, etc.– Management, software, family therapy, etc.
Principles of Systems Theory
Principle Pyramid Examples
Interrelatedness New tools require new skills. Rewards are based on meeting expectations. Capability shapes self-concept.
Interdependence Clarifying performance expectations without providing adequate resources and supportive environment will not accomplish sustainable results.
Connectivity Learning requires inputs from participants, clients, managers, suppliers, and others.
Synergy Alone, changes in incentives or rewards will not achieve desired and sustainable improvements.
Equifinality There is no single set of interventions or activities that will accomplish results, there are many options to considered and compared.
Theory Application
• Models, Frameworks, Rubrics, Algorithms• Examples of “Systems Models”
– Kaufman’s Organizational Elements Model– Mager’s Performance Analysis Flow Chart– Rummler’s Nine Performance Variables– Wedman’s Performance Pyramid
• Examples of “Systems Thinking” in the literature– Peter Senge, Margaret Wheatley, Richard Swanson
*More information on each of these models is available in: Wilmoth, F., Prigmore, C., and Bray, M. (Reprint). HPT Models: An Overview of the Major Models in the Field. In Watkins, R. and Leigh, D. (2010). Handbook for Improving Performance in the Workplace – Vol. 2: Selecting and Implementing Performance Interventions. San Francisco:Wiley/Pfieffer.
Summary
• With a few notable exceptions, accomplishments result from aligning a good idea with resources, and performance support.
• Performance improvement requires a combination of several interrelated interventions.
• Wedman’s Performance Pyramid is one example of a performance improvement system.
• Lacking a systemic framework, performance improvement is a hodgepodge of interventions.
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