How HR can deliver the 'High Performance' dream!

 
For almost every business, there comes a time when changes in its operating environment require them to deliver a higher level of performance with limited additional resources.

In this paper we look at some of the issues associated with the challenge of ‘getting more from less’, and of achieving that elusive ‘work smarter, not harder’ goal. We also share our insights and thoughts on what the HR and Training team can do to support this wider organisational challenge and deliver tangible business improvements.
 

Some businesses have solved the ‘work smarter not harder’ challenge

You can probably think of a number of recognised high-performing organisations that:

• Consistently find new and sustainable ways to build and maintain profitable growth
• Implement effective operational programmes to increase sales, enhance the quality of service and at the same time manage costs effectively
• Devise more innovative products and services and implement more creative and efficient routes to market
• Have effective, creative ways of attracting and maintaining a loyal customer base
• Have found ways to tap into the discretionary effort of everyone in the business and maintain the highest levels of employee satisfaction

And every Board in the country wants to replicate the bottom line effect of these high performance behaviours.
 

Today’s business leaders have had to face facts!

Increasingly, Top teams are coming to the conclusion that pulling all the traditional levers as hard as they possibly can in isolation will not deliver the step-change in performance they crave.

They know they need to find new ways of achieving improved productivity and genuinely higher levels of performance from the organisation’s leaders and their teams. And they know this is not a quick fix.

They complain that leaders across the business are not driving the performance agenda hard enough and that HR and Training aren’t finding effective, innovative solutions to these problems.
 

Why do attempts to improve performance not work?

 
1. Performance Management isn’t understood and therefore not delivering

Across UK industry all evidence points to the fact that leaders in the organisation are not using Performance Management processes to effectively manage the performance outputs of their teams – and this ‘invisible virus’ is haemorrhaging millions off the bottom line. In fact, in most organisations, ineffective Performance Management is a primary demotivator.

• High performers feel that they are not being properly recognised for their efforts and can become disengaged or ultimately ‘regretted losses’
• High/medium performers become increasingly disengaged when they see poor performance going unadressed
• Low performers will not improve unless they are provided with feedback and their performance managed in a more decisive manner

 
2. Performance communication fails to motivate

In most organisations, the skills to deliver key business messages in an effective and motivating way are at worst conspicuous by their absence and, at best, intermittent and inconsistent. The ability to inspire people to work ‘smarter’ is a critical tool for engaging people with the performance agenda and encouraging them to contribute additional discretionary effort to the needs of the business. Research shows that the most profitable companies are those that most effectively engage their employees.
 

3. Role modeling from ‘The Top’ is sadly lacking

70% of companies who set out to deliver a High Performance agenda fail. Of those that fail, over 80% state lack of buy-in and role modeling from Senior Leadership as the main cause. Clearly, one of the biggest challenges to creating a High Performance culture is to ‘re-set’ the minds of the Senior Leadership team. No matter how difficult this may seem, without ownership and active, positive role modeling from the very top, the High Performance agenda is doomed to fail.
 

4. Even well-trained employees can under perform

Without engagement, even the best training does not guarantee performance. No matter how well-trained, employees who are not emotionally connected with the organisation can demonstrate many of the typical traits of an under performer. Only by addressing both the ‘will’ and ‘skill’ agenda can we truly drive High Performance across the organisation. This means addressing not only the immediate training needs, but also focusing on the longer term development and talent agendas which act as key engagement triggers for employees:

• Research shows that the majority of employees come to work to do a great job and when actively engaged, they can be up to 300% more effective than their colleagues
• Employees who feel they have been effectively trained and given the skills to do a great job report significantly higher engagement scores than their colleagues

You know HR processes are not obstacles to High Performance

Whilst Top teams across the UK are looking for HR to solve all of these issues, what they don’t understand is that they probably already possess the systems and processes needed to drive High Performance.  

What sets successful companies apart is not superior HR processes – it’s the mindset and behaviours of the leaders throughout the organisation that makes the difference. They have a fundamental belief in the importance of managing and developing their people – and they take positive action to do this effectively.

Until this mindset and approach changes, the traditional ‘it’s October so it must be performance appraisal time’ approach will persist, High Performance will continue to go unnoticed and unrecognised, and a lack of evidence will preclude poor performance from being effectively addressed.
 

Driving higher performance isn’t just an HR problem

Traditionally, the challenge for HR has always been that, because creating a High Performance culture is all about People and Leadership, everyone thinks that it’s HR’s responsibility to fix it, and not theirs. Yet despite the processes you put in place, and the high calibre outputs from your team, the hoped for step-change in performance just hasn’t happened. And perhaps the reason is that, deep down, you know that the Senior Leadership of the business didn’t really believe it would make a genuine difference to the bottom line. 
 

However, the performance agenda is on your desk

You know it’s not only about paperwork and process. It’s about re-engaging the broader Leadership team with the Performance Management agenda and getting them to take ownership for it.
    
But, you may have a relatively inexperienced team when it comes to commissioning, designing, project managing and maintaining a company-wide transformation of this type. You recognise the time commitment that it takes and you have very little of that resource available at the moment.
 

How we help you deliver the High Performance dream

Driving the performance agenda is a huge ask of an already overstretched HR and Training team. We all need a little help sometime and that’s what we provide at NKD Learning. 

We’ll help you tackle Performance Management issues by:

Challenging existing mindsets, confirming the business rationale for High Performance, creating a compelling story for leaders, helping them understand why the performance agenda is relevant to them and inspiring them to positively impact it.

Specifically we ensure:

• Managing performance becomes a daily activity – a way of life
• All employees have a clear line of sight to the company strategy
• Targets contain appropriate levels of stretch performance
• Leaders:
  
  • have the core skills to observe performance, provide candid feedback and offer helpful coaching - on the spot
  • create line of sight/ meaning for individuals
  • differentiate levels of performance and apply appropriate consequences
  • confidently handle under performance

Our creative approach will inspire and equip your leaders to deliver regular, engaging performance updates to their teams. And we’ll work with you every step of the way to win over your Top team to ensure they fully participate in the process.

The overall result of working alongside us will be to radically re-engage your leaders and employees with the performance agenda and ensure they contribute additional discretionary effort to the needs of the business, delivering tangible bottom line results.
 

The benefits of delivering the High Performance agenda are substantial

While there are risks for you and your team if any solution proposed by you is not seen to be successful, when you pull it off, the upside includes:

• Tangible, measurable business benefits in both the short and the long term
• Leaders and employees emotionally committed to driving High Performance
• Showcasing the benefits to the business of effective HR and Training
• A clear and demonstrable counter to the ‘pink and fluffy’ comments and sceptical ‘Human Remains’ remarks
• Embedding a platform which will enable all other HR systems and processes to be more effective
• HR have more influence at Board level in the future

Why we think you should partner with NKD

We are at the forefront of a new generation of Leadership Development and employee training specialists.  Everything we do – our focus, structure and methodology – is designed to create meaningful emotional connections with employees to drive positive action and improved business results.

We understand the unprecedented pressures today’s HR and Training professionals face. Our senior consultants have all walked in your shoes and been personally responsible for implementing major organisational changes. 

We are a different kind of training and development company, we bring together insights from the worlds of HR, L&D, Marketing and academia and combine them with sound business judgment to help organisations make the best choices when it comes to their people and their culture.

Our unique approach combines deep insights into the people and leadership dynamics of today’s companies with breakthrough approaches to training and development.
 
We design all our solutions with the learner and existing HR processes in mind so that no additional bureaucracy is created.

Rather than ‘ivory-tower’ theorising, our absolute focus is on delivering real, demonstrable performance by:

• Maximising delegates’ emotional commitment to the organisation
• Helping them make a positive choice to embrace new performance concepts
• Coaching them to exhibit High Performance behaviours

And as a growing club of blue chip organisations are discovering – including Virgin, AstraZeneca, British Airways, Greene King, Inchcape and npower – our innovative approach is uniquely placed to help them achieve this.

Because all our solutions are bespoke to your organisation, we work hard to make sure they are relevant and grounded in the reality of your employees’ workplace experiences, and that they can be implemented quickly and easily to ensure that the emotional connections and behavioural shifts are maintained and reinforced once delegates return to work.

And by ensuring all our interventions are practical and action-orientated we increase your chances of successfully re-setting the mindsets of leaders and delivering tangible business benefits.
 

Why not take us for a test drive?

Since you haven’t been introduced to us by a colleague or someone you trust it’s important to get to know us before committing yourself. So to encourage you to kick-start a relationship with us, we are offering for free during June and July only:

• High level on-line analysis of your Performance Management challenges
• 1-1 consultation to understand your challenges
• Identification of the key areas of focus to improve Performance Management across your organisation
• Summary plan of how to address your organisation’s unique performance challenges

Take the first step to High Performance

Why not take us up on this offer of some free consultancy and some unique insights into your performance challenges?

Call us now on 0207 208 7258 or e-mail info@nkdlearning.co.uk to set up a no obligation initial meeting. Your competitors could already be one step ahead of you on their journey to High Performance, so pick up the phone and arrange for one of our experienced consultants to come in and kick around your challenges and issues – what have you got to lose?