Performance Consulting

The goal of Performance Consulting can be summarized by the slogan "work smarter, not harder". It is a process in which clients and consultants partner together to optimise workplace performance by identifying performance behaviours that are directly linked to operational and business goals.

Effective performance consulting supported by targeted training can provide bigger payoffs for an employer in increased staff productivity, knowledge, loyalty, and contribution.

Performance consulting identifies gaps by digging into the business problem to identify the specific performance issues that are not aligned to the businesses goals. It then goes further by analysing the root causes of those issues. The gaps in the individual’s needs and organisation's needs are then assessed and appropriate solutions found. The identified solutions may – or may not – be a training intervention.

The problem with traditional training is that it often does not sort out the real problem - the problem may be knowledge, system, skill and sometimes work environment related. It is usually not solely a training issue.

Using traditional training methods are often not the answer because:

Up to 80% of newly learned knowledge and skills are not or cannot be fully applied by employees on the job - there are barriers to skill application that must be eliminated/minimised.
Most training approaches focus on learning but not on the transfer of the skills into the workplace.
Often lack of skill and knowledge is not the most frequent cause of existing performance problems. There could be other factors including those external to the organisation.

For example, using the traditional training approach, a conflict between internal customer service employees may result in a training organisation being brought in to do a training session on handling angry customers. However after three months the problems still exist and there is no return on the training investment.

Performance consulting provides a more holistic approach, looks at the problem as a whole, fills in the gaps left by a traditional training approaches. In the same example, it would look at

What the business goals for that individual department should look like.
i.e. There should be timely communication with the customer, KPI targets of 95% resolution within a week.
What the business goal performances for that individual department actually looks like.
i.e. There is only an 80% resolution rate within a week of initiation.
What the expected behavior and performance of the staff is.
i.e Staff are expected to be able to escalate customer grievances and follow procedures.
What the actual behavior and performance of the staff is.
i.e the staff are not following procedures and not raising customer grievance issues with their managers.
What are the causes of these differences between the two and what is needed to overcome this.
i.e It is discovered that there are no clear communication paths, lack of role clarity in job descriptions as well as a lack of skill in dealing with conflict.
The correct solutions for the problems are identified.
i.e. New job descriptions with clear performance agreements/expectations, clearer departmental procedures, training in handling angry customers, better coaching from managers.

As can be seen from the above example a training session is only a small part of the solution. The focus is shifted from what people need to learn to what they or the company must do to be able to increase performance.

A successful tool for Performance Consulting is the GAPS map.

Go for the SHOULDS
Analyze the “IS”
Pin down the CAUSES
Select the right SOLUTIONS

This tool was developed by Dana Gaines Robinson and James C Robinson. Our consulting team can show you how to use the GAPS methodology, so if you would like to know more about how GAPS and Performance Consulting can improve your business, email us or call us on 0800 4 LEADERS.

Remember .... training ain't necessarily perfomance!

Our book of the month is “ZAP the GAPS” which tells a story/fable explaining how this methodology can be put into practice. Read a review of the book of the moment or buy it online here.