| One of the most often overlooked components of | | | | workshop should be conducted for each of the |
| any performance improvement program is the linkage | | | | specified objectives. The make up of each workshop |
| of strategic goals and objectives to the improvement | | | | team should be varied and dependent upon the level |
| process. Typically management allows teams to | | | | of subject matter expertise required to analyze the |
| choose their focus rather than taking the time to define | | | | issues related to each objective. |
| and select key objectives for improvement. This leads | | | | The result of each workshop should be a clear and |
| to a focus on the means rather than the end results | | | | concise action plan. Considerations for creating a plan |
| and the results are all over the map rather than | | | | of action include: |
| focused on what is best for the business. | | | | |
| The most successful performance improvement | | | | 1. What are the detailed considerations? |
| efforts happen when management takes the time to | | | | 2. How should we proceed in specific terms? |
| address specific business needs using a strategic | | | | 3. What are the action steps? |
| thinking process to define a business case for change. | | | | 4. For each step, define the what, who, when, and |
| Management must set the goals for improvement that | | | | required resources |
| are directly linked to the strategic goals that have been | | | | 5. Contingencies |
| defined for the company. Each goal should be | | | | 6. Linkage - situation/goal/strategy Once the action |
| evaluated using a SWOT analysis and communicated | | | | plan has been developed and approved, it is time to |
| to the improvement teams. | | | | take action. Too often, the team begins taking action |
| The first step is for the management team to | | | | with out the plan or before it has been approved; this |
| determine what the current state of the company is | | | | typically results in less than successful performance |
| by performing a situational analysis. At this stage it is | | | | improvement projects and quickly leads to another |
| important to identify the positive and negative | | | | "flavor of the month" in the eyes of employees and |
| contribution factors that are driving the business, these | | | | management alike. Action taking requires: |
| typically are the Key performance indicators which | | | | |
| include the financial measures as well as quality | | | | 1. Discipline in implementation and execution |
| measures, but also may include a number of intangibles | | | | 2. Living out the plan - actually completing key actions |
| like employee morale, leadership capability, and | | | | 3. Fine-tuning and flexibility to adjust efforts along the |
| organizational structure. | | | | way |
| Once the current state is understood, the | | | | 4. Readiness to use or deploy contingencies. The final |
| management team can then define the objectives for | | | | step involves gauging the impact of each of the |
| moving the company forward and for sustaining the | | | | actions taken. Without measurements, you have no |
| business. Objectives make the key performance | | | | way of determining the progress you are making. It is |
| indicators measurable by applying standards or | | | | like taking a road trip with out a means of determining |
| criterion to them. Another consideration is to make | | | | your mileage. You have no clue how far you have |
| sure that the objectives are observable; time bound, | | | | come, and worse yet, how far do you have to go |
| and indicate who is accountable for making them | | | | yet? |
| happen. | | | | The key points to Gauging Impact include: |
| Once, the objectives have been agreed upon and | | | | |
| approved, the next step is to begin defining the | | | | 1. How are we doing? |
| strategies required to carry out the objective. Initially | | | | 2. What are the key indicators to track? (Situation, |
| these strategies are defined at a high level and the | | | | business process, people) |
| performance (OPI) teams are allowed to further define | | | | 3. what are the results? |
| them using a variety of team tools including problem | | | | 4. How is our understanding of the situation updated? |
| identification and root cause analysis tools. For best | | | | This is cyclical process and it requires a good deal of |
| results, each OPI team should conduct a two day | | | | iteration to refine each part of the process. Each step |
| operations improvement workshop that focuses the | | | | is linked to other steps. Effective communication up |
| team's attention on a particular problem or opportunity | | | | and down the management chain is essential to |
| and guides them through the identification and planning | | | | success. |
| process for improvement of operations. A separate | | | | |