Services
• Auditing Training (time & alignment with competencies,
blended learning opportunities)
• Building and Expanding a Training Department
• Core Competencies by Job Function
• Field Sales Skills Assessments
• Hiring, Training, and Retaining Top Performers
• Linking Training to Marketing & Sales Plans
• Management Coaching
• Managing Field Sales Trainers
• Measuring Training's ROI and ROA
• Performance-based Needs Assessments
• Sales Management Performance
• Turn-key Training Phases
• Tying Training & Performance to Incentives & Career
Path.
Select Topics
Below
Introduction
What is Human Performance Science?
Operating Principles of Successful Performance
Based Companies
Why Bother?
'How To' Do It
Performance (Training) Needs Assessment
Profile Assessment Instruments Help Hire, Train,
Motivate
Case Studies
Ask An Expert
Introduction
A performance, rather than a training approach ensures that
resources are focused on areas with the greatest benefit to
the organization and individuals. The objective is to prepare
the organization and individual employees to meet the current
and future needs of the business.
While investment in human capital is always encouraged, training,
for training's sake is never recommended until:
- a performance gap has been identified that training will
meet
- training is clearly aligned with corporate strategies
- the investment will result in higher performance and
measurable results
What is Human
Performance Science?
Both art and science, human performance improvement uses
a systems approach to align corporate, business unit, and
personal development needs in a logical and measurable way.
A performance approach provides a critical link between the
definition of business needs and the targeting of development
activities needed for improved performance and measurable
results.
Operating Principles
of Successful Performance Based Companies
- Analyzes what supports and thwarts meeting performance
expectations (culture, direction, resources, measurement,
rewards)
- Avoids performance improvement practices that waste resources,
contribute to low morale, and attrition
- Benchmarks high performers to establish best practices
- Creates career paths tied to knowledge and performance
achievements
- Determines if existing training is business-driven
- Develops fully integrated performance systems clearly
aligned with the mission, marketing, and sales plans.
- Educates and holds management accountable for delivering
performance based interventions
- Establishes proven hiring profiles unique to the organization
and minimizes hiring mistakes
- Evaluates performance improvement instead of critiquing
training events
- Hires, coaches, motivates, and develops a diverse sales
force
- Identifies those truly in need of performance improvement
and uncovers what they are not doing correctly, efficiently,
or at all
- Institutes values-based, intergenerational retention
programs to identify and retain the highest performing,
and highest potential, talent.
- Integrates and rewards best practices in addition to
sales results
- Is poised to meet performance expectations in the face
of expansion or downsizing
- Justifies efficient use of precious classtime and resources
- Leverages knowledge through retention of high performers
and training department stability
- Questions the status quo and eliminates barriers to performance
- Stops the myopic practice of applying a training bandage
to a gap in organizational and reward systems
- Transitions from training to performance i mprovement
- Vigilantly measures intervention outcomes and return
on investment
Why Bother?
A performance development approach:
- Assures that all resources are used in the most efficient
and effective way
- Creates highly relevant business driven programs
- Allows for ROI analysis of performance improvement tactics
- Drives selection of future performance development initiatives
- Justifies resource and time allocation.
- Can reduce costs and turnover and increase sales
'How To' Do
It
- Discriminate between a performance and a training issue
- Identify potential performance impediments
- Align training time with business goals
- Recognize capabilities/job requirements gaps
- Know what to do before announcing new performance expectations
Performance
(Training) Needs Assessment
Many companies are still performing conventional needs assessment
that consists of a list of topics and asks employees to select
those that they feel they are most in need of or would like
to have. This can, however result in a 'wish list' and wasted
resources.
The human performance technology approach begins with performance
analysis, which examines the organization's performance requirements
in light of its objectives and its capabilities. It is the
identification of the current or anticipated deficiencies
in workforce performance or competence. Central to the process
is the comparison of two specific descriptions of the workforce.
The first, the desired state, describes the competencies
and abilities of the workforce that are necessary to carry
out the organization's strategy and achieve its mission. Here,
employees evaluate the importance of the skill to achieving
expected job results.
The second, the actual state, describes the level of workforce
competence and ability as it currently exists. Here, employees
evaluate their current skill level.
The performance gap is the difference between these two states.
It represents a current or anticipated performance problem
to be solved, or an opportunity for performance improvement.
The ultimate goal of performance technology is to close or
eliminate this gap in the most cost-effective manner because
it:
- Identifies performance-based problems and pinpoints those
problems that can be addressed through training.
- Describes what people are not doing correctly or efficiently
that must be improved to increase productivity.
- Helps determine if existing training is relevant.
- Sets the direction for future training design and development.
Cause analysis identifies specific factors that contribute
to the performance gap. Solutions to performance problems
can fail to achieve their intended goals because they are
selected to treat only visible symptoms rather than underlying
causes.
In addition to building assessment tools into the instructional
design of classroom sessions, we may also deliver 'cause'
analysis to identify the underpinnings to success or failure
in the sales organization.
Profile Assessment
Instruments Help Hire, Train, Motivate
Unlike companies that push the use of their proprietary assessment
instrument, we may recommend use of one or more of several
different suppliers' assessment instruments solely to meet
client needs.
For example, if the client's objectives were to:
- identify employees that will fit best in the organizational
culture
- perform optimally in specific job functions
- enhance targeted interviewing question
- identify underlying talents
- identify development needs
- gain specific recommendations for coaching, training and
placement.
We might recommend an assessment instrument that uses the
science of axiology, a groundbreaking mathematical system
that objectively and accurately analyzes how 'values' effect
performance. Dr. Hartman, the inventor, was nominated for
the Nobel Prize for his value measurement's ability to identify
the internal valuing systems that influence perceptions, decisions
and actions to clearly understand why we do what we
do. Available Profiles Include:
- Employability
- Entrepreneurial Ability
- Team Development
- Managing Innovation
An overview of the tool used in this example is illustrated
in the table below. However, different objectives may be better
met by a different assessment tool.
Selected Case Study
You are a training manager in a recently reorganized training
and development department. While walking down the hall one
day, you run in to the supervisor of the Telephone Service
Group who asks you if the teleservice representatives could
attend a strategic selling skills program offered by your
department. Your questions help reveal that the teleservice
reps just promote specials and take orders, but could be selling
a lot more if they would assess what buying groups the customer
uses and what contracts their products are on. The supervisor
wants the representatives to make the customer aware that
their products are now on the customer's buying group contract
so that they may expand the business beyond products that
the customer regularly orders. After all, the representatives
have the customer on the phone anyway. The supervisor believes
that with a little pre-call planning, the Telephone Service
Group can significantly expand the depth and breadth of product
sales with their existing customer base. Sounds reasonable
and logical, right? Before agreeing, you continue your 'performance
consulting' questioning and determine the following:
Representative Job Requirements
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Clear and pleasant speaking voice
- Good oral communication/listening skills
- Strong time management/organizational skill
- Previous telephone sales experience and electronic order
entry preferred
Performance Expectations
- Contact 32 target customers/7 hr. shift (8 hr. day with
30 min. lunch/2-15 minute breaks)
- Promote monthly special deal offers
- Place an order for 75% or more of calls placed (24 orders
from 32 calls placed)
- Accurately enter at least 24 orders into the electronic
system
- Maintain accurate customer records and time logs
Compensation
- $7.00/hr. Bonus ($1,000 - $10,000/year)
- Anything above performance expectations (a daily average
of 32 calls and 24 orders) is eligible for bonus
Bonus Plan (% above quota)
- 10 - 29% above = $1,000
- 30 - 49% above = $4,000
- 50 - 69% above = $5,000
- 70 - 89% above = $8,000
- 90 - 100% above = $ 10,000
Case Discussion
From the above information, you identified the following
performance impediments:
- The representatives performance appraisal would punish
them for taking the time for pre-call strategic planning
because they are currently evaluated on the number of calls
made. Existing appraisal system would punish those that
did it.
- What seemed like a logical request was actually changing
performance expectations. The existing job requirements
call for order takers rather than sales people with strategic
thinking capabilities.
- The existing compensation and bonus plan would punish
them because it rewards numbers of orders taken rather than
total dollars sold.
- Of the existing representatives, only two posess the competencies
to perform the new job expectations after training.
Training the representatives would be a huge waste of resources
(class seats, materials, lost selling time, etc.). Most representatives
would be confused and those that were able, would be punished
for implementing the strategic thinking. This could lead to
turnover of the highest caliber representatives. Your recommendation
to management is to create a new position which would also
create a career-path. Identify those capable, upgrade the
job requirements, title, appraisal, compensation and bonus.
Then hire, and/or send capable representatives to training.
Ask An Expert
You are invited to submit questions to Emp-Higher's experts
regarding any training or performance issue. One of Emp-Higher's
experts will personally respond to you within one week. If
the question is urgent, please call: 856-787-1107, and one
of our experts will be able to assist you.
