Define the Role of the Performance Management Team to Support the Excellence Journey
Think differently for different results. If we don’t change direction, we will end up where we are going.
—Irwin Corey
Performance management is defined as a set of management processes, supported by information technology (IT), that enable organizations to define and execute their strategy; to measure, analyze, and monitor performance; and to align people and culture in order to inform strategic decision-making and learning.
Performance management, until lately, had been narrowly associated with people management (performance appraisals) or performance monitoring (collecting and reporting of performance indicators). More recently, the role has started to evolve toward enterprise performance management.
Enterprise Performance Management is the framework that aligns and integrates performance management with other key business processes such as financial planning, consolidation and budgeting, project and program management, people performance, reward and recognition, performance reporting, dashboards and scorecards, risk management, and business intelligence and analytics. These tasks are carried out with the help of technology that brings the data together in one database; provides integrated analytics and business intelligence capabilities; and integrates applications to improve the management, strategy execution, and decision-making in organizations. J. Gretzitz model on enterprise management system is one such model (Figure 22.1).
A study conducted by Development Dimensions International (DDI), found that performance management systems influence “financial performance, productivity, product or service quality, customer satisfaction, and employee job satisfaction.” In addition, 79% of the CEOs surveyed said that the performance management systems implemented in their organizations drive the “cultural strategies that maximize human assets.”
As per the 2017 Global survey results of PEX Network, 55% of survey respondents said they are looking to invest in strategic management solutions over the next 12 months to drive their operational excellence projects; 44% of respondents are planning on investing in data analytics and business intelligence solutions; and 40% in process modeling tools. This is expected to significantly enhance the overall domain of performance management. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) are predicted to change the future of how organizations will operate. The challenge however, will be to create a right balance between technology-enabled automation and domain expertise that human beings are uniquely able to bring.
In Chapter 6, I shared an example of the business excellence model implemented at Hospital Heal (Figure 22.2), where I highlighted how the performance management team supported More Time to Care in evaluating the performance of projects, initiatives, and organizational change.
Dedicated resources from performance management helped to define the metrics associated with quality improvement projects and their respective scorecards, establish the formula and baseline, and analyze and provide data to the teams across the organization to update their performance scorecards. A strategic investment made in procuring a customized business intelligence tool saved several hundred hours of manual data collection on process and outcome measures and increased the efficiency of internal and external reporting. This continuous feedback and analysis allowed teams to take timely corrective actions to address gaps and improve patient outcomes.
Sensei Gyaan: Leverage technology to integrate and align resources, systems, and employees to the organization’s strategic objectives and priorities for achieving organizational excellence. Encourage face-to-face communication and use of visual management to improve information flow and to break down work silos between departments and individuals.