APPROACH
The performance improvement professional is like a medical doctor, collecting information about the workers and their environment to better understand the issues affecting their performance. A doctor collects a patient’s medical history, learns about the environments where the patient lives and works, and identifies possible symptoms. The performance consultant follows a similar path to learn about the worker’s performance issues.
Once understanding is established, the performance improvement specialist is able to identify the specific issues and diagnose their causes. Three critical techniques for the doctor/consultant are problem solving, questioning, and a good bedside manner.
Problem Solving
Problem solving at the Worker level can be divided into two phases: diagnostic and prescriptive. During the diagnostic phase, we collect information by reviewing existing data, conducting interviews, distributing questionnaires, and observing the work environment. The results of diagnosis are:
• Identification of the critical worker issues
• A clearly defined gap between the current situation and the desired situation, and
• A statement of the business opportunity that performance improvement can leverage
We recommend a broad approach to diagnosis: use more than one data source and at least two different data collection methods. Be sure that management is just one of the sources you consult, and always include observation as one of your methods. Only after you have a complete understanding of the performance problem or opportunity can you move to the prescriptive phase to recommend a solution. Here is a closer look at the data collection process we recommend.
Existing Data Review. Most organizations collect quantities of data and compile numerous reports, and what they collect is what is important to them. Chances are the information you are looking for is in an existing document. Good places to look for information are in:
• Annual Reports
• Government Reports
• Customer Service Reports
• Production and Quality Reports
• Call Center Reports
If you are uncomfortable interpreting statistical data or if financial information makes you numb, take the finance manager to lunch. Everyone likes to share expertise, and having a department head help you understand how the organization collects and uses data will make both of you happy. Bonus: you will gain a valuable organizational resource. Your new friend will help you locate the data you need or set you up with an analyst who can navigate the reports with you and simplify your search.
Interviews. At the core of an interview, whether one-on-one or a group conversation, is the planning of questions and the capturing of the answers and resulting discussions for further analysis. We think it helps to be unabashedly curious, nosey even, to gain the full benefits of judicious questioning. Here we share the best techniques we have learned from our colleagues and our own experiences. According to Klaus Wittkuhn (in conversation with, 2008) the diagnostic questions we ask in information-gathering interviews serve to:
• Build rapport
• Get information
• Give information
Indeed, the best interviews are wide-ranging conversations in which the person(s) being interviewed gain as much value as the interviewer.
Don Tosti uses a method, which he calls Discovery (Tosti, 1980) with everyone he interviews. He finds it particularly valuable for gathering information from clients.
Build Rapport. Establish an open and sharing environment. Tell your client why you are there, the purpose of the meeting, and about how much time it will take. This discussion begins the foundation of your relationship with your client and establishes the partnership.
Explore. To get the information you need to understand the issues and opportunities, there are three helpful types of questions to use:
• Closed questions that can be answered by a yes or no:
• Do you have a mission statement?
• Open questions to expand the discussion—often beginning with who, what, where, when, how:
• What is the problem or opportunity?
• Who is the performer who is having the problem?
• Where does the opportunity exist?
• Where does the problem occur?
• When does the problem occur?
• Is this issue worth pursuing?
• High-gain questions to encourage thought are also useful in getting to the core issues:
• Tell me what is happening.
• Tell me what is not happening.
• What do you think would solve the problem or realize the opportunity?
• What would you like to see happen?
• Who are your best performers?
• If you could only identify one key stakeholder in the process, who would it be?
Tie to the business. Ask thought-provoking questions such as:
• What does this change mean to the organization?
• What are the consequences of this initiative?
• What does it mean for the worker, work, workplace and the greater community?
• How would others in the organization describe the current situation?
Give Information. It is also important to provide information during this phase to help focus the interviewees on parts of the issue they may not have considered. The purpose is to help the interviewees to start thinking differently about the situation and to challenge them to generate new perceptions and understanding. You might say to an interviewee: “Your phone sales reps have to fill out so many screens that there is little time to probe for callers’ buying criteria. What is being done to offset that?”
Closure. This is the last part of the discussion. The purpose is to make sure that next steps and agreements are clear and to increase the likelihood of client follow-through. One of the most important results of your discussion is to hear the client say, “I am glad we had this time together” and express confidence that some action will take place.
Observation
Two types of observations help performance improvement practitioners exercise their understanding of the client’s needs. The first is to watch people while they work and the second is to look at documents or work samples. Ask to observe an exemplary worker and an average worker. You will want to see the differences and similarities in what they do and what they do not do. As you observe these people, you will want to see what is happening and not happening.
At the start of your observation, be sure to tell the workers, supervisors, and managers why you are there. Be clear up-front that you are there to learn about the jobs they do and the environment in which they do them.
Hands-On Experience. Some of the most successful observations we know of had the performance consultant actually doing the job he went to watch. One organization asked their consultant to work as a customer service representative for a week. Another consultant working with a local police department rode along with a patrol officer on a Saturday night to experience the reality of community law enforcement.
In the course of our own observation experiences, we have answered customer questions in a call center, acted as a customer greeter in a bank, and used an information technology company’s intranet to find answers to employee benefit questions.
The purposes of these hands-on observation techniques are to:
• Find out what activities the workers perform
• Follow the procedures they are following
• Experience their work conditions, climate, and environment
• Find out the skills, knowledge, and abilities required for successful performance
• See how the performers interact with others and with customers
• Discover how workers complete required documentation
Bedside Manner. If you are approachable and easy to talk to, your clients and everyone you interview will feel comfortable sharing information. Cultivate a good “bedside manner” to speed rapport building and the gathering of information. Others will trust you if they perceive your competence, confidence, and your understanding of their organization’s culture.
Competence. As a performance consultant, your competence is your “street cred,” established by what you know about organizational performance, results, systems, measurement, design, and implementation, and by the visible work you have done successfully.
Confidence. Your confidence comes from the ease with which you interact with others. Some helpful tactics include:
• Use the other person’s name
• Begin the conversation with a topic that is easy to discuss, like the weather, family, sports, or current events
• Speak in an even, calm, relaxed tone
• Match your speaking pace with the other person’s
• Show appreciation for and acknowledge the accomplishments of the other person
• Make eye contact and smile when appropriate
• Demonstrate your interest in the person’s business by asking questions
• Describe how you can help solve the problem or maximize the opportunity
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