Five Easy Pieces to Performance Measurement
It is still hard to believe. Last year, I ran a marathon – 26.2 every mile of it.
I also completed over 40 projects related measurement to developing sales performance. Which would you cope?
Like running a marathon, measure business performance of soft skills is considered by most people with a mixture of fear and disgust. They believe that the amounts of claims as much time, effort and expense. And if it is supposed to be good for you, many people think measure bottom-line is simply too risky. Consequently, many did not even try.
It is time for a change of mentality. The truth is that the measure is the starting line wide and the race is not restricted to a few genetically gifted. Ordinary people who have no special training perform meaningful measure and revolutionizing their organizations in the process. You can, too.
In recent years I have helped dozens of companies to determine whether their efforts to develop performance make a difference. Large or small, These organizations value – and he had tried – some form of training measure. A few succeeded brilliantly. Others displayed conviction and expertise technical, but fell short of the finish line.
What follows are five lessons learned the hard measures, mainly in the trenches with Fortune 500 companies. These lessons are based on principles of collaboration and common sense. They proved to be valuable benchmarks for online sales management and training similar functions. The use of these lessons has enabled our company to perform 40-50 draft measures each year. By adhering to these principles, your organization can constantly monitor its progress in achieving business goals specific challenges and needs.
Lesson 1: Focus on business
You have often heard that the development of effective performance must be linked to goals and objectives of your organization. It is true. This principle is called "alignment", and it also applies to measure. alignment is the very genesis of any measure of success.
Now, any project as we are launching with our customers begins and ends with a detailed view of their business objectives, challenges and needs. It sounds deceptively simple. In practice, efforts to measure most lack missed an obvious link desired business results. There is a crucial distinction between the training objectives, challenges and needs and objectives Business, challenges and needs.
The line and training functions tend to see performance measurement on their own terms. How does
happen?
One reason is that the training group will focus, often exclusively, on measuring the reactions of participants (smile sheets) and classroom learning (pre-and post-tests). This is familiar territory for education professionals. If, by chance, the initiative exhausted, then evidence that the learning took place "is a defense attempt. This approach may suffice for technical reasons or training products, but it does not fly to monitor the effects of negotiation, leadership, or consultative selling skills development.
I recently asked a group of 10 training managers of the divisions of a company 80 billion dollars on their measurement efforts over the last 12 months. Most had followed the reaction of participants and learning in the classroom (levels 1 and 2 ¹ Kirkpatrick), but only two divisions had linked training new behavior (level 3). None of them had to quantify the actual business results (level 4). Efforts to measure this company were, in fact, typical of those I encountered in other organizations.
Tested and true leaves smile and pre-and post-tests are valuable tools, but significant measure requires greater insight into the conduct of trade issues.
Another problem is that sales managers tend to develop myopia bottom line. They want to measure the performance of development only by monthly or quarterly figures, sometimes to the exclusion of all other performance indicators.
An executive at a large online high-tech company has been focused mainly on monitoring businesses closed. "To win in this market, our people need to be better negotiators," he said. He was right. But a further analysis has revealed a more complex picture. margins had slipped his division, the competition had increased, and the discount was become a crutch that managers account used to close deals. Major accounts should I deep discounts, if the allocation of competitive business supported the vicious cycle of discounting.
In this case, we found that the critical measure of negotiation skills in business training was not the amount of the closure of the company, but rather the reduction of the use of the allocation of the competition.
Together, the line and training functions must dig deep into the underlying forces that affect revenue, the client or customer relations, and business results. There are no shortcuts.
How do you know that your project focuses on measuring the results of the company? A sign sure occurs when the training director and vice president of sales come together to talk about improving performance and business growth. If this seems unlikely, read on.
Lesson 2: Building a bridge between the line and training
significant measure requires collaboration. Focus on the business issues your organization provides a common purpose and a sense of mission. It is the most fundamental reason for building a relationship between the online training. So why do not occur more often?
I found an almost universal: Training professionals are not open enough, and inline frames are not sufficiently involved.
For example, professional training in a medical device company me asked to help find a way to track the impact their bottom line sales training. I suggested we get input Vice-President on what to measure, but they resisted. They said: "We want this to be done before going to him." Unsurprisingly, the draft measure was never on the ground.
Beware of the measure in a vacuum. Often, the training group is solely responsible for measuring the effects of performance development. Training professionals can try to select specific measures and collect sensitive data on their own. Without insight and involvement of the organization online, they are forced to guess the key measures and cajole other departments for data and resources. Frustration is a common result.
In a large telecommunications company, the accounting department actually refused provide access to the training group numbers needed sales. Measure can not be delegated to departments of education without b organizational links.
What managers online? There is a significant difference between management support and involvement of management.
For example, managers engaged in bio-tech company has been extremely favorable to the development of performance. They rallied the troops and signed checks. But they were reluctant to invest time and personally involved in the measurement efforts. The board wanted to see results, but the measurement effort to the point death. How was this problem solved?
We put on a pot of coffee, gathered the line and training duties, and are left with the specific business goals related to training. Measure then focused on key business issues, such as increased income in 20 accounts up and protecting against competitive threats.
Instead of pointing fingers, training professionals have the responsibility to engage vigorously, and it is the responsibility of line managers to participate actively. In all cases the bottom line measure of success that I seen, both online and training functions have been deeply involved in monitoring progress towards common goals.
Lesson 3: monitoring progress, not evidence
Nothing holds organizations attempt to measure more of a mentality of proof. If your goal is to monitor the impact development performance of your organization, I found that the evidence is not absolute – and totally unnecessary.
In a recent conference, I had the opportunity to speak with Donald Kirkpatrick. I asked: "Since you introduced the four levels in 1959, did you never seen compelling evidence? "Without hesitation, he said:" No, I've never seen. "But he quickly added:" I saw many good evidence, though. "
For pharmaceutical companies to obtain FDA approval of a new drug, or for physicists fission of the atom, the gathering of evidence is appropriate and necessary. These empirical researchers ask: "Is it working?" But those of us responsible for improving performance must ask "Does this work?" – Long before the training is implemented. We must always seek evidence that the program has worked in other organizations with similar struggles before implementation. So our view detailed objectives Business, challenges and needs becomes the yardstick by which we collect evidence of progress after the implementation.
All Throughout this article, you saw the progress of "tracking" to describe the extent of training. The word "progress" is the root Latin for the English word "evolution." Ultimately, the idea is to follow the evolution of your organization's current performance to higher has, more productive, more effective future state. Wherever we collect evidence that progress is underway.
Listen to the discussions at your meetings management. People ask: "Is what we do our numbers this year? Are improved margins? "They look for indicators of progress toward a goal. The real questions to be answered by the measure are: "How have they contributed? and "In what ways? This common sense approach works perfectly.
For example, the direct sales force in a carrier medium has been grappling with turnover very high (80 percent) and poor performance. The Vice President of Operations said: "It was painfully obvious to me we had a big problem. "Part of the solution to his company was implementing a program of consultative selling skills.
Three months after the effort to enhance performance, our monitoring has shown that representatives of the company has steadily increased their productivity by 42 percent. A new group of representatives reached their quota in just two months rather than the usual six months or more. Turnover has steadily decreased to an acceptable level of 28 percent, well below industry standards. Compared to the base and representatives not yet formed, these convincing signs of progress.
On the way, the company has trained managers to supervise more effectively, improved its compensation, and reinforce new skills consistently. All these factors undoubtedly contributed to the stellar results. We have never proved that the sales training worked. But, to paraphrase Kirkpatrick, we found "a lot of good evidence."
Continued progress, not to obtain evidence, reduces the pressure on people that track and moves on people who make the scene where he belongs.
Lesson 4: You're probably already make measurement
There is a widespread perception that the measure bottom-line is difficult and expensive. This is not surprising. Too often we have heard that this level of measurement is the most difficult by far. However, professionals involved in the sales performance realize that development is not true.
Recently, I note with exchange of the person responsible for the measure to a U.S. company computers. He had successfully completed four projects followed by bottom line – three more than originally planned. As we talked, after a meeting, he confided: "I realized that it's easier than doing an investigation." I agree.
You can a fairly rigorous analysis of the baseline performance before lunch, with a spreadsheet and a cup of coffee. It is possible if you align the development of performance with now, if the line training and people working together, and if your goal is to track progress – not to obtain evidence. And if you type in the existing data, strong results are easily within your reach.
Most organizations are swimming in data. These days, companies maintain systems for monitoring sales activity, inventory, planning, accounting and management prospects. Most field sales, support and service teams and exchange data using laptops. In addition, there are ISO 9000, sales quotas, and performance reviews. Essentially, each organization under the sun is already far.
The good news is that all that wonderful data already exists. Challenge is to select a small number of key performance indicators that are linked to a development initiative performance. How? Here's an example: Last year, in our work with a large accounting firm Six, we faced a mountain of options for measuring bottom-line capabilities negotiation. To make matters worse, the company has highly sophisticated internal data systems. After several hours of fruitless trial and error, we set up a meeting with the Director of Finance for the fiscal year. We asked, "What the members look on monthly basis to monitor the health of the company? "With his response, we have reached pay dirt.
He unveiled a list 13 measures requested each month by senior management partners. From this list, two key measures were directly associated with the techniques negotiating the training company. They included rateper hours and the rate of percent-of-charge standard. Comparing these figures before and after the workshops, We followed the progress of the company towards greater profitability.
Moral: look always for the data currently used to manage the business management level.
For example, I often ask a vice president of sales for a sample of reports monthly. If this information is important for company executives, it is essential to performance and is probably correct. It is a powerful way to develop alignment between the measurement effort and life pulse of an organization.
But what if the data used by management team is not enough to track progress? There are alternatives, as you'll see in Lesson 5.
Lesson 5: The measure is simple case tracking and effects
The most common question I hear when working with clients to develop bottom-line measure is "What should we follow? "The answer is cause and effect – a principle that applies to all types of performance development.
Revenue, for example, is the result of something. We believe it is a lagging indicator – or end – the performance in the field. However, indicators developed – or causes – of income are building new customer relationships, assess opportunities, presenting solutions and closing business.
The distinction between the powerful leading and lagging indicators identifies the most strategic measures of performance. When combined with knowledge of trade issues and knowledge of specific parameters used by a company CEOs, it takes the guesswork out monitoring progress. Here's an example:
I met with both a sales manager and training coordinator for electronics company to develop measuring bottom line. the company's operational objectives included increasing revenue 20 percent and maintain current levels of profitability. The business challenges included an excessive reliance on demonstrations to sell products. In addition, representatives were caught at the technical level and had limited influence with the actual decision-makers.
The company decided to implement a consultative selling skills program. Our team has selected two major and two lagging indicators from data available on the system Company contact management and accounting system.
Leading indicators including the creation of three sub-three contacts (by asking people management, department and user levels) and monitor how often this was a real decision maker for demonstrations of the system. The Vice President of Sales lamented: "We have a tendency to demo for the janitor." More importantly, Improvements in these areas would lead to progress in achieving the revenue target.
The lagging indicators tracking increases (in dollars) in the size of systems sold and changes in the ratio of product presentations to tender closed (win rate). These measures were both manageable and highly strategic.
Objectives that sound like galvanizing, in synergy, vitality and well-intentioned, but almost impossible to measure. Following the causes and effects, we ensure that the measure is based on behavior and the most tangible results.
Like running a marathon gives the true measure of training and development of energy remaining in an organization. The best approach is to simplify. Just one or two key indicators delayed and performance improvement may be all that is necessary for the race and cross the finish line a winner.
¹ Donald Kirkpatrick, an internationally recognized expert in the field of development of training programs and evaluation, presented his model four levels of training evaluation in 1959. The levels, which are still used today, are a reaction, 2 Learning, 3 Behavior and 4 results.
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