CREATING A PERFORMANCE ORIENTED ORGANIZATION

Every organization exists for the achievement of one or more goals. This varies depending on the
type of organization. To ensure continued success, the organization should monitor its
performance with respect to the formulated goals. The notions of a goal and a performance
indicator are therefore important and need to be taken into account in the organizational model.
Organizations today must continuously stay ahead of competition, not only to retain their
leadership positions but also to sustain themselves in an ever evolving market. Access to new
technology and research or even funds is no longer the deciding factor in determining the winner
at the market place. uality of its people and the ability of an organisation to channel the
energies of its people towards productive enterprise is the passport to excellence and sustained
growth. !hile the "uality of people is determined by the effectiveness of screening by the
staffing department, maintenance of that edge in terms of competencies of its people and
efficient utilisation of the competencies for optimum productivity is what gives cutting edge to a
business.
Definition of Performance Oriented Organization:
A #erformance Oriented Organization is a discrete management unit with strong incentives to
manage for results. $t commits to accountability for results by having clear ob%ectives, specific
measurable goals, customer service standards, and targets for improved performance. $n
exchange, it can be granted managerial flexibilities to achieve these aims and goals in areas such
as personnel, procurement, financing, and real property.
$t is also very important to institute an elaborate system of performance planning at the
organisational, functional, departmental and individual levels. An organisation can achieve such
efficient utilisation of its people through timely and detailed strategic planning covering all
aspects of the business and a robust performance management system to ensure that the
organisation has a roadmap for success, that its people know their deliverables and can give their
best in a systematic manner towards the organisation reaching its destination. An organisation
can insure itself against fluctuations in productivity levels and create guardrails for remaining in
its success tra%ectory by embedding a performance oriented work culture in the organisation.
&or building a performance oriented work culture, the senior management sponsorship and
commitment about linking growth and benefits of employees with the growth and profitability of
the organisation through structured performance management system and its linkages are very
essential. The people philosophy and organisational ethos must have performance orientation and
promotion of meritocracy as key tenets and the employer branding initiatives should weave them
into the employer brand personality. 'ommunication to all key stake holders must pro%ect these
philosophies. This is essential for all team members to aspire to perform their best and expect to
be rewarded for good performance. $t is also an important tool for attracting the right type of
talent.
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BENEFITS OF PERFORMANCE ORIENTED ORIGANIZATION:
A #erformance Oriented Organization creates incentives for policy makers ( helps in helping
them to perform their mission. $t is an additional way to achieve their goals and get results. $n
addition, it can help an agency)
*aintain and improve delivery of services in a time of tightening budgets.
+educe costs in the organization
*eet the needs of external customers.
'reate a business,like management structure.
+eward individuals for improving organizational performance.
Eliminate barriers to improving organizational performance by obtaining administrative
and-or legislative flexibilities.
$mproves employee engagement because everyone understands how they are directly
contributing to the organizations high level goals
'reate transparency in achievement of goals.
PRE RE!ESITES FOR PERFORMANCE ORIENTED ORGANIZATION:
The following pre re"uisites seem to be appropriate for becoming a #erformance Oriented
Organization)
a. 'lear mission, measurable services, and a performance measurement system in place or in
development. The candidate function is focused on external, internal, customers.
b. Operations that can be separated from policy making, along with a clear line of accountability
to an agency head with policy responsibility.
c. Top level support in the department for conversion to a #erformance Oriented Organization.
d. /as operational functions ,, not policy making functions ,, which may be within an agency0
however the candidate function is not necessarily an entire agency
e. /as funding levels that correspond to their business operations. 1elf,sustaining functions may
be excellent candidates, but this is not a prere"uisite.
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STEPS FOR CREATION OF PERFORMANCE BASED ORGANIZATION:
As a manger to an organization, he should always try to improve organizational results through
strategy execution and performance management. 2ut, as anyone who has ever tried to truly
change a culture knows, it can be incredibly difficult. Organizational inertia is a powerful force.
Overcoming it re"uires energy, endurance, and strong leadership from a committed, charismatic
senior team. Organization cannot be converted into performance based organization in a short
span of time. There should be well defined plan which needs to be implemented in the
organization step by step. The various steps for attaining performance based structure are as
follows)
Ste" #: Define t$e ne% &e$a'io(r) re*(ired in t$e organization:
$f the leadership team has determined that the culture should become more performance,based,
they need to define exactly what behaviours they want to see exhibited. These should be
consistent with the current values of the organization, since the values typically don3t change.
/ere are some examples, the management might want to cultivate)
4aser,like focus on achieving shared goals
4eaders actively managing key outcome measures
Owners of measures, goals, and initiatives taking real responsibility for performance
Ste" +: E)ta&,i)$ing &e)t "ractice "roce))e) and )tr(ct(re) to dri'e t$e)e &e$a'ior)-
Establishing best practice process sounds good, but it is actually very difficult to identify 5best
practices5. One way is to find an organization that already is highly performance driven and
need to see what processes and structures they have in place. #revious recipients of these awards
are very willing to share how they became successful, either at the program6s annual conference
or often on a more ad,hoc basis with organizations learning about the program.
1ome examples are)
1trategic planning approaches that result in more narrowly focused, achievable ob%ectives
7ata,driven business performance review that reinforce accountability
Technology that supports the processes and structures
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Talking to people at these kinds of high,performing organizations or consultants who have led
organizations through these transformations will provide us with the nuts and bolts that translate
these broad ideas into best practices.
Ste" .: Comm(nication/ Training and Coac$ing of Em",o0ee)-:
!e should not forget that human resources are the backbone of a performance based
organization. !e must strive to enrich our human resources to become more adaptive (
acceptable to the new environment. This is where the energy, endurance, and charisma noted
above come in especially handy. Employees at all levels must become so good at exhibiting the
new behaviours and utilizing the new processes and structures, which re"uires a considerable
amount of good leadership, coaching, and ongoing communication.
1ince change is inherently difficult, it must be made clear why and how this is a 5win,win5 for
those involved. &ear and lack of information will sabotage even the best ideas, so we have to
communicate, train, and coach our employee.
The best coaches are those who have been on this %ourney before and also possess great coaching
skills, but ultimately management must learn the processes and coaching skills to truly change
8and sustain. the culture from within.
Ste" 1: A,ign Organizationa, Re%ard) 2 Recognition-
To reinforce the changes that are made in the organization, it6s critical that organizational
rewards, such as bonus and incentive compensation plans, as well as internal awards and
recognition programmes, also change so that they reward the leaders and employees who)
Exhibit the new behaviours
$ncorporate new processes and structures into their daily roles
7emonstrate results in the strategically,aligned areas that they own
'hanging culture isn6t easy, but it6s not impossible either.
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3E4 E5EMENTS FOR CREATING A PERFORMANCE BASED ORGANIZATION:
There are various key elements in creating a high performance culture that probably will fit most
organizations)
a. 'learly define goals-ob%ectives
4ook across the entire organization and define what it looks like from a variety of perspectives 9
sales, marketing, customer service, procurement, finance etc.
b. 1pell out :preferred culture;
$n the same way that leaders shape and communicate a vision, they also spell out a picture of the
culture they are striving for.
This can often be %ust a set of guiding principles or values, but the best seem to go further by
establishing preferred behaviours that support these values)
c. 1et stretch targets
Employees tend to rise to the standard set for them. The more we expect, the more they will
achieve. 2ut there is a fine line between good stretch targets, which can energize an organization,
and bad ones, which can dampen morale.
d. *anage a diverse workforce
*anaging a diverse workforce can be a challenging task. A supervisor has to deal with a number
of situations on a daily basis. *oreover, there can be multiple ways to handle a seemingly tough
situation. /ence, a supervisor must use his skills to %udge the best possible way to act in a given
situation.
e. 7eveloping an ownership mentality
!hen individuals understand the boundaries in which they can operate, as well as where the
company wants to go, they feel empowered with a freedom to decide and act, and most often
make the right choices. They begin to think and act like an :owner;.
f. $mproving performance through transparency
2y sharing the ob%ectives ( plan with employees, the management can increase employees3
sense of ownership. /owever, being open is not enough. The management need to be sure that its
employees are trained to understand financial statements and have enough insight into their own
%obs to know how to affect the numbers. Employees who are not in the financial world will be
able to relate better to the results and will feel more included in the process
g. *otivate employees to increase productivity
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To increase productivity and enhance overall performance, a supervisor also needs to motivate
his team members. /e must be able to encourage them to do better. /e should be aware of how
each member on the team is performing as against a set expectation. This exercise would help to
identify under,performing workers and their areas of improvement.
h. 1torytelling
1torytelling can be a powerful tool when we want to drive organizational change and
performance improvement. The leaders must be able to retell true stories to motivate their
employees to achieve more than they thought possible
i. $nternal ( external communication
$nternal ( external communications need to be on the top of the agenda. 'ommunication is a
very powerful tool in a performance based organization. The communication must be a two way
process. The management should listen to the views, suggestions, grievances of its employees (
should take measures to solve them. On the other hand, the employee should also follow the
rules ( new set up targets to attain the performance oriented goal of the organization.
%. Taking the time to celebrate
7o remember to celebrate milestones once they have been reached. Taking the time to celebrate
is important because it acknowledges people3s hard work, boosts morale and keeps up the
momentum. $f the leaders want something to grow, they must pour champagne on it.
k. +esolve a conflict situation
Another key responsibility for a supervisor is improving relationships between employees. A
supervisor must try to establish cordial ties between co,workers in order to maximize their work
efficiency. /e should inspire them to work together to achieve the common goal. A conflict
between employees can not only reduce productivity, but it can also destroy the cohesiveness of
the team. This is because a conflict discourages members on the team and hampers an otherwise
productive work environment.
l. 'onnecting to the big picture
The ma%ority of employees want to be a part of a compelling future. &or targets to be meaningful
and effective in motivating employees, they must be tied to larger organizational ambitions.
Employees who don3t understand the roles they play in company success are more likely to
become disengaged. <o matter what level the employee is at, he should be able to articulate
exactly how his efforts feed into the broader company strategy
$*#4E*E<TAT$O<
Performance mea)(rement )0)tem) )$o(,d &e "o)iti'e/ not "(niti'e- The most successful
performance measurement systems is learning systems that help the organization identify what
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works and what does not so as to continue with and improve on what is working and repair or
replace what is not working.
#erformance measurement is a tool that lets the organization track progress and direction toward
strategic goals and ob%ectives. =arious authors proposed various steps for implementation of
performance management in an organization. 2ut, in a generalized view, the performance based
organization can implement performance management in the organization in three ways, viz,
5ong C0c,e Performance Management which is usually done on an annual, every > months, or
"uarterly basis.
S$ort C0c,e Performance Management which is usually done on a weekly, bi,weekly, or
monthly basis. &rom the implementation standpoint, this sort of management is industry,specific.
Micro Performance Management which is generally done on an hour-day basis.
CONC5!SION:
$n present business scenario, every organization, either banking, non banking, govt agencies etc.,
strive for becoming performance based organization. !ithout proper performance management,
the organization will find hard to sustain. 1ustainability of the performance linked organisation
culture is dependent on the ability of an organisation to nurture talent and link growth to
contribute in the present as well as potential for meaningful contribution in larger roles in future.
The managers must ensure that every single individual goal or ob%ective is specific, measurable,
achievable, relevant and time bound and the same are available with the concerned individuals so
that they know what are the key deliverables expected of them for that performance period over
and above their broad role descriptor. The goal setting process must take into account not only
financial parameters but also focus on process, customer perspective as well as learning and
growth to be able to deliver sustainable success year on year. &or successful implementation of
#erformance management in the organization, review of the performance of goals or ob%ectives
as per plan through periodic appraisals and feedback is very crucial. The final review is done to
apportion credit for the final business result reflecting the degree of success or failure of the
organisation during that performance period. The contribution of individuals must be assessed by
rating each ob%ective in numerical terms and subse"uent summation of the same. Thus creating a
performance based organization is the need of the hour ( all organization should take every
possible ways to adopt ( retain performance based culture in their organization to maintain their
leading position in this competitive environment with proper implementation ( follow up.
1?2*$TTE7 2@)
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SIDD6ART6A PRATIM RO4 C6O7D6!R4
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