Creating a high performance model

Typically, any organisation or team has a number of high performers who consistently outperform the average. It is becoming increasingly common that organisations have two sets of measurement criteria; explicit, task focused criteria such as sales targets and customer service metrics, and implicit, cultural criteria such as attitude, working environment and customer experience.

Customer service is not the same thing as customer experience. The people who tick all the boxes often still seem to miss something important in the delivery of the service. The people who create a great experience fail on the hard measures.

And yet, there are a handful of people in every organisation who achieve both; they tick all the boxes and they create a great working environment. They do everything right, and they make the numbers look good too.

So the question is; what do they know that the others don't? When you watch them work, you know there's something different but you can't quite figure out what it is. It's intangible, so it's easy to believe that their skills are born, not bred. They can't be passed on to others.

Well, that's exactly what we do. We understand their performance at an unconscious level - the things they say and do that they are unaware of, that come naturally to them. And then we make those behaviours natural for other people too.

It is not enough to simply benchmark performance, because that benchmark is a static measurement in a fast moving environment. Managers often say that they have to “run to stand still” in a fast changing business environment, and part of the problem is the use of static performance benchmarks which give the illusion that the environment is changing. In fact, it is easier to harness and direct this natural momentum for change than to create change based on an illusion of inertia.

Our aim is therefore to refocus attention on this natural momentum for change, by consistently learning and developing best practice as displayed in the live working environment.

Modelling

This is essentially a consultancy phases where we are using various modelling techniques to extract the performance model from a number of people within the business. Typically, we would model high performers, their team leaders and managers along with people forming a cross section of the business.

Since we are looking for the difference between a high performer and an average performer, it is not enough simply to model the high performer, because they will share many traits and behaviours with the majority of staff. What we are seeking is the small number of intuitive differences that give rise to a measurable difference in performance.

We use a hybrid approach to modelling which combines NLP strategy modelling, Robert Dilts' Success Factor Modelling and Jonathan Altfeld's Knowledge Engineering. This unique combination generates a model of individual behaviours within a cultural, systemic context and this is the key to our unique approach which preserves the cultural backdrop to high performers.

Installation

The next stage is to install the model into people who are looking for improved performance. Ideally, we need to have contact throughout the installation process to ensure the model is being correctly installed. It is not sufficient to tell people what the steps of the process are, the installation requires an element of experiential learning which must be carefully facilitated to ensure consistent results.

All too often companies take off the shelf performance models such as Fish!, SPIN, Six Hats, Seven Habits, Principles of Persuasion etc. and by failing to install them correctly, they get results that fall short of their expectations. There was nothing wrong with the model, it was just not correctly installed at the unconscious level and therefore stayed at the conscious level of “I’ll think about it”, or, “I’ll find a time to try it out”.

The hallmark of correct installation is that the performance model becomes, “the way we do things here”, or even, “it’s obvious, doesn’t everyone do that?”

Testing

We need to ensure that the model is correctly integrated into the wider system by testing the model in the live environment. Possibly the most important reason for testing is to understand how the model evolves in the live environment so that we can build that evolution back into the model.

Since a key aim of this type of project is to create ongoing evolution of best practice, it is vital that we can understand the natural evolution of the model as it adapts to the changing needs of your clients and allows each person interacting with the client to build in adaptations and finer distinctions that further improve performance.

Service integration

A logical extension of this work is to build the high performance model into areas such as attraction, recruitment, induction training, performance management and succession planning. If these systems are not integrated with each other, you're left with a number of disjointed components.

You already have integrated IT systems. Rather than buy lots of separate components which don't work together, experts build systems that work from end to end. You've probably heard about integrated public transport systems that work in the same way.

We do the same for the most important part of your business; people.

What does this really mean?

Anything from design and delivery of bespoke programs right up to managed and outsourced people development services.

There are companies around who you can outsource HR services such as payroll to. You can even outsource training. But how can you ensure that proper focus is given to developing your people?

You have an appraisal process, but how many of your managers complete their reviews accurately, fairly and on time?

What we do is manage an end to end service delivery that covers the full life cycle of people development in your business. This leaves you to focus on what's important - managing the people strategy that supports the long term business plan.