Performance improvement can take on many guises. There are often quick fixes and simple changes that can be made to positively impact any business. Some though can be more complex and need a bit of surgery.
Performance improvement action shouldn’t just occur when things go awry, it really should be a continuous feature of any business.
So how do you recognise the signs? How do you know if performance improvement can be achieved ‘in house’ or if you need some external help? How do you know if this something that needs addressing immediately or just to be aware that there is a possible cloud on the horizon to keep an eye on?
With many years’ experience working with all types and sizes of business on performance improvement, here are some typical examples we encounter. You may recognise one or more in your business or team.
o My team/business has lost its way and I need to fix it
o My business/team is progressing nicely, and I need to make sure it continues
o We have grown quite quickly, and we are experiencing growing pains
o We need to develop key individuals within the business to help the business grow
o We’ve hit the buffers in one (or more) area!
o We have a mix of good and poor performance in the business
o We need new people in the business and for them to gel quickly
o We want more sales growth!
o We need more sales growth!
o Our revenues are positive, but we need to improve profitability
o Our (functional) teams are not communicating/working together as we would like
o We need a (sales/marketing/operational) strategy that works for the future!
o Not all parts of our business are progressing at the same pace
o We do not have a succession plan to help support our planned growth
o We don’t have a plan for growth
o We have a plan for growth but it’s not working
o I’d like to spend less time in the business and need a good management team to step up and help me do that
o I need a succession plan/need to identify who, what and when
o I have key individuals that need coaching and mentoring, but don’t have the time to do it
o I know what needs to be done but not everyone is listening (or understands)
o We need to improve our (insert which) skills in one or more of our teams
o We need to find a way/new ways of motivating our people
o We want to evolve but we don’t want to damage the good things we do
o We need to change but are not sure how
o We’ve got some really good people but are not sure how good they are and how good they could be
o We are planning to grow the business and need to get it into shape to deliver the plan
o Our competitors are misbehaving and it’s hurting us.
o We’ve lost a large customer (or more) and need to plug the gap. Quickly!
o We’ve got opportunities but don’t seem to have the time (or skills) to realise them
It seems like a lot. Obviously not every one of these will apply to you or your business/team. Maybe one or two. Maybe more. There are some ‘red flags’ in there which would likely require attention (I’ve highlighted those in bold above).
As a general rule of thumb though, we would suggest you look at the above list and ask if you can answer ‘yes’ to any of them:
0-5
You’re in decent shape. No need to panic. Some areas may need looking at to make sure things continue on a positive path.
6-10
Amber warning. There are some signs of concern and/or things you should consider to deal with any surprise bumps in the road.
10+
There are issues here that need addressing.
What can you do about it?
To try and simplify things (as much as possible), positive performance improvements begin by working on three key areas: Talent, Strategy and Process
Talent
Too often we see businesses that are not realising the potential of the talent they already have in their business. Businesses will look outside for new talent when they really don’t need to. Developing existing talent to progress is a huge motivator for a business – not just for the individual themselves, but it demonstrates the desire to provide opportunities to others who are capable and willing to be developed.
Sometimes new talent from outside is needed. New talent, if managed well, can provide a great boost in morale, enhance a wider skill set, raise expectations and standards, and demonstrate a positive intent to the wider business. At TSP we love working with ‘the talent’ in a business. So, we like to understand the following:
o Do you have the right people?
o Are they in the right role?
o Can they be of better benefit elsewhere in the business?
o Do they have the right skills?
o How do you know?
o Are you developing them?
o How are you developing them?
o Are they motivated?
o Do they have greater potential than you are seeing today?
o What is that potential?
o How do you maximise that potential?
o What are the talent gaps and how should you fill them (and why)?
o Do you have a succession plan – not just to identify talent for development but to motivate the next generation by creating opportunity and/or reward the current one for success?
o Will new talent suit the culture and personality of the team/business?
Strategy and Planning
The word ‘strategy’ is sometimes unnerving to people. It needn’t be. Sustainable performance improvement must begin with, and be underpinned by, a good strategy and a defined plan.
The Plan doesn’t need to be complicated or over-detailed. Often, we find teams or individuals have lost their mojo because, quite simply, they are ‘just doing their job’ and are not motivated by their purpose (this is so important for motivation) or aware of their part in the bigger picture.
A good, well communicated strategy underpinned by a good plan, be that a company-wide or team-specific, will make a significant difference to a team or individual’s performance and motivation levels.
Here are a few pointers to look out for:
Do you have a strategy? Does your strategy define your goals and objectives or do your goals and objectives define your strategy?
Do you have a plan to deliver your goals and objectives?
Does your plan cover all aspects of performance improvement – sales, marketing, purchasing, operations, finance and, of course, your customers?
How confident are you / is everyone it can be delivered?
Have you clearly identified the benefits to The Plan?
Have you identified the risks to The Plan?
Have you identified the consequences of the risks?
Does everyone know The Plan?
Does everyone understand it?
Does everyone buy into it?
Do they know their part in The Plan?
Are all your teams/people working towards the same outcome?
Is each department/team positively contributing to (or comitted to supporting) The Plan?
Is the plan/has The Plan been communicated effectively?
Is the progress of The Plan being ‘managed’?
Can you identify who ‘owns’ which parts of The Plan?
Have you built in a review process?
Do you know what great, good and ok look like? Does everyone else?
Will you know what progress looks like?
Do you need to change anything to deliver on the The Plan?
Have you worked out how you are going to manage ‘change’?
Do you have a defined customer-specific strategy built around retention, development and brand new?
If you find yourself answering ‘no’ or ‘don’t know’ to any of the above, these are a good place to start.
Processes
Some people (especially ‘flair’ salespeople!) are instantly turned off by the P-word! Any business or team leader appreciates the importance of good processes. Most individuals do too to be fair. Even if the process is deemed as a ‘necessary evil’ by an individual, team or business, it is crucial that not only does good process exist, but it is embraced and used for positive improvement.
Even if you are blessed with wonderful talent and a robust and deliverable plan, without good processes (and clear thinking / direction behind it) it will undermine any sustainable progress you want to see.
At TSP we work to engage people in creating, implementing, and delivering the key areas of progressive process. Done correctly, with positive intent, good process can be motivating (even to salespeople!). Here are some of the main things we look to understand:
o Goals and objectives – are they set, defined, clear and understood? Are they achievable? Are they SMART? Who played a part in setting them? Does everyone agree with them? Are they a clear/complimentary link to the plan/strategy? Are they visible?
o Targets – are they broken down into their key components – retention and development of existing customers? Targeting and attainment of brand new? Have you built in customer losses? How often are they reviewed? Are they clearly linked to a realisable incentive plan? Do the departmental targets compliment the sales targets (marketing, purchasing, service levels etc)?
o Incentive Plans – do you have them? Are they just for salespeople or do other departments have them too? Are they achievable? Are they important? Are they needlessly complicated? Are they for individuals or for teams/departments?
o Forecasting – do you have a pipeline? Do you track successes and failures? What are your conversion rates? Why doesn’t good conversion result in growth? When and how will the conversion forecast be realised (to its indicated potential)? How does this map against your set targets and objectives? How does marketing/lead generation link to sales conversion rates? What are the trends?
o Data – good data is king. Is it accurate? Is it relevant? Is it consistent? Is it understood? Is it up to date? Who is responsible for creating it? Do you have a CRM system? Do you use it? Do you use it effectively? How is it used? Is it positively embraced or used a stick to beat people with? Does it marry up with your KPI’s?
o KPI’s – what are the KPI’s that matter? Are you guilty of KPI overload? Are KPI’s complimentary to The Plan? Are they individual or team or business KPI’s? How are they captured, reported, measured, reviewed? Are they used to beat people with or Keep People Informed
o Communication – how do you communicate progress to your people / teams? What formats do you use? Do you include ‘in-person’ communication? Team meetings? Sales meetings? What’s the format, content, consistency?
o Performance Reviews – what’s the tone? Which format do you use? What content do you include? Are they complimentary to The Plan? Do you do them? Do you do them regularly? How pro-active are your people in the review process? Do they engage or are they fearful of them?
o Departmental - is all the above replicated in every department? Does that team buy in to the importance their department plays in delivering the objectives of The Plan? Do they care? What’s in it for them when success is achieved? What are the consequences if not?
o Inter-departmental - how do functional teams work with each other? Does each function understand the others’ purpose, objectives, challenges? How is communication managed? Who ‘owns’ this part?
o Existing Customers – who are your MVC’s (Most Valuable Customers)? Why are they MVC’s? Does everyone in the business know how valuable they are? How are they managed? How are they developed? Who ‘owns’ the relationship(s)? How do you keep hold of them? What are your retention rates for existing customers? What are your development plans for your existing customers? Who are the ‘rising stars’ in your customer base? How do you know? What is the (realistic) potential? How are they communicated with? What value do you add to them/their business? How can you build on that? What’s your plan for your existing customer(s) to help their business? How can you demonstrate this to them?
o New Customers - Do you want new business? Do you need it? Who and where are your ideal customers? Are these customers profitable? Do you have DEOS (Demonstrable Evidence of Success) in that customer type, location, market? What is your value-added proposition? When is the right time to strike? How are you going to do it? What’s the plan? What does success look like? What if you don’t succeed straight away? What tools or systems do you have in place to raise awareness/create interest/demonstrate capability? What do you need to have in place?
o Competitors – who are they? What do they do that’s better than you? Who are the ones you like to compete against (because you know you will likely win)? How do you compete against them? What are your differentiators?
Seems a lot, doesn’t it?
All of these thing - and there are others too - taken as individual component parts, do look like a lot of things to cover and be on top of.
So where do you start?
I like to use a simple ‘yes/no’ process to get things going – SFMM.
SFMM stands for Structure, Focus, Motivation and Management.
Structure – does your current structure adequately support the (current and future) goals and objectives of the business? Are the right people doing the right things in the right roles?
Focus – are there clearly defined goals and objectives in all areas of the business? Are they understood etc etc.
Motivation – are your people motivated to help deliver them?
Management – do you have the right processes in place to deliver them? Do you have the right people in place to lead/manage?
If you can say ‘yes’ to all of these, that’s great. If you find yourself saying ‘no’ or ‘don’t know’ to one or more, a deeper look may be needed.
Outsider or Insider?
When we work with clients the project will range from one or two targeted areas to more extensive input into multiple (even all) the above areas. Sometimes you start on one 'obvious' problem area and others appear as a consequence (sometimes the cause!).
Quite often the need for a performance review or fix happens when things have gone wrong. Some of those time it’s happened due to sudden changes in circumstances. Most of the time though it’s because of an erosion in some of the things highlighted above; things that have crept up on a team or business.
We are all guilty of taking our eye off the ball, but consistent performance management requires a constant investment in time and effort. And it's time, not intent or desire or talent, that is often the biggest challenge.
Outside support, be that TSP or any specialists, can help independently kick-start a new process or approach, re-invigorate a stalling team, or throw a brighter light on areas that need addressing.
But the good news is it doesn’t need to be an outsider. Most, if not all, of these disciplines can (should) be managed ‘in-house’. But it takes time and patience and a commitment to making these an integral part of the business’s behaviour. It does take some skill, but these can be taught. Those businesses that do these things well create a progressive and dynamic ‘can do’ culture; one that has its people invested in its future and more resilient (and able) to deal with any obstacles and, perhaps more importantly, is able to realise any opportunity or potential opportunity that presents themselves from time to time.
Gary Naphtali
With a 30-year career in sales leadership and senior leadership roles at a regional, national and international level, Gary has worked with, advised, coached, mentored and trained salespeople, sales leaders and teams from over 100 different businesses across a variety of commercial sectors, from start-up to recognised market-leaders.
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