What IS Performance Management?

It is not a software program or SaaS application that stores workforce performance appraisal results, competencies, and work histories.

It is not Business Intelligence, Analytics or Data Administration software or processes. 

It is also not administration, record-keeping, file management, or accounting about results.

We all tend to understand what we mean by “performance”, the job of getting something done.  The problem seems to be that some in the strategy, consulting, and software realms have incorrectly defined what “management” means.  Read more

When economies downturn, the on-the-ground reality is that wealth-producing commercial enterprises (and, eventually also their dependent service-providers and governments) are forced to cut-back resource deployments: reduce their workforce, reduce investments, and reduce expenses.

Sustained economic downturns cut deeper into workforce reductions, into the realm of top-performers that missed cutbacks in earlier rounds. These downturns also reduce competitors, and reduce customer service levels of the surviving enterprises.

This chain of events sets up more on-the-ground bad news for unprepared enterprises when…   Read more

Strategy Formulation vs. Strategy Execution is like architecture and construction:  equally essential, and wholly interdependent.  One cannot fulfill without the other.

Without good blueprints, the house you build will be ugly and sub-functional, maybe dangerous (sounds like too many enterprises we all know, right?).  With good blueprints but bad construction, the house you build may be nice looking, but certainly sub-functional and definitely dangerous. 

Practically speaking, while both Strategy Formulation and Execution have their challenges and difficulties, we’ve seen…   Read more

Given that labor costs represent one of the most significant expense items for most enterprises, it should come as no surprise to anyone that “personnel”, “talent”, or “human resource” management is a major strategic and tactical priority.

Too many organizations, however, both in and outside of the commercial arena, take far too much for granted when it comes to the management of workforce performance. The facts are that when it comes to the workforce, most organizations implement broad-based yet highly fragmented and ineffective initiatives, or invest the minimum required by regulation and law, or both.

Since there are no “Generally Accepted Performance Management Principles”, each enterprise is left to its own devices to imagine, construct, implement, sustain, and evolve its own ‘unique’ approach. They do so with the participation of stakeholders, subject matter specialists, consultants, technologists and governments who have not agreed on any standards.

Sadly, that’s the world within which most workforce members perceive they live and work.  The fundamental consequence is the under-performance of most human enterprises.

Employee/Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) is an approach that applies the same process, procedure and technology rigor, consistency, and universality to workforce performance as organizations now apply to Financial Resource Management; at least within an organization.   Read more

I read a Discussion on LinkedIn recently where the question was posed: what do you think about the effectiveness of Strategy-Driven Execution?

When the dizziness passed and I got back up into my chair, my primal response was:  hold on… is there anything ELSE that should conceivably be driving business process Execution, except Strategy?

And, if you have an answer for that other than ‘no’, then all my mind can visualize is…     Read more