Job Link Training | Incentive Cache | Employee Motivational Tool

Transferring classroom attendance to work competencies often requires additional training and support from supervisors. Unlike generic soft skill training such as customer service, leadership or communication, Job Link™ training is directly linked to specific job needs; identifying and creating a direct link between skill training and strategic work needs.

Traditional management and customer service training are ineffective in building tangible links to on-the-job skills. Performance Path ® has developed Job Link™ to break the mold of the traditional generic employee classroom training concepts.

After traditional training most employees anticipate returning to work to “catch up” with work that has piled up while they were away. They receiving little reinforcement from their supervisor for using their new skills as supervisors did not attend the training and don’t what skills were taught there.

Job Link™ creates a closed loop between work needs, skill improvement training and supervisory follow up. The employee’s work skills are reviewed and strategic work needs are identified.

Job Link™ training modules are identified from skill clusters that relate to specific work needs. Participants are given self-assessment to further define and identify their capability level, and these areas are specifically targeted during training. 

Immediately upon return to work, each participant’s supervisor receives a copy of the employee’s performance improvement targets and together they review and select one or two high priority targets to implement, and a review date is set. 

The supervisor uses an Incentive Cache™ to reinforce performance improvement and the supervisor may use an Incentive Cache™ to strengthen the transfer of new or improved skills demonstrated on-the-job. Job Link™ training creates a tangible link between specific on-the-job skills, job-linked training, and on-the-job performance.

Executive Team Building | Appraisal Management Software

Process consulting involves a professional facilitator leading group discussions and using analytical methods or formal frameworks to identify problems or suggest more effective or efficient ways of performing business tasks. Process consultants usually work with senior management or project teams to development future strategies, identify best practices or implement plans that result in the achievement of designated objectives 

One of the analytical tools used to initiate strategic planning with Boards involving dynamic relationships is Perceptual Mapping. Perceptual mapping is an analytical process developed to identify the critical factors affecting long-term business success. The process quickly and easily galvanizes diverse participant opinions into a unified agreement. Participants identify and force rank factors having the greatest impact on their business. The items are charted according to their current performance level. Through this fusion of current performance in high impact areas, a detailed map of critical success factors emerge.

The result - valuable resources are focused where they are needed most; and decision - makers are empowered to develop departmental goals and business objectives that fully support mission and strategy. Aligning all work efforts and resources optimizes organizational effectiveness.

Strategic Mapping Objectives | Performance Management System Software

Strategic Mapping Objectives:

• Manage the critical success factors affecting success and failure.
• Identify and eliminate unforeseen obstacles to a successful transition for the old facility to the new facility.
• Increase shared responsibility and commitment among team members.
• Provide a rational approach to team decision making.
• Create a culture inspired by clear direction and fueled by a collective passion.
• Facilitation

The Strategic Mapping process is designed as a one day work shop. One day includes actual time engaged in classroom activities, resenting/demonstrating training concepts, methods and technologies.

Participant Materials

Custom design participant materials which includes; workbooks, personality inventories and exercises used by participants in the workshop.

Concluding Comments

Our goal is to exceed your expectations. We have a strong desire to make a positive contribution toward your professional and personal growth.

Strategic Mapping Planning | Employee Appraisal System

Strategic mapping is an analytical process developed to align diverse opinions while pin pointing the key result areas essential to long term success. Participants identify and force rank the factors which they believe have the greatest impact on their future success. The items are rated according to their current performance level and plotted on a matrix. Through the welding together of diverse opinions the matrix provides a clear road map indicating current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

With this new perspective, rational and realistic business plans can be easily constructed. Individual team members will be able to confidently create measurable performance objectives aligned with a sense of purpose shared by the entire team. Valuable resources can be focused where they are most needed. Team members will be able to support organization mission, strategy, and goals while making independent decisions.

Strategic Mapping Vision to Action Workshop

Strategic Mapping Overview

Strategic mapping is a strategic planning and execution process. It has been successful used by Fortune 100.corporations such as Chevron, ATT, and Colgate. It provides executive teams with the technology to quickly execution and anticipates bottlenecks and blunders. The process quickly identifies underperforming high impact areas key result areas. Avoid wasting valuable time and money.

Strategic mapping ensures senior management can ...

• Build consensus quickly even with the most diverse membership.
• Envision areas holding the greatest opportunities and failure.
• Generate business alignment.
• Measurably links strategic drivers with the day-to-day actions of employees.
• Track strategic performance by department, position or person.
• Execute strategy changes faster.
• Increase return on investment of money, machines, and manpower.

Fundamentals of Strategic Planning Workshop Overview

No matter how well the strategy is designed, it is people that make it work. It is one thing for business leaders and senior management teams to develop new strategies. It is quiet a challenge to have them successfully implemented. Many strategies fail to deliver their full potential. This can be traced back to four critical success areas.

They fail because;

1. The mission or strategy is vague or unclear. People are not sure what they need to do to support them day-to-day.
2. The values described in the vision, mission and goals are at odds with the existing values and beliefs guiding behavior within the organization.
3. There are no measures to help staff mark progress toward goal achievement.
4. There is no reinforcement for behaviors supporting change.

Organizational Development Leadership & Training | Management Consulting Training

Organizational Development (OD) interventions result in innovative solutions, greater management commitment, and increased organizational effectiveness. Senior management teams identify, plan and implement the strategies, structure and systems that build profitability and reduce costs.

Each OD intervention is as unique as our individual client. Organizations, like individuals have their strengths, challenges and culture. The facilitator provides focus, structure and business process tools ensuring team members maintain solidarity and efficiency throughout the planning and execution process. The end result is sustained growth and profitability.

Typical intervention includes:

• Creating Actionable Mission Statement and Guiding Principles
• Executive Team Building
• Strategic Mapping
• Performance Management Planning
• Building Pay-For-Performance Systems
• Performance Based Job descriptions
• Incentive Planning
• Identifying ROI From Training - Job Link

Business Management Consulting | Performance Appraisal Process

Managers find it easy to plan and follow up on employee assignments. Coaching plans, work assignments or complex projects can be outlined allowing both manager and employee to monitor progress. Alerts are used to remind manager and employee when it is time to review preset progress dates. Performance dashboards allow managers to view past performance as well as ongoing completion of assigned tasks and goals.

Are your managers leaving you vulnerable to expensive law suits?

Most managers recognize the importance of employee documentation. However, it usually remains a low priority until something goes horribly wrong. Attorneys have learned to subpoena all documentation for all employees in a department. Frequently this turns up an abundance of documentation on their client and very little if any on other staff members. This information may become evidence of discrimination against their client. “Continuous Documentation”, may be critical to winning a law suit. Our documentation alert system reminds managers when to document on a regular schedule. Managers can set the alerts themselves or HR can set alerts at designated intervals to search for and send reminders to managers who have not recorded any documentation.

Employee Appraisal System | Business Coaching And Consulting

Differentiating between those employees that add value and those that don’t is a key success factor for your organization!

Our “Human Factor” appraisal system makes it easy for managers to create a collaborative discussion regarding performance, innovation, motivation and conduct.

Appraisals are job specific, defining work requirements and accountabilities with laser sharp metrics. This cuts down on the time usually spent discussing generalizations found in traditional appraisals formats. Human Factor appraisals not only include measurement of specific job skills, but allow manages and staff to target areas for innovation, as well as, easily review concerns regarding motivation levels and conduct. They are much more advanced than the old one-size-fits all appraisals format many organizations still use. Every item is measurable and job specific, making it fair and legally bullet proof. In addition, our proprietary rating scale enables managers to accurately assess both skill and motivation at the same time. Individual ratings are linked with specific coaching strategies making is easier for managers to develop underperformers or provide advanced learning opportunities for high performers. The collaborative interaction is designed to build employee commitment and loyalty.

Motivation – You Get What You Reward | Employee Motivational Tool

Performance measures alone will not sustain a high performance workforce. Managers must recognize their staff do not work for them, they work for themselves.

Utilizing behavioral indicators and financial and non-financial incentives that can be removed ensures employees not only focus on what is best for themselves in the short term but what is best for the business in the long term., Performance Path ® is a no-nonsense pay-for-performance system that rewards the best, develops the mid-level skills, and improves under-performers within timeframes.

Job Specific Appraisals | Performance Appraisal Process

Job specific appraisals enable managers to pinpoint key skill needing improvement and establish work priorities driving strategy and sustainability. In addition, managers can target specific innovation areas creating value for the organization as well as supporting career advancement and compensation for the staff member.

Performance worksheets enable manager and staff member to discuss and create goals supporting strategic goals advancing staff development. Managers can monitor progress through performance dashboards, Including:

• Leadership & Management Skill Level.
• Employee Skill Level.
• Employee Motivational Level. l.
• Innovations Suggested and Implemented.
• Skill & Motivational Improvements.
• Performance Goals Initiated and Completed.
• Displays KPI associated with staff performance by person, position or department.

Employee Performance Management System, Employee Appraisals and Training

Performance Path™ provides a set of interlocking technologies enabling managers to align and motivate staff at all levels supporting mission, vision and goals. Managers can now drive strategy as easily as a captain steers a ship.

1. Tells employees what they need to do to excel.

One first line employee responded to the question, “What do you think of our new mission statement?” replied, “I don’t know, my job hasn’t changed.” Employees must understand how strategy affects their job and their daily decisions.

Performance Path’s performance based job descriptions specify the critical competencies driving business success. All job requirements are measurable and prioritized according to their strategic significance. This provides all employees with a blueprint for success from day one. Mission and strategy is defined in job specific terms they understand;

2. Tells employees what activities are valued.

The values described in the vision, mission and goals are at odds with the existing values and 

beliefs guiding behavior within the organization, They guide decision making and create a personal sense of satisfaction. Values form the foundation of relationships and culture. Behavior that reflects accepted values are rewarded socially and sometimes monetarily. Effective leaders recognize and shape culture by reinforcing behaviors that reflect specific values.

3. Tells employees how they are performing.

There are no measures to help staff mark progress toward goal achievement.

Adults need a road map in order to plot progress. Otherwise they lose interest and focus on more immediate short term priorities and duties. Performance provides manages with multiple tools to solve this problem including job specific appraisals, goal setting work sheets, performance dash boards and the Incentive Cache®.

Increase Employee Performance | Employee Performance Rewards

Align, measure and view daily performance impacting mission, vision and goals!

Kaplan and Norton, developers of the Balanced Score Card reported that 70 to 90 percent of organizations failed to realize the full potential their strategy promises. A recent article by Erik Berggren and Lars Dalgaard estimate that companies experience successful strategy results only 15% from planning but 85% from execution.

It is one thing for business leaders and senior management teams to develop new strategies. It is quiet a different challenge to have them successfully implemented. Many strategies fail to deliver their full potential. This can be traced back to four critical success areas.

Strategies fail because;

• The mission or strategy is vague or unclear. People are not sure what they need to do to support them day to day,
• The values described in the vision, mission and goals are at odds with the existing values and beliefs guiding behavior within the organization,
• There are no measures to help staff mark progress toward goal achievement ,
• There is no reinforcement for behaviors supporting change.

Harness Employee Innovation | Business Coaching & Consulting

Expand competitive advantage by creating innovation targets specific to each employee.

In our global market place innovation is a cornerstone of sustainable business success. Yet, in many organizations innovation remains sequestered to R&D or rely on hit or miss suggestions from employees. The benefits of harnessing the collective power of talented individuals is enormous for small and large businesses alike Performance Path ® enables organizations to hardwire innovation and value creation into each employees thinking.

Performance Path ® performance based job descriptions and appraisals systems hardwire innovation and value creation into each employees job and pay package. Measurable innovation target areas are embedded in each employee’s job description and appraisal. These targets are outside normal job duties. Employees receive additional points in their appraisal or select from highly desirable incentives based on their Incentive Cache™ profile. Employees have nothing to lose and everything to gain by engaging in creating value beyond job requirements Targets may include new ideas that reduce cost, increase productivity, solving customer problems, contributing to designated community organizations, etc.

Setting innovation targets alone will not be successful if employees are not passionate and engaged. Passionate individuals are usually talented and motivated, but they're often unhappy - they feel blocked in their efforts. Leadership must put mechanisms in place to reward value creation and innovation.

Establishing innovation targets linked with highly valued financial and non-financial rewards creates passion. However care must be taken not only those incentives drives individual performance but contribute to sustainable business results in the future. Too narrow a focus on “line of sight” incentives may reap short term gains for the individual at the expense of long term consequences for the organization. Designing an effective incentive system results in a highly responsive work force. Incentives can drive both value creation and organization responsiveness or agility. Together they provide organizations with a competitive advantage that is hard for competitors to copy.

Employee Appraisal System | Management Consulting Training

If we can measure it we can grow it. Research has found there is as much as a 40% difference between top performers and poor performers with the same level of skill. Commonly referred to as discretionary effort. Identifying and defining measurable leadership skills for managers and including them in their appraisal expands soft skill accountability skill few have been able to measure. Improving leadership skills has a direct impact on employee skill and initiative. And that has a direct impact on increases organizational efficiency. Effective leadership inspires people to exceed expectations. It is human energy that drives progress.

Paying managers for the full scope of their job responsibilities including leadership rewards leadership effectiveness. Leadership effectiveness increases as managers realize the important of developing greater skill in managing and motivating staff. You get what you measure and reward.

Performance Path Leadership Skills | Leadership Training & Development

Best practice leadership skills can be objectively defined and measured. Including measurable best practices in appraisals increases accountability and share holder value. Examples include;

• Ensuring the performance range between top performers and poor performers does not exceed 15% year over year.
• Reward and recognize staff for performance /skill improvement according to Eligibility Criteria.
• Independently discipline and or redirect staff according to HR guidelines and policy.
• Independently resolves conflict with staff and customers by focusing on facts not personality, uses active listening, and maintains goals, strategy, and guidelines.
• Asks for and includes other peoples ideas into plans, problem solutions, and assignments resulting in measurable improvements to critical success factors.
• Independently and accurately recognizes rewards and documents performance of others supporting Company vision, values and strategy as it occurs. e.g. giving credit to others ideas, assigning special duties when interest is expressed, acknowledging employees that have completed an important assignment, etc.

Hardwire Accountability - Strategic Planning

Hardwire measurable management skills (Hard and soft) into appraisals.

In 2002 Watson Wyatt Worldwide published that company with effectively rewards and clear accountabilities received up to a 16.5% increase in share holder value. The 2001/2002 follow-up HCI study compared a group of companies at two different times. Doing a better job of rewarding employees for good work - and refusing to accept sub par performance - can earn a company a 16.5 percent higher market value. The study found that superior human capital practices are a leading indicator of superior financial results.

What is the evidence that:

• Management is adding value - not destroying it?
• They are aligned around a common vision?
• They know what they need to do to ensure Human Capital earns a good return on investment (ROI)?
• Do they bring the best out in their staff?

Reward Not A Reward - Employee Motivation Tool

Wasting money on rewards and incentives is a fact for many organizations. If you have ever received a gift that you did not want you already know the answer to the question. Some corporation I are very good at presenting high performers with plaques. Some people line their office walls with them. They are proud to receive the accolades and symbols of appreciation.

While others feel disappoint and slighted. They would have felt excited if instead of a plaque they were given an opportunity to work a special project of interest, advanced training or expanded vacation time. Blindly presenting rewards and recognition to staff can damage individual initiative , create disappointment or even resentment on the receiver’s part. Linking valued incentives and rewards with and waste money spent on rewards due to a lack of understanding of motivational psychology and limited reward choices.

Pay for Performance Increases Management Skills.

How do you know if your managers are creating value or destroying it?

Some managers are technically competent but their management abilities leave much to be desired. Since management affects the motivation and development of many staff and customers the actual impact of poor management is staggering. Our performance based appraisal system hard wires measurable management accountabilities into each manager’s appraisal. The result, management excellence becomes a priority. Pay and benefits reflect the full impact managers have on long term competitiveness. (See Performance Dashboards for more details).

Compensation strategies - Salary Based Compensation : Performance Based Compensation

Performance Path ® gives you more bang for your compensation dollars.

Pay for performance pay off by lowering direct compensation costs and increasing the return your human capital investments.

Many organizations differentiate their performers pay by performance. Unfortunately many top performers see the actual in -the-pocked difference between high performers pay increase and average performers’ insignificant. That is where providing non-financial incenses for performance increases can build commitment and loyalty without increasing relative cost (Incentive Cache for more details).

Financial and non-financial incentives that can be removed ensuring employees not only focus on what is best for themselves in the short term but what is best for the business in the long term. Performance Path ® is a no-nonsense pay-for-performance system that rewards the best, develops the mid-level skills, and provides fair and legally defensible means to reduce underperformance.

Reduce Costs with Performance Path - Performance Management Systems

Cut costs with our next generation performance management system.

Executives everywhere are looking for better ways to reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction. Cash management will only become more important as the recession continues. Don’t waste money on generic appraisals and training. Less than 10% of the people who go through generic appraisals and training improve their performance.

Ways to reduce cost with Performance Path ®

Performance Path ® is the next generation employee performance management system. Combining information technology and organizational psychology employees are rewarded for more than short term, “line-of-site” rewards. It ensures alignment between business objectives, individual performance and incentives. Designed to create sustainable value, Performance Path ® provides a disciplined focus on performance results that creates a culture of achievement-not entitlements.

Pay increases are not automatic…they are earned.

Differentiating between those that add value and those that don’t across the board raises not only rewards mediocrity but compounds cost increases. The graphics below provide a simple example.

We compared two employee groups of 50 employees each. The first group received a 3% across the board raises. The second group was paid based on their performance.

The performance based group was divided into three segment 10% high performers, 80% high average performers and 10% low performers. Top performers received a 3% pay increase average performers received 1.5 pay increase and low performers did not receive a pay increase.

Motivation – You Get What You Reward | Employee Motivation

Performance measures alone will not sustain a high performance workforce.

Managers must recognize their staff do not work for them, they work for themselves.

Utilizing behavioral indicators and financial and non-financial incentives that can be removed ensures employees not only focus on what is best for themselves in the short term but what is best for the business in the long term., Performance Path ® is a no-nonsense pay-for-performance system that rewards the best, develops the mid-level skills, and improves under-performers within timeframes.

Utilizing an innovative incentive system individualized to each employee, manager’s evaluations improves risk management while creating fair and balanced appraisals.

Pay increases are not automatic…they are earned.

Executives have dashboards to instantly monitor functions, departments and employee performance as closely as they monitor cash flow. This is what the Fed is asking for…..a compensation system that doesn’t pull any punches.

It is a manager’s daily responsibility to energize, motivate and direct each individual in their team.. In the end, your company’s performance and ability to execute is dependent on individuals taking the right actions that drive strategic success.

Performance Path Human Factors - Employee Motivation Tool

All managers and supervisor need to have the tools to measure or motivate their teams. As they say if you are not the lead do the view never changers.

Unless…

Performance Path Human Factors Dashboard, …

• Leadership & Management Skill Level.
• Employee Skill Level.
• Employee Motivational Level.
• Innovations Suggested and Implemented.
• Skill & Motivational Improvements.
• Performance Goals Initiated and Completed.
• Displays KPI Performance by Person, Position or Department.

Strategic "Change" Execution - Performance Appraisal

Drive strategy like you drive your car..

Today more than ever, getting and sustaining success is dependent on your ability to innovate and execute. Both depend on the talent and motivation of staff. Imagine an executive attending a supervisor’s meeting to find out how the new strategy is working. One seasoned staffer smiles and says “I don’t know, my job hasn’t changed”. Everyone cracks up with nervous laughter.

Frontline supervisors are the lynchpin of strategic execution. If they fail to support change,  execution can drag on and eventually die on the vine.

What is the evidence that:

Management is adding value - not destroying it?

They are aligned around a common vision?

They know what they need to do to ensure Human Capital earns a good return-on-investment?

Do they bring the best out in their staff?

All managers and supervisor need to have the tools to measure or motivate their teams. As they say if you are not the lead do the view never changers.

Increase Performance & Productivity : Improve Performance - Performance Appraisal

Increase Performance & Productivity:

An economic crisis requires leadership to quickly shift effort and output as market forces demand change.

Performance Path ® effects change by increasing performance and productivity through a system that creates a culture of achievement not entitlement.

Performance Path ® Improves Performance in any organization large or small by:

• driving leadership and accountability,
• creating a culture of achievement, ensures talent development,
• providing measurable management and rewards with motivational incentives.

Performance Path - Next Generation in Workforce Management Systems

Performance Path®, the next generation in Workforce Management Systems, is designed specifically to help you tap into that most powerful of all motivators: Linking the individual values and desires of your people to the objectives and strategy of your organization. Performance Path® delivers:

• Faster execution and sustainable strategic focus
• Lower costs
• Best practice management skills
• Accurate measures of employee skill and motivation levels
• Employee and customer satisfaction
• Improved process efficiency
• Improved output quality
• Increased innovation
• Increased profitability

Find out more about Performance Path® and our consulting services. Please contact us if you have any questions or if you’d like to schedule a free demonstration of our robust software suite at your convenience.