Measuring Your Way to Successful Outcomes!

by: Frankie Picasso

Would you like to Increase Business Performance, Get ahead of your Competition and Effect a Proven Positive Sustainable Change within your Organization - Immediately? Are you an Organization that engages outside facilitators to motivate, inspire or train your staff? Have you ever wondered if your money is being well spent? Despite the rave reviews from staff, have you seen any real change take place in the workplace? Would you know how to measure for it if you had? If your answer is NO, then I will share with you the importance of METRICS and why this buzz word is so important for you to understand, and how you can use the information to increase your business performance, get ahead of your competition and immediately effect positive change. Companies who have introduced performance management cultures into their organizations have been found to have higher profits and stronger market performance. Performance management is the terminology being used in industry today to measure performance against business goals and employee competencies. If what these ”facilitators of change” are “selling” is not clearly defined in terms of measurable performance markers or proven sustainable outcomes, then their deliverables are of little use to an organization that is looking for that which can be clearly measured. Organizations are measuring everything from employees skill levels, how many complaints they receive in a given week to how many sick days does an employee take in a given month if they are engaged in regular exercise and if they are not. Think about this for a moment. If the person you hired to speak cannot report measurable performance outcomes for their performance or training program then this may be where the crux of the problem lies. How can you notice that which you did not plan for? Do you know what success means to you, what it looks like? When it comes to measuring your performance outcomes it is very important that both the company and the facilitator know exactly what deliverables they are looking for and how BOTH of you are going to know if they have been met. Deliverables need to be determined well before the facilitator reaches an audience. It is vital that you sit down with your trainer, and determine what outcomes the organization is looking for, how they will be measured and what would success look like when achieved! For example, let’s say you hire a speaker who specializes in time management. Some measurable outcomes may look like this: a.) Work is not piled up on desks, chairs, floors b.) More work is completed on time- c.) employees work less overtime and you pay less overtime d.) employees understand how to use identify what is important e.) Less time off due to exhaustion These are the kinds of outcomes that a company would decide on BEFORE the “expert” gets on stage. These results are measurable, and they are sustainable. Are you starting to understand? If you have been following and/or embracing the industry trend for performance measurement these days, then you may be familiar with the studies that have already been conducted on the effectiveness of training with and without coaching. If not then please pay attention to this, because it is very important What you may not know, is the amazing difference that adding 8 weeks of coaching will make to your bottom line in terms of measuring the implementation of your ideas and training. Organizations that offer training without coaching result in a 22 % improvement, but add 8 weeks of coaching on to that, and the results are a staggering 88% in overall improvement and change. These days another industry buzz word is ROI or return on investment. In a study conducted by MetrixGlobal, they actually showed that Coaching produced a 529% return on investment as well as significant intangible benefits to the business. When the financial benefits from employee retention were added into the mix, coaching actually boosted the overall ROI to 788%... (Merrill Anderson [merrilland@metrixglobal.net]) Can you imagine my delight at being able to offer you a proven measurement of 88% in performance enhancement and a 788% ROI? I am so excited about this, and you should be too! No organization should spend thousands of dollars on a speaker or trainer, only to have all that great learning and enthusiasm go out the window within a few days. For the past 25 years, I have been employed in both private and public sector organizations, working to enhance Leadership and management competencies, envision strategic direction, implement quality service standards, and introduce programs and initiatives that would advance and address organizational wellness and employee morale. I KNOW why organizations look outside for assistance, because sometimes they are too close to the forest to see the tree. I used to be the one in charge of hiring the facilitators of change. My role was to decide on the learning outcomes for the organization, measure the effectiveness of the speaker and the event, and then deliver these numbers to our senior management committee. Whether or not we had this speaker back or even had a budget for another event, depended largely upon the results reported in my feedback! Let me stress this one more time “No organization should spend thousands of dollars on a speaker or trainer only to have all that great learning and enthusiasm go out the window within a few days”! Not only is it time for you to begin measuring for success, but by hiring a business coach to help you implement the strategies and changes that your organization now wants to embrace, you have just strengthened your employees retention potential by 88%. Through the power of Coaching, you can guarantee yourself a proven and effective method that will enhance performance and make it easier for your employees to make the transition. Challenge yourself to re-examine your business model and think about adding a 12 week coaching component to your workplace, or better yet, add Coach training to the Performance Plans of your Leaders and Managers and have them become in house coaches. You will be astounded by the metrics, but more importantly your employees and your customers will be pleased with the real changes that are going to take place as a result of implementing your best practices. According to Hay Group, To be successful in today's ever-shifting market, people count for more -- they can make or break the best business strategy, be the driver or brake in adopting new technologies. People are not an implementation issue, nor just an operational or strategic asset. People are the raw resource around which business success revolves. Coaching will increase business performance, it will help you get ahead of your competitor and the effects of it are immediate. Either by itself or as an enhancement to another Training source, adding “12 weeks of supportive coaching” to enhance performance makes good business sense. About the author: Frankie is a Strategic Mission Coach who specializes in the impossible. From Boardroom to Bedroom she is the Strategy Queen. Find out what makes her so unique and what programs and services she offers from her two websites,to make you UNSTOPPABLE! www.conversationwithmyshoes.comor www.coachpicasso.com Circulated by Article Emporium