11 Enterprise Performance Management Best Practices - Planning Phase

This article continues where we left off discussing the eight performance management best practices in the defining phase of the Lifecycle Performance Management Model. The Lifecycle Performance Management Model is an enterprise framework that is centered on 35 best practices. These best practices span across the five phases of the performance life-cycle: defining, planning, executing, monitoring and reporting. This article is the second of a series of five discussing the performance management best practices within Lifecycle Performance Management, and will focus on the planning phase.

The focus of the planning phase is to start the buzz and get your organization prepared for the cultural changes that will take place during your successful performance initiative. Best practices in the planning phase enable you to gain employee acceptance into the performance initiative and put employees into a high performance mindset. They also include base-lining current performance and setting future goals, breaking down functional barriers, identifying key processes that drive business success, and ensuring a successful performance management implementation through training.

1. Employee Acceptance Management

Employee Acceptance Management is the process of gaining employee buy-in by emphasizing performance expectations from the top level down. Employee Acceptance Management involves transforming employees into a high performance mindset, communicating employee expectations and enabling them to understand the impact that their specific role has on the success of the organization.

2. Performance Management Planning

Performance Management Planning is the practice of defining the performance strategy and
prioritizing activities according to that strategy-to ensure operational alignment with organizational goals. Performance Management Planning involves planning, budgeting, forecasting and allocating resources to support strategy and achieve optimal execution. The Performance Management Plan includes consolidating, monitoring, and reporting on performance outcomes for management, regulatory, and statutory purposes. The ultimate goal of Performance Management Planning is the ability to plan and budget in real-time with dynamic plans that provide real-time feedback to everyone who is part of the process.

3. Time Management (Planning versus Implementing)

Planning is an essential item on the critical path of every project. Our studies have shown that cutting corners on planning can triple the cost and time to implement enterprise level projects. Planning requires adequate information about the current and target states and accurate estimates of the time and financial investments required to perform all the steps necessary for change.

Planning also involves putting together a team of committed and motivated individuals with defined team roles, outlining all tasks, assigning responsibilities, and proactively managing and mitigating risks. The planning process should include the development of a vision/scope
document so that each team member understands the project vision, goals, objectives, schedule, and risks. The planning team should allow adequate time for team members to understand, investigate, document, and communicate prior to design and implementation.

4. Leadership Development

Leadership Development is the strategic investment in, and utilization of the human capital within the organization. The practice of Leadership Development focuses on the development of leadership as a process. With the rapid rate of change in our global economy, leadership has taken on the critical role of adaptation and innovation in the workplace. As companies restructure their business processes and employees, they need solid leadership training to communicate effectively, influence others, maximize creativity, and analyze your business. How leadership is demonstrated within an organization will determine how successful that organization will be and how successful those who follow will become.

5. Employee Training

Employee training is one of the most powerful cost reduction drivers. Our research shows that the under-trained employee consumes two to six times the amount of technical support (including peer support) than an adequately trained user. Employee training should be performed on systems and applications, being careful to match the training that is delivered in relation to the employee's job. Training should include a mix of instructor-led classroom training, computer-based training, and just-in-time training to help increase user productivity and reduce support costs.

6. Staff Motivation

A motivated staff is one that will operate as a team and will pitch in when needed to solve any problem or challenge at hand. They will often exceed expectations and provide critical back up for each other. A motivated staff works harder to meet the goals set by the organization.

7. Automated Asset Management

Electronically supported life-cycle driven asset process. Automated asset management consists of electronically supported procurement, automated inventory, and centralized data repository that are available to financial, administrative, technical planners, system administrators, and the service desk. Managed data within the asset management system consists of contract terms, hardware inventory, software inventory, accounting, maintenance records, change history, support history, and other technical and financial information.

8. Systems Scalability

Systems Scalability is a technology infrastructure that can logically and physically increase in performance and capacity with continuity to meet reasonable growth and change over time. A scalable architecture contains a strategic migration plan for continuous growth and progress. Commitment to scalable architectures enables the roll-out of homogeneous hardware and application platforms across users and departments with different processing requirements, while providing technical staff with a common platform to support.

9. Capacity Planning

Capacity planning is a process by which the capacity of the network and assets is measured, compared against requirements, and adjusted as appropriate. The process of capacity planning involves mapping new initiatives to existing infrastructure, understanding the cost
dynamics of network bandwidth and storage, memory, and other system resources.

10. Enterprise Policy Management

Enterprise policy management is a managed user environment in which a network or desktop administrator can control, with rules-based logic, which applications, settings, network resources, databases, and other IT assets a user can use. This environment is defined by user ID and is not necessarily machine specific. It is typically implemented by user profiles maintained at the server and synchronized with the client device that a user is logged onto.

Enterprise policy management precludes the user from making changes to the system; such as introducing unauthorized software or changing settings that may cause conflict with other system resources. As well, a managed environment controls the ease of use of the desktop, providing a common set of applications and access for groups of users or individuals. In this manner, the user is presented only with the tools they have been trained on and need for the job, and assures that changes are managed. This process, integrated with a system management and change management policy, can reduce service desk calls and unplanned
downtime, as well as create a more predictable platform for system upgrades.

11. IS Training

IS professional training is critical in preparing the IS staff that are delivering support and service to users to confidently plan and implement initiatives and solutions, and resolve user issues quickly and effectively. IS professional training should be obtained for all staff members on the systems, tools, and applications that are utilized in their daily jobs. Training should include instructor-led training classes,certification courses, seminars, and computer-based training.