Strategic performance management. John Hackling Transport Limited - Assignment Example

? Strategic Performance Management Table of Contents Introduction 3 Performance Management System 4 Link between team performance and strategic objectives of the company 4 Tools and Techniques 5 The Balanced Scorecard 8 Encourage individual commitment to team performance 11 Application of delegation, mentoring and coaching for achievement of organizational objectives 12 Conclusion 13 Reference 15 Bibliography 16 Introduction Organizations have increasingly felt the need to manage its people and their performance in such a way so as to produce desired effects. The need to include activities which ensures that organization goals are met in an efficient and effective manner is felt unanimously in almost all sectors. This has called for effective performance management systems which solely focuses on the performance of employees, departments, organizations and even the processes which goes on to develop the products and services. The two most critical elements that it seeks to monitor are behaviours and organizational results. The study seeks to bring forth the present performance management system and its effectiveness in a haulage company called John Hackling Transport Limited based in England. The company is known for being one of the best haulage companies in England. It has strategically located its depots, traffic and warehousing facilities at lucrative positions across the major cities providing easy and quick access for its main transport routes and its customers too. Comprising of a vast portfolio of customers, comprising of the national international and local companies from different sectors of the economy, the company has successfully delivered to the demands of all its customers over the years. The project begins with the discussion as to how the company sets performance targets as per the strategic objectives of the firm, which is followed by the tools and techniques needed evaluating performances of employees. The various performance criteria which are used for measuring performances are presented. In this context the various ways and importance of gaining employee commitments towards desired actions are discussed. Finally the importance and use of delegation, mentoring and coaching for the attainment of organizational objectives are presented in the project too. Performance Management System Link between team performance and strategic objectives of the company The first step towards building an effective performance management system is to prioritise the business objectives of the firm and consequently set performance targets with regards to the company as well as individual employees. The strategic objective of the company is to emerge as the top haulage company is UK through its wide diversity of services to customers. The idea is to deliver quality services towards customers with the maximum efficiencies and help them build profitable businesses (Hackling, 2011). The importance of team performance and activities are identified by the company as it is extremely crucial to have group performances and collaboration between team members to deliver services at different locations distributed at distant places across the nation and even in overseas locations. Some of the areas which necessarily require effective team performance and productivity are logistic services, distribution and logistics, storage and warehousing, freight forwarding, pallet line backloads as well as training and consulting. Some of the necessary links between team performance and the strategic objectives of the company are provided below (Hackling-a, 2011). Because of the existence of a wide range of hauling services which are also provided under a single proof, the company needs to ensure that there is complete reliability, flexibility and convenience in the services provide to customers. This means that in a single service delivery a number of departments come into play and this increases the necessity and possibility of group activities and team work. Team work is also needed for ensuring reliability of local deliveries and cost effectiveness of nationwide shipment of products. The aim of achieving cost effectiveness of services is largely dependent on the efficiency with which the services are delivered and the extent to which wastages and errors can be reduced in the system. Collaborative efforts and joint participation of individuals and teams are required for the purpose. This calls for efficient team handling capabilities on the part of the organization to realize its strategic objectives of attaining cost effectiveness of services provided to customers (Hackling, 2011). Additionally, the company also delivers overseas services unlike most other hauling companies in England. The company’s distribution and logistics has special importance in this context. It is important that distribution of services is conducted efficiently and there exists no a gap or miscommunications between the source and the end points. People from the different office locations are required to work together towards a sole purpose. Very often the company would require virtual teams or virtual groups comprising of employees from the different offices to work together. The importance of teamwork is felt urgently in this context (Hackling, 2011). Tools and Techniques Strategic performance management system can be implemented using the popular tool of the Balanced Score Card (BCG). The balanced score card is the most popularly used technique used by organizations which are supported by automation tools and design methods too. Especially designed for managers to monitor and keep track of the activities and works performed by the staffs in the organization or under their teams. Additionally using this tool he is also required to control and monitor the business performance arising out of the functions and activities of the employees at large (Crrelman & Makhijani, 2006, p.287). The reason why the strategic performance management system is implemented is to help the organization implement its strategies and subsequently validate its contribution towards the success of the organization. The use of success mapping is important in this case for learning how it can act as a tool for complementing the balanced scorecard and also creating better commitment and understanding across the organization. Evaluations are done using the different parameters and the various roles they play in assessing employee performance and productivity (Cranfield University, 2011). Before the application and implementation of a performance management tool or technique it is important to identify the key components of performance management. These components have been identified as planning, monitoring, developing, rating and rewarding. This is provided in the figure below. Figure 1: Performance Management's Five Key Components (Source: United States Office of Personnel Management, 2001, p.2) The first step in the management of performance is planning, which is to set performance goals and expectations for individuals and groups in order to direct their efforts towards the realization of these goals and objectives. In the case of John Hackling Transport Limited, group performance targets could be set with regards to services provided to customers, distribution and logistics, freights forwarding, etc. Group performance targets can be set against the extent to which the company wants to diversify its services to customers, maximising its distribution networks across the country as well as overseas nations, handling of overseas freights such that other haulage companies would not touch or even attainment of competitive rates of services provided to customers (United States Office of Personnel Management, 2001, p.4). The second step, which is monitoring implies that Hackling would have to continuously monitor the performance of employees in the projects undertaken and provide employees and workgroups with feedback on a continuous basis over the progress towards attaining goals. In this case, the company could set performance standards for employees and groups with regards to efficiencies of services provided to customers, revenues generated by every individual and groups, satisfaction of customers through their services etc (United States Office of Personnel Management, 2001, p.6). John Hackling Transport Limited must cater to the development needs of individuals and groups with the aim to enhance their capacity to perform well in the organization. This can be done through the provision of training programs, providing them with assignments which introduce new skills or even high levels of responsibilities, improvement of the work processes and even other methods too, providing greater opportunities of performance for employees and strengthening of job related skills and competencies too (United States Office of Personnel Management, 2001, p.6). The next step is ratings in which Hackling can provide rating on the summarised effects of their performance. This can mainly be done with the aim of comparing performance of teams and individuals over time and with other employees. It also facilitates the process of identification of the best performer in the company. Finally, rewarding is one of the most crucial components of the entire performance management system in which the company recognizes the efforts of its employees as groups or individuals and acknowledges their contribution towards realizing the goals of the company (United States Office of Personnel Management, 2001, p.6). The Balanced Scorecard The framework of Kaplan and Norton presents a methodology which is widely used by managers to get a comprehensive view of their business plans and performances. The traditional framework of performance management presented in the diagram below provides the aspects on which employees performances can be measured and evaluated against set targets. Figure 2: The Balanced Scorecard linking measurement to strategy (Source:  Verweire & Berghe, 2004, p.38) The first critical success factor against which the performances of employees can be measured has been categorised as financial factors. According to this factor, the performances of individuals and groups can be measured against the increase in market share acquired by the company and an individual’s or group’s contribution towards acquiring that share. Hackling can measure the sales growth, profitability etc and its association with the individual contributions of employees and groups in the organization. The extent to which employees’ performance brings about change in the profits and sales would be the reflection of the success of his performance (Verweire & Berghe, 2004, p.38). Customer would be another crucial determinant of the successful performance of individuals and groups of employees. Hackling can track the number of complaints coming from customers availing its services or even the percentage of orders that it has been getting from new customers which cold act as a determinant of the performances of employees in the organization. The strategic objective of improving the quality of services provided to customers and the improvement of the reliability of the services provided would determine the extent to which employees have been successful in the process (Verweire & Berghe, 2004, p.38). Process is the third critical success factor which would determine the success of the strategic objectives of the firm. The time within which an employee is able to perform an activity could be used for determining the efficiencies of his performance and productivity. For example, in John Hackling Transport Limited, the time required for an individual or groups to deliver a service to a particular location would reflect his efficiencies in doing so. The reduction of errors or drawbacks in the process would determine the quality of services provided to customers and consequently the quality of services that employees were delivering (Verweire & Berghe, 2004, p.38). Learning and growth is the fourth dimension which identifies the infrastructures that organizations must create for long term growth and improvements. The extent to which employees are involved in the work processes would determine their success. Re-skilling of employees, developing the right kind of systems and information and technologies, and aligning organizational procedures with the strategic objective of the organization to improve employee involvement would determine the success of the factor (Verweire & Berghe, 2004, p.39). Encourage individual commitment to team performance The overall performance of team boils down to the individual performances of the team members making up the team. The first step towards encouraging team performance is identifying each members of the team as each one of them has a different set of driving forces. It is important to know what factors contribute towards driving performances of each individual and encourages him to do so too. It is important to incorporate these factors in order to encourage individuals to perform better in order to raise performance of the team at large (Lewis, 2004, p.146). Failure to meet individual demands and requirements and catering to the needs and requirements of specific individuals and failing to meet the same for others only ends up satisfying a few members while leaving other members dissatisfied and frustrated. Hackling can incorporate efforts to improve team works and performance by including rewards for group performances. Incentives can be provided for successful group efforts and activities which can be either monetary incentives as well as non monetary incentives such as appreciation mails, gifts, etc. It is important to mention names and praises for those who were responsible for making a difference (Dyer & Dyer, 2010, “Determinants of High Performing Teams”). Team performance can be enhanced considerably through enhancement of team involvement and activities in the organization. For this purpose, collective feedback from the teams can be collected and their views and suggestions can be considered for assessing the drawbacks and loopholes and consequently removing them. Very often teams might be lacking the requisite infrastructure needed for their smooth operations and functioning. In such cases, it is important to their individual requirements so as to ensure that they can perform to the best of their abilities (London, 2003, 199). Besides having individual performance evaluation criteria, there should also be team performance evaluation criteria. Targets can be set for team activities against which comparison can be done between different teams and groups in the organization. Providing incentives for high performing teams would inspire them to better their performance towards realizing strategic objectives and goals of the organization (London, 2003, 199). Application of delegation, mentoring and coaching for achievement of organizational objectives Delegation, mentoring and coaching are some of the components in performance management system which John Hackling Transport Limited can incorporate for enhancing performance and productivity of groups. After the reviews of employee performance the management must provide feedback on their performances. Feedback on performance review forms an important component of the performance management systems. Feedbacks can be provided through delegation, coaching and mentoring too. Delegation can be provided when a particular activity needs to be conducted and there is no room for reverse arguments on the subject. It can also act as a guideline for the employees in which managers can instruct them to perform in a particular direction. For example, in John Hackling Transport Limited management might fix a particular activity and the way in which it needs to be conducted. In such a case it can delegate the particular procedure towards employees and groups such that they may proceed in that particular direction (Daly, Speedy & Jackson, 2004, p.323). Mentoring can be used as a tool for improving employee performance when particular reasons have been identified which have been lowering their performance and productivity. Groups as well as individual employees can be provided with mentoring sessions to help them overcome particular drawbacks and loopholes in their activities in the organization. It concerns more metal influence ad removing mental barriers holding back work progresses. Lastly, coaching can be considered as a different form of training to help employees perform actions in particular ways for attaining goals and objectives successfully. Employees can be provided with training in the desired technical expertise and skills such as to enable them to attain efficiencies in that particular expertise. This can be an effective way of equipping employees in particular skills which need to be performed on a continuous basis (Hawkins, 2011, p.58). Conclusion The project reveals that John Hackling Transport Limited is one of the most prominent haulage companies in the UK operating in various local regions and also providing services overseas. It is evident that the organization seeks to attain competitive efficiencies in the services that it provides to customer at competitive prices. However, this can be made possible only through the performance improvement and enhancement of employees. The performance management system developed for the purpose seeks to evaluate performances in such a way so as to help employees attain the strategic goals and objectives of the firm. In this regard, special emphasis has been provided to group activities and team performance to realise organizational effectiveness and efficiencies. The performance evaluation of employees is done using the balanced scorecard in which four parameters are set for assessing group performances in those aspects such as shareholders perspectives, customers, internal processes and innovation and learning. Financial performance such as sales and profits are used for assessing contribution of employees in these aspects. In this context customer’s feedback are also considered for assessing the quality of services provided by employees. An increase in the number of complaints and fall in the number of new assignments are surely an unfavourable reflection of employee performance. Another aspect which has been considered is the internal process, such as the time required for completing a particular production cycle, the number of errors in the process etc. Finally, enhancement of employee involvement and learning is considered to be a prerequisite for the effective contribution of employees. Reference Cranfield University. (2011). Operations, Programme Management and Information Systems. [Online]. Available at: http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/p13679/Programmes-and-Executive-Development/OEP-Home/Programmes/Strategy/Strategic-Performance-Management. [Accessed on December 21, 2011]. Crrelman, J. & Makhijani, N. (2006). Mastering Business In Asia: Succceeding With The Balanced Scorecard. Wiley-India. Daly, J., Speedy, S. & Jackson, D. (2004). Nursing Leadership. Elsevier Australia. Dyer, W. G. & Dyer, J. H. (2010). Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance. John Wiley and Sons. Hackling. (2011). Not all Haulage companies are the same. [Online]. Available at: http://www.Hackling.co.uk/haulagehome/tabid/74/language/en-us/default.aspx. [Accessed on December 21, 2011]. Hackling-a. (2011). Road haulage services. [Online]. Available at: http://www.Hackling.co.uk/haulageservices/roadhaulageservices/tabid/200/language/en-us/default.aspx. [Accessed on December 21, 2011]. Hawkins, P. (2011). Leadership Team Coaching: Developing Collective Transformational Leadership. Kogan Page Publishers. Lewis, J. P. (2004). Team-Based Project Management. Beard Books. London, M. (2003). Job feedback: giving, seeking, and using feedback for performance improvement. Taylor & Francis. United States Office of Personnel Management. (2011). AHandbook for Measuring Employee Performance: Aligning Employee Performance Plans with Organizational Goals. [Pdf]. 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