Price: $20.97

Document provided by...: www.bkconnection.com; (Learn more...); Berrett-Koehler is an independent publisher dedicated to an ambitious mission: Creating a World that Works for All. We believe that to truly create a better world, action is needed at all levels--individual, organizational, and societal. At the individual level, our books help people align their lives with their values and with their aspirations for a better world. At the organizational level, our books promote progressive leadership and management practices, socially responsible approaches to business, and humane and effective organizations. At the societal level, our books advance social and economic justice, shared prosperity, sustainability, and new solutions to national and global issues.

About This Document: In 1995 the first edition of Performance Consulting introduced a concept which has since become a cornerstone of the human resource, learning and organizational development fields: training and HR solutions do not take place in a vacuum but must be tied to an organization's business goals. Performance consulting is a process in which a client and consultant partner to achieve business goals by optimizing workgroup performance.In this updated edition, Dana and Jim Robinson draw on what they've learned since the first edition was published twelve years ago, providing both a robust conceptual framework and improved tools and techniques to help the reader move from the traditional role to that of a Performance Consultant. They show readers how to form partnerships with management, help to identify performance required to ensure that business goals are achieved and assist management in taking actions needed for performance to change. They also illustrate the “how-to’s” for assisting management to identify the performance required to achieve business goals; and determining the degree to which the work environment supports and encourages the performance required.

Stats: Type:
Acrobat PDF; Size:
455 kb; Pages:
39; Views:
132; Posted:
09/22/09

Categories: DocStore > Business Resources > Management
Tags: performance consulting, management consulting, leadership development, organizational development, performance consultants, human performance, strategic planning, the organization, employee engagement, consulting services, peak performance, performance consulting group, personal coaching, organizational performance, professional development

Performance Consulting

an excerpt from A Practical Guide for HR and Learning Professionals by Dana Gaines Robinson and James C. Robinson Performance Consulting: Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers Contents Preface xiii Introduction: What Is Performance Consulting, and Why Do It? 1 PART ONE The Mental Model for Performance Consulting 7 1 The Need Hierarchy 9 2 The GAPS! Logic 27 PART TWO The Science of Performance Consulting 3 Identifying Business and Performance SHOULDs 43 41 4 Identifying the “IS” for Business and Performance 73 5 Identifying Causes and Solutions 99 6 Contracting with Clients 129 vii viii Contents PART THREE The Art of Performance Consulting 7 Building Partnerships with Clients 153 149 8 Reactive Entry: Reframing Requests for Solutions 171 9 Proactively Identifying Performance Consulting Opportunities 203 10 Q&A with the Authors 223 Closing Thoughts 231 Glossary 233 Tools to Download 235 References 237 Associations and Certiﬁcations 241 Resources 243 Index 253 About the Authors 267 List of Figures Figure No. 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.1 2.2 2.3 3.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 6.1 6.2 7.1 Figure Caption Need Hierarchy Gap Zapper Strategic and Tactical Work in Need Hierarchy GAPS! Logic and Need Hierarchy The Components of a GAPS! Map GAPS! Map for a Manufacturing Situation Performance Consulting Process SHOULD Assessments Value of Superior Performance GAP Analysis Skill and Frequency Matrix Three Performer Categories Customer Service Organization Chart Customer Service Representative Questionnaire Findings for Accomplishment 1: Ensure That Customers Are Satisﬁed with Quality of Service Findings for Accomplishment 2: Manage Length of Time on Phone with Customers Findings for Accomplishment 3: Support Colleagues in the Customer Service Center Cause Analysis Unabridged Gap Zapper Results of Cause Analysis Data Funnel Glass of Water Performance Consulting Process Types of Assessments Performance Consulting Process Page 11 14 20 28 29 34 44 47 54 75 76 78 84 92 93 94 95 100 101 109 121 123 130 133 150 ix x Figure No. 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 9.1 9.2 Figure Caption List of Figures Page 173 176 178 180 182 183 191 193 200 201 212 222 Change in Focus During Reframing Conversations Asking Focused Questions Gap Zapper Starter List of Questions Performance Entry into a Reframing Discussion Business Entry into a Reframing Discussion Cool Age and the Marketing and Sales Division Cool Age GAPS! Map Cool Age GAPS! Map Information as Presented by Retail VP Possible Questions to Ask GAPS! Map Answers to Proactive Logic Exercise List of Tables Table No. 1.1 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 6.1 6.2 Table Title Page 11 48 51 53 53 58 79 81 83 86 86 88 104 105 106 108 110 114 136 139 Need Hierarchy Terminology Applications from SHOULD Assessments Comparing Performance and Competency Models Performance Model for Quality Control Representative (QCR) Competency Model for Quality Control Representative (QCR) Pros and Cons of Data-Gathering Methods Used in SHOULD Assessments Sample Size Table for 95% Conﬁdence Level Designing Gap Analysis Pros and Cons of Questionnaires/Surveys for Obtaining Current Performance Data Frequency Scale Skill Level Scale Checklist for Piloting Questionnaires Designing Cause Assessments Sample of a Cause Analysis Survey Reporting Cause Data Results Cause Analysis Questionnaire for Customer Service Reps Barriers and Enablers to CSR Performance Possible Solutions for Causes of Performance and Business Gaps Sources of Data and Methods for Performance Assessments Time Estimates to Complete Performance Assessment Projects xi xii Table No. 6.3 7.1 7.2 7.3 8.1 8.2 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Table Title List of Tables Page 140 154 156 159 174 186 207 208 211 213 Interview and Questionnaire Data Collection Planning Guide The ACT Partnering Model Proactive Techniques for Gaining Access to Project Clients Knowledge About Your Organization and Industry Two Types of Questions Steps in a Typical Reframing Meeting List of Topics to Send Clients Prior to Proactive Conversation Checklist to Prepare for a Proactive Business Goals Conversation Starter Questions for Proactive Business Goals Discussions Examples of Business Goals and Strategies Preface Books stand still . . . knowledge doesn’t. —Jim and Dana Robinson his reality is the driving force behind why we are rewriting our book, Performance Consulting, which was originally published in 1995. The knowledge about how to “do” performance consulting has changed, as has the reality inside the organizations where performance consultants work. When reﬂecting on our book, we know a great deal is different today in three areas: 1. Organizations. In 1995 globalization was a factor in business life, partly because American and European multinational organizations were expanding into other markets. Today globalization is driven by a diverse set of countries, regions, and organizations, making the world very small. And consider how technology has changed our work by reﬂecting on just this one fact: when we originally wrote Performance Consulting: Moving Beyond Training, the ﬁrst web browser (Netscape) had just been launched. Now web browsing is so ubiquitous we even have a phrase—“Google it!”—used when we seek to locate information via the Internet. Clearly, performance consultants work in more competitive and technologically driven organizations than was true in the mid-1990s. 2. Performance consulting. When our book was originally published, performance consulting was a relatively new term and role within the human resources (HR) and Learning communities. Some people credit us, and our book, with inventing the term performance consulting. We doubt that’s the case, choosing to believe that we helped to broaden its use and appeal. We can still recall the ﬁrst time someone came up to us at a conference with a business card indicating the individual’s job title was performance consultant. The year was 1996. Now thousands of individuals hold this job title and ﬁll this role. Professional associations offer T xiii xiv Preface developmental programs and certifications in performance consulting. And the solutions performance consultants deliver have also changed. For example, approximately one-third of formalized training programs are delivered via a technology-enabled method. The same can be said about recruitment and retention processes, performance management systems, and other HR services where technology is integral to the solution. There are also new solution sets, such as talent management, not even discussed in the mid-1990s. Also more is known about how to successfully practice performance consulting. Numerous books and articles have been written about performance consulting since 1995. Examples include the works of Geary Rummler (Serious Performance Consulting According to Rummler, 2004), Harold Stolovitch and Erica