By Michel Boisvert, President of IPSO Technologies
Many companies looking to improve their organizational performance, but how? As an organization, it is primarily for employees, it is imperative that you give a direction and specific goals for your company in order to properly motivate your troops…
Positive feedback to improve performance
Without taking anything away from your leadership qualities, the main engine to change human behavior is positive feedback or ” positive feedback “, that is to say the strengthening of good behavior through communication “fast” results. Well known in the psychology of human behavior, the positive feedback is a technique that improves the achievement of goals simply by communicating positively the results obtained previously. When employees can measure their progress against goals, their motivation is much larger and this invariably affects their productivity.
So how can we use positive feedback to enhance the performance of an organization?
“The art of choosing men is far less difficult than the art of allowing men chosen to reach their full value!” -Napoleon
What is meant by performance of an organization?
Generally, we get on to say that the performance confronts in results obtained with regard to the fixed objectives. The objectives establish by the management to be followed and the gap with compare with the objective determines the performance level. So for example, if sales increased by 5% this month is a good profit, but if the objective was 15%, it is a mediocre performance, in spite of the good profit.
Performance indicators in the rescue
In the industry , we use the term benchmark or key performance indicator (KPI) to refer to a result that is measured periodically to provide a basis for performance computing. Examples of KPI: the level of inventory turnover, sales increase rate, the ratio of hours without added value, etc. You guess a host of indicators can be calculated in your business.
To measure performance, we must also set objectives consistent with the business plan and periodically measure the significant KPI. The communication of objectives and results is of course essential to the proper success of the positive feedback.
Profit, a key KPI
One of the most used KPI is profit (deficit) at the end of each tax period. This measure of financial income is a financial performance indicator. This is possibly the most crucial performance indicator for the entrepreneur or investors.
But what about the employees? The profit is not a motivation indicator for your troops , we must choose effective indicators according to the particularities of each department.
What are 4 criteria of a good performance indicator?
1. An indicator must be precise
An indicator measuring the calculable results that can be quantified and must be fair and accurate. It should not be questioned by anyone in your organization. Ex.: monthly sales, stock rotation, inventory level, the average time order processing, the number of late deliveries, etc. There are hundreds of performance indicators for a company, depending on your industry .
2. An indicator must be relevant
he primary objective of an indicator is to encourage employees to surpass themselves to improve performance. We must therefore display results that employees can act. For example, go for your units sold rather than your revenue as sales are often dependent on the world market or currency fluctuations. In requesting a specific purpose and on which your employees have a hold, they will be much more productive.
3. An indicator should be motivational
The desired profit is an indicator of employee buy a concrete goal. Example: if you want to improve the productivity of your plant, you could show the performance of each shift. To achieve your sales goals, view the corresponding figures so that empower employees and their actions meet the objective.
4. An indicator must be current
For the positive feedback effect to be effective, the indicator must be calculated with the least possible delay. It is desirable that it be live if possible. Over the flag is present, the better its impact on the performance of your employees. Beware of outdated indicators because they do not allow employees to take responsibility and can even cause demotivation.
The communication of the indicator
To be effective, each indicator must be known to the employees concerned as soon as possible in light of the objectives. To allow for immediate release, LED screens are now available to always display the indicators in the various departments . One can also disseminate information via e-mail or otherwise… The important thing is that all people involved directly see the effect of their actions.
Continuous improvement, a solution
A continuous improvement program is based on quality indicators and feedback, in order to have positive and lasting changes in the company. There are a host of performance indicators that can improve all aspects of your business, but it is not always easy to put in place especially if your computer skills are limited.
To prevent the simple calculation of the indicators affecting your performance, especially if you want to implement a program of continuous improvement in your company, look for IT solutions automatically calculating your indicators. Your performance is found in improved!
