Performance Issues? Look for the Signs-of-Cause
Today’s economic climate may be amplifying unsatisfactory performance. There are usually many reasons for an organization’s sub-par performance. Taking the time to identify the causes can be expedited if you know which signs to look for. Here are a few examples to look for within your organization.
Start at the Top
Any organization is subject to decreasing performance due to the effects of poor economic conditions within their industry. The leadership will show symptoms of the negative situation before the rest of the workforce. In reaction to the downturn, the leadership will often take short term actions that can actually hurt the organizations performance instead of improving it, so look for some of these signs:
- Less access to management,
- Less direction from management/supervisors,
- Reduction in the top-down information flow,
- Common planning activities are halted or curtailed,
- Less collaboration, a more “demand-and-control” approach,
- Giving conflicting direction, and
- Overlooking strategic objectives for short term tactical activities
Leadership should take a careful look at their actions and demeanor while working through the stresses of a unfavorable economic climate, since both situations can impact organizational performance more than expected.
- Workforce morale is low,
- Inventories are building (raw material, in-process, finished goods, rework),
- Expediting costs are increasing,
- Projects are late and/or poor quality (not meeting requirements),
- Lead-times are increasing, and
- Customer complaints are increasing.
A flow of quality and timely information will reduce the risk of reduced performance within any organization. It is true that the information must still be acted upon effectively, but with out it, the activities of the organization are moving forward like “driving a car through the rear view mirror.”
External Providers
Most organizations rely on products and services from outside suppliers, vendors, consultants, and sub-contractors in order to deliver their service or product. The level of outsourcing over the past 20 years has increased significantly in order to keep costs lower. This outsourcing has brought with it a series of new opportunities and challenges when an organization is depending on these outside providers. Some examples of signs of potential issues that can impact your performance are;
- Casual talks that our contract needs to be “revisited” sometime soon,
- Delivery dates begin to slide,
- Changes of personnel on the support team or project,
- Contacts are less accessible,
- Short shipments are more frequent,
- More push-back on requests, and
- More and more promises that issues will improve in the future.
Very few organizations are totally independent of external providers, and those that have partnerships with outside providers, are staking their reputation on that suppliers ability to perform. Your organization may be performing effectively, but your external partners must perform the same in order for your products and services to meet your customer’s expectations. Keeping your eyes and ears open to the signs of what your external partners are doing may give you the advance notice you need to take action to prevent negative impacts to your performance.