Performance magazine 10th edition

Page 1

Issue No. 10 December/2017

INTERVIEWS CONSULTANTS. PRACTITIONERS. Insights from practice AROUND THE WORLD The new Kuwait: A diversified, sustainable economy Oman’s foundations for a sustainable future How KPIs changed a government. A Malaysian approach ARTICLES WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS STRATEGY? THE IMPORTANCE OF AN HR BALANCED SCORECARD IS YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN METRICS, KPIS AND KRIS? + LIFESTYLE, HARDWARE & SOFTWARE, AND RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

PORTRAIT

MARTA KONDRYN

An unwavering belief in people’s potential to deliver success



INDEMNITY STATEMENT

Š 2017 The KPI Institute Ltd. All Rights Reserved. ID Number: TKI0172071 ISBN-13: 978-1978201361 ISBN-10: 1978201362 An appropriate citation for this magazine is: The KPI Institute, Performance Magazine, Printed Edition, no. 10, vol. 4/2017, December, 2017, Melbourne, Australia Indemnity statement: The KPI Institute has taken due care in preparing the analysis contained in this publication. However, noting that some of the data used for the analysis has been provided by third parties, The KPI Institute gives no warranty to the accuracy, reliability, fitness for purpose, or otherwise of the information. The KPI Institute shall have no liability for errors, omissions, or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Published by:

Headquarters: Melbourne Office Life.lab Building, 198 Harbour Esplanade, Suite 606 Melbourne Docklands, VIC 3008, Australia Telephone Headquarters: +61 3 9028 2223 Middle East Division: +971 4 563 7316 European Division: +40 3 6942 6935 South East Asia Division: +60 3 2742 1357 E-mail: office@kpiinstitute.org www.kpiinstitute.org DECEMBER 2017

1


CONTENTS

3 EDITOR’S NOTE 6 NEWS 10 COVER STORY 10 KPIs in a complex world: Can they describe everything?

14 INTERVIEWS

44 ARTICLES 55

Organizational Performance

55

Organizational meetings: fostering an efficient dialogue between executives and employees

57

Is your organizational culture performance-oriented?

59

KPIs

59

What is the difference between metrics, KPIs and KRIs?

13 Tya Adhitama 15 Antonny Teo

62 ASK THE EXPERTS

17 Dr. Zuraidah Khwaja Kamaluddin

62

How can you build a Strategy Map?

22 Salman Atiah Al-Zahrany

26 PORTRAIT 26 Marta Kondryn. An unwavering belief in people's potential to deliver sucess

32 AROUND THE WORLD

64 LIFESTYLE 64

Boost your Self-Confidence and become the Best Version of Yourself

66

Personal KPIs: measure, acknowledge, improve!

70

Fasting helps maintain youthfulness and live a longer life

32 Canada's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Balanced Scorecard

72 HARDWARE

34 The New Kuwait – A diversified, sustainable economy

72

Tile Pro Sport

38 Oman’s Foundations for a Sustainable Future

72

Wahoo Fitness Tickr X Heart Rate Monitor

41 How KPIs changed a government. A Malaysian approach

73

DJI Inspire 2

43 America's Swimming Program – An Excellence Study

44 ARTICLES

74

Sisense

44 Digital Performance

74

Zenefits Z2

44 Search Engine Optimization performance – more than meets the eye

75

HappyFox

46 Digital Strategies – A Digital Path towards Performance Development

76 RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

48 How to Successfully implement the Internet of Things

76

Books: Must-haves for your 2017 reading list

77

Movie: Burnt – Ambition and Second Chances

50 Strategy 50 Why is it important to improve your business strategy? 51 Balanced Scorecard 51 The Importance of an HR Balanced Scorecard 53 Operational Performance 53 Improving operational performance at Metro

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74 SOFTWARE

DECEMBER 2017


Aurel Brudan CEO, The KPI Institute Andrei Costea Head of Publishing & Media

EDITORIAL TEAM Maria Juncu Andrei Ungureanu Ana Lechințan Andrea Minelli Oana Gavril Olivian Breda Paul Albu Andreea Vecerdea Marcela Presecan Cristina Mihăiloaie Adelina Chelniciuc Adela Tudorache

DESIGN Javier Rocha Head of Graphic Design

With these thoughts in mind, we proudly announce the launch of our tenth issue of PERFORMANCE Magazine. PERFORMANCE Magazine is The KPI Institute’s prime resource for insights into the discipline of Performance Management. The content published in PERFORMANCE Magazine pursues high and wide for some of the best, latest and most pressing topics of discussion in Performance Management and in adjacent areas of interest.

EDITOR’S NOTE

STAFF EDITORIAL COORDINATION

Encompassing The KPI Institute’s experience, research and expertise, PERFORMANCE Magazine – Printed Edition provides its readership with first-hand how-to, resources, and insights from practice, so as to assist them in their performance endeavors and in becoming state-of-the art professionals.

This edition provides details on the subjects of KPIs, the Balanced Scorecard, Digital Performance, Operational Performance and Organizational Performance, among others. Flip through pages of interviews with renowned experts, extensive research studies, concept presentations, insights from practice, alongside software or hardware reviews, and books and movie recommendations, all related to performance management. In our 10th issue of PERFORMANCE Magazine, we shall delve into the professional life of Marta Kondryn, Head of People at Mindvalley, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who has over 10 years of experience in the field and believes that a company’s greatest asset is its manpower. An organization’s employees are what drives it forward, what steers it towards success, and Marta Kondryn has been witnessing this process for the entirety of her professional career, firmly trusting in the concept of empowering your employees to empower your business. Take part in public sector implementation processes from various countries and nations, as each edition will feature extensive analyses on the subject, compliments of our Business Research Analysts. Also, best practices, alongside the latest trends, will be offered for a wide variety of performance-related sub-domains, from KPIs, to the Balanced Scorecard, to Strategy and Healthcare Performance. Last, but not least, the magazine features recommended resources for professionals interested in combining leisure and professional development, such as books and documentaries. So now we invite you to take part in a world dedicated to integrating performance and all that is comprised in the search for improvement, in its smallest details. Enjoy this December’s PERFORMANCE Magazine!

As we are always interested in gaining insights from practitioners who activate in a multitude of environments, contact us at editor@kpiinstitute.org if you are interested in becoming a Guest Post Editor, or having your interview featured in PERFORMANCE Magazine. Andrei Costea Head of Publishing & Media, The KPI Institute DECEMBER 2017

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SCHEDULED COURSES Upcoming Training Courses Asia Pacific

City

Date

Certified Balanced Scorecard Management System Professional

Kuala Lumpur

13-15 Dec 2017

Certified Benchmarking Professional

Kuala Lumpur

26-28 Feb 2018

Certified Strategy and Business Planning Professional

Kuala Lumpur

5-7 Mar 2018

Certified KPI Professional

Kuala Lumpur

14-16 Mar 2018

Certified Performance Management Professional

Kuala Lumpur

19-21 Mar 2018

Certified Data Analysis Professional

Kuala Lumpur

4-6 Apr 2018

Certified Employee Performance Management Professional

Georgetown, Penang

18-20 Apr 2018

KPI Masterclass

Jakarta

23-24 Apr 2018

BSC Masterclass

Jakarta

25-26 Apr 2018

Middle East

City

Date

Certified KPI Professional and Practitioner

Dubai

17-21 Dec 2017

Dubai

18-22 Feb 2018

Abu Dhabi

25-29 Mar 2018

Istanbul

25-29 Mar 2018

Riyadh

11-15 Feb 2018

Jeddah

22-26 Apr 2018

Dubai

17-19 Dec 2017

Dubai

18-20 Feb 2018

Abu Dhabi

25-27 Mar 2018

Istanbul

25-27 Mar 2018

Certified Performance Management Professional

Dubai

25-27 Feb 2018

Certified Strategy and Business Planning Professional

Dubai

8-10 Apr 2018

Certified Employee Performance Management Professional

Dubai

25-27 Mar 2018

Certified Data Analysis Professional

Dubai

15-17 Apr 2018

Certified Data Visualization Professional

Dubai

22-24 Apr 2018

Certified Balanced Scorecard Management System Professional

Dubai

25-27 Mar 2018

Certified Benchmarking Professional

Dubai

29-1 May 2018

Certified KPI Professional

4

DECEMBER 2017

For more details visit our store at: marketplace.kpiinstitute.org/scheduled-courses


THE KPI INSTITUTE’S PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS

Framework v 2.0 2015

This program is meant to improve the practical skills in working with KPIs and developing instruments like scorecards and dashboards. Participants will acquire a sound framework to measure KPIs, starting from the moment they are selected, until results are collected in performance reports.

Certified Performance Improvement Professional

C-PM

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Framework v 1.0 2015

This course offers insights and best practices for improving performance in different scenarios, from data analysis and reporting, decision making and initiative management, to building a performance culture.

Certified Employee Performance Management Professional

C-EPM

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Framework v 1.0 2015

Attendees will gain exposure to best practices and key concepts and will learn how to establish and use criteria for performance evaluations, from implementation to improvement and maintenance of the company’s employee performance management system.

Certified Personal Performance Professional

C-PP

PERSONAL PERFORMANCE

Framework v 1.0 2015

The two-day interactive program will help you understand personal performance, by explaining the benefits and clarifying the process of measuring it. It focuses on identifying ways to boost your performance outside working hours.

Certified Data Visualization Professional

C-DV

DATA VISUALIZATION

Framework v 1.0 2015

An exclusive framework that provides insights on effective visual communication, through a rigorous approach to creating visual representations of vast information, techniques of standardization and tailored data visualization tools.

C-DA

Attendants will understand through practical learning how to effectively collect, analyze and interpret data by enabling managers/ analysts to draw insights from both quantitative and qualitative data, based on historical statistics and trend analysis.

Certified Benchmarking Professional

BENCHMARKING C-B

C-KPI

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Framework v 1.0 2015

Framework v 1.0 2015

Benchmarking methodological uniqueness is represented by the identification and analysis of the processes that lead to a superior performance of a company, offering the opportunity to compare an organization’s performance against industry competitors.

Certified Supplier Performance Professional

SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE C-SP

Certified KPI Professional and Practitioner

DATA ANALYSIS

Framework v 1.0 2015

Participants’ skills in managing supplier performance and developing a strategic approach to procurement will be developed by enabling the identification of performance gaps and implementing action agreements with suppliers.

Certified Customer Service Performance Professional CUSTOMER SERVICE PERFORMANCE C-CSP

Framework v 1.0 2015

The course will help improve the business planning process and long-term organizational performance, through the use of strategic planning tools that will ultimately lead to smarter and quicker strategic decisions.

Framework v 1.0 2015

Participants will not only understand the importance and implementation phases for the Customer Service Excellence standards, but they will be given the necessary tools to implement it internally and measure its impact externally.

Certified Performance Audit Professional

PERFORMANCE AUDIT

C-PA

C-SBP

STRATEGY & BUSINESS PLANNING

Certified Data Analysis Professional

Performance Maturity Model Framework v 2.0 2017

This educational program presents a rigorous approach to diagnosing and auditing the maturity of performance architectures for 5 capabilities: strategic planning, performance measurement, performance management, performance culture and employee performance management.

Certified Balanced Scorecard Management System Professional

BALANCED SCORECARD MANAGEMENT C-BSC

Certified Strategy and Business Planning Professional

Framework v 1.0 2015

The course focuses on delivering all the information needed to fully comprehend the value of the Balanced Scorecard, as well as on developing the necessary skills for a successful implementation.

To browse through our upcoming training courses visit our online store at: marketplace.kpiinstitute.org/scheduled-courses DECEMBER 2017

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NEWS

NEWS

> New Beginnings The Era of Self-Driving Cars The era of stick-shift cars is coming to an end and the beginning of an advanced system of transportation is starting to peek around the corner.

> Musk’s Newest Vision The Ultra-High-Speed Underground Rail System Elon Musk, CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, is best known for his California rocket and electric car businesses. Even though his ideas have sometimes been regarded as exceptional and sometimes loopy, he has been one of the most successful innovators of this day and age. His latest idea is also his most ambitious one, as he has shown his desire and determination to create an ultra-high-speed underground rail system from New York to Washington, D.C. Musk has already struck a deal with Menomonee Falls, Wis.based Super Excavators to acquire a massive tunnel boring machine, and he has also drawn upon the 67-year-old contracting company's expertise to start his newest project. His main goal is that of finding new ways of digging tunnels faster. If he can accomplish this goal, he will not only be able to dramatically reduce the cost of the project, but he will also be able to fulfill his dream. In order for all of this to happen, Musk has assembled a team of advisers to aid his latest startup, which he named The Boring Co. What is more, he has also included Super Excavators as temporary consultants to help get the machine running. The Canadian-made boring machine leased to Musk was shipped to Hawthorne, California, where Musk set it up in the parking lot of SpaceX to start boring a pilot tunnel. This is only the beginning, as his goal is to create a machine that can tunnel through the earth at a speed that would be 10 times faster than that of the current technology. What is more, he has also presented a plan to build a network of tunnels underneath L.A. to transport cars on high-speed electric platforms to avoid congestion. Some industry leaders have admitted that there is plenty of room for innovation, however many remain skeptical because of the sheer complexity and unpredictability of the project. 6

DECEMBER 2017

Even though self-driving cars aren’t cruising down the highway yet, in a year or two this dream might come true. What is more, new research shows consumers are eager to pay for the technology. A survey of 5.000 vehicle owners around the world revealed that many people are willing to pay enormous sums of money for this autonomous-drive technology. Colin Bird, senior automotive technology analyst for IHS Markit, claimed that “There is a large subset of consumers who are willing to pay for full autonomy features demonstrating that consumers see this more as a value-add rather than a necessary safety component, at least for now”. Presently, the most well-known driver-assist system offering hands-free driving is Tesla's Enhanced Autopilot. This system allows you to take your hands off the wheel for short periods of time for the sum of $5,000. What is more, Tesla buyers can buy a self-driving system for $8,000. Unfortunately, for those who cannot wait to get their hands on such a system, this technology is still being developed and has not yet been pushed out to Tesla models through an over-the-air software update. In the meantime, Cadillac plans to include a new Super Cruise technology in CT6 models that will let you drive hands-free on the highway. IHS Markit has revealed that car buyers in the U.S. are willing to pay, on average, an extra $780 for full autonomy technology, while those in Germany would pay $1,016, and those in China would only pay an additional $555. As more and more cars come equipped with this autonomousdrive technology, prices will surely drop. However, for the time being, consumers have made it clear that they are willing to pay as much as it takes just to get their hands on these enhanced vehicles.


NEWS

> Tapping into the Drone Revolution The number of people that have started using drones in their daily lives and at their jobs has increased dramatically. This increase has led to the creation of a new type of enterprise that offers training courses for commercial drone operators. Whispercam is one such enterprise. The four-year-old company was first founded as a part-time enterprise, by a couple of entrepreneurial colleagues at British Airways.

> The Decline of Seed Funding in Silicon Valley In the last two years, the business world has been experiencing a decline in seed-stage financing. Data shows that the number of transactions is down by 40% in comparison to its peak in 2015, and dollar investments in startups have also declined, registering a downfall of more than 24%. Early-stage funding is the essence and driver of any technological ecosystem built on risk-taking. Early-stage investors, known in Silicon Valley as seed and angel investors, are the main source of money and mentoring for entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, the fervor that dominated the industry just two years ago has faded. According to a report released by Seattle-based PitchBook Inc, which supplies venture capital data, seed and angel investors completed about 900 deals in the second quarter, down from roughly 1,100 deals in the second quarter of 2016 and close to 1,500 deals during that time period in 2015. While the year 2015 saw $2.19 billion invested into new startups, this year the dollar amount provided by seed and angel investors was $1.65 billion in the second quarter, less than the previous two years.Industry analysts and veteran seed investors cannot put their finger on just one reason for the decline, as they have found several possible causes. They mention concerns over inflated valuations as well as a dull market for initial public offerings, which provide seed funders a way to recoup their investments. Others blame the rise of technology leviathans for the decline in seed funding deals. San Francisco seed fund Initialized Capital, for example, has slowed its investment pace to about 20 companies a year, from 50 to 60 just a few years ago, even though its fund size more than tripled to $125 million, according to managing partner Garry Tan.

Although it started small, the enterprise has grown significantly as the demand for such courses has risen in recent years. This rise is due to the fact that drones are used more and more, not just by photographers and film makers, but by many other professions as well. Today, drones are used by archeologists, farmers, the emergency services, or to deliver food, blood or medicines. Even the local authorities use them to monitor flooding. Because of this increase in the use of drones, those who want to operate them in a commercial capacity, have to get a Permission for Commercial Operations licence from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Flying a drone can seem like a fun and easy pastime, and there are cases in which it really is so. However, there are also those instances when flying a drone can be extremely complicated and even dangerous. Nevertheless, drones do present extensive opportunities and their usefulness cannot be denied. There are many ways in which entrepreneurs can make money by employing drones. For instance, Germany's Volocopter has built a drone so large and powerful that it can carry two passengers. Co-founder Alexander Zosel claims that they are ideal taxis, and he has just signed an agreement with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority to launch a five-year test programme later this year. Even though autonomous drones are illegal in the UK and many other countries, one cannot deny that they will surely become indispensable in the near future.

His main concern: the existence of dominant players, such as Facebook Inc, who have gathered so much wealth and power that they can quickly challenge a promising startup, diminishing its value. Even though data show that about 70% of seed-funded companies never make it to the next level, there is no shortage of interest from investors.There is no reason to be worried as entrepreneurs still have many opportunities to build their dream companies. Nowadays, launching a startup is a cheap endeavor, thanks to tools such as cloud computing that allows any newcomer to work without having to build a data center. Nevertheless, as some seed funds have difficulty in raising new funds because of their weak performance, quick deals could prove to be harder to obtain. DECEMBER 2017

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NEWS

> The Gig Economy – Past and Present

> The World’s First Smart Nation

The Taylor Report is the UK government’s recent major review of modern work. This year’s report paid a lot of attention to the “gig economy”. The gig economy centers around the idea that the traditional model of work, where you have one job for life, has become obsolete.

Singapore has big plans for the near future as it intends to become the world's first Smart Nation. This Smart Nation solution aims to merge technology into every aspect of life on the small island.

The gig economy is mostly comprised of freelancers, such as Uber drivers, web developers, etc., and even though it offers workers more freedom, it also denies them benefits and protective regulation. Although people believe that the traditional way of working is being disrupted, history proves that the one person, one career model is a recent phenomenon. If we go back in time we can easily discover that before industrialization, in the 19th century, many people worked more than one job to make a living. By looking to the past, we can underline some of the challenges, benefits and consequences of a gig economy. The diaries of three men in 18th-century Britain are the perfect source material that could give us an insight into how middle class people were able to keep more than one job. By analyzing these diaries, one can conclude that even though they earned enough to be part of the growing middle class, their income was also characterized by a certain precariousness, due to the instability created by an economy of multiple jobs. The experiences of these three men make it clear that work was not just about money. While some tasks earned them the money they needed, others were preferred because they gave them social status. All these historical accounts that describe the gig economy, remind us that work is not only a means to an end, namely a way of earning money, it is also something essential to our social and cultural lives. What is more, they underline the fact that any work depends upon status, as status and employment are inseparable. If we try to analyze the gig economy in a historical context we will come face to face with a dilemma – What is the true meaning of work? – Should work only refer to paid tasks, or to unpaid tasks as well? One thing is clear, the gig economy, although disruptive at times, offers the chance to better recognize the diversity of all the types of work that take place in society. 8

DECEMBER 2017

By every aspect of life, they truly mean every aspect of life, as they have also included in their plan the development of bus stops, which will have interactive maps, wi-fi connectivity, e-books and a swing. However, the scale of the project can be best grasped by visiting the headquarters of the Land Transport Authority. Using GPS data, researchers and programmers can tell how fast or slow a bus is going and how many people are on board at any given time. This approach is being replicated across all sectors, such as transport, homes, offices and even hospitals. For instance, the KK Women's and Children's Hospital is one of the biggest and busiest in Singapore. That is why, in November last year, it began trialing video conferencing for its patients in non-emergency cases. Some aspects of medical care that KKH is using video conferencing to address include: speech therapy, lactation consultation services and paediatric home care services. Trying to meld technology into every aspect of all citizens’ lives is an ambitious and time-consuming goal. Perhaps that is why this grand plan has already run into some road blocks. Because wages and jobs could be jeopardized if the Smart Nation plans are not done right, Singapore has set up a new ministerial committee to push ahead with its Smart Nation dreams. However, Harminder Singh, a senior lecturer in business information systems at the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand, claims that: "Singapore's way of doing things is that the government leads, then others follow…This might be a problem - it is too centralized and so it may take too long for plans to trickle down.” Despite these setbacks and the fact that time is an essential determinant, the Smart Nation plan has started to come to fruition as Singapore now has a small but growing start-up culture and home-grown companies have started to take more risks.


NEWS

THE KPI DICTIONARY · REFERENCE COLLECTION OF BOOKS

Find the most suitable KPIs to measure your business success! Examples of documented Key Performance Indicator Definitions for an in depth view on Performance Measurement Newly released publications: 14 Functional Area KPI Dictionaries 18 Industry KPI Dictionaries

7 years of business research invested

30,000+ resources studied

20+ subject matter experts involved

Content. Methodology. Visual Summary. Introduction. Global Perspectives. Practitioners’. Perspectives. Academics’ Perspectives. Consultants’ Perspectives. Map Snapshot. Country Profiles. Country Legislations. Trends in Search. 2015 Statistics. Media Exposure. Educational Programs. Main Events in the field. Career. Bestselling Books. Latest Published Books. Journal Articles. Portals. Communities. Corporate Performance Management Software. Business Intelligence Software. Employee Performance Management Software. | Interviews. Australia. China. Italy. Indonesia. New Zealand. Pakistan. Saudi Arabia. Singapore. Turkey. United Kingdom. | Keywords analyzed. Analytics. Balanced Scorecard. BI. Business Intelligence. Business Performance Management. Corporate Performance Management. Dashboard. Employee Evaluation. Employee Performance. Employee Performance Management. Enterprise Performance Management. Individual Performance Management. Individual Performance Plan. Key Performance Indicators. KPI. Metrics. Operational Performance Management. Performance Appraisal. Performance Criteria. Performance Evaluation. Performance Management. Performance Management Plan. Performance Management System. Performance Measures. Performance Review. Scorecard. Strategic Performance Management. Strategy Execution. Strategy Implementation. Strategy Management. | Educational Degree Institutions. Aston University. University College Dublin. Erasmus University Rotterdam. HEC Paris. Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh Business School. University of Leicester. London School of Economics and Political Science. MIP Politecnico di Milano. University of Liege HEC Management School. École Supérieure de Commerce Paris Europe. Universita degli Studi di Palermo. Franklin University. New York University Stern School of Business. University of Pennsylvania Wharton Business School. Regis University. Weber State University. Bellevue University. Georgetown University. University of Sydney. The University of Adelaide. Monash University. King Abdulaiz University, Faculty of Economics and Administration. Beirut Arab University, Faculty of Business Administration. United Arab Emirates University. Zayed University College of Business. Peking University Guanghua School of Management. The Chinese University of Hong Kong. University of Delhi, Faculty of Management Studies. Africa University, Faculty of Business Administration. University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business. North-West University, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. | Performance Management Events. 2015. Bahrain: Manama; Egypt: Cairo; Hungary: Budapest; Hong Kong; India: Mumbai; New Zealand: Auckland; Oman: Muscat; Saudi Arabia: Jeddah; Scotland: Edinburgh; Singapore: Singapore; Spain: Barcelona; United Arab Emirates: Dubai; United Kingdom: London; United States: Florida, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Texas. | Career. Jobs. Salaries. | Book Categories. Business Performance Management. Corporate Performance Management. Employee Performance Management. Enterprise Performance Management. Individual Performance Management. Operational Performance Management. Performance Management. Personal Performance. Strategic Management. Strategy Execution. | Peer Reviewed Journals. Top 18. | Portals. Top 10 Most Visited. | Communities Analyzed. Balanced Scorecard. Business Intelligence. Corporate Performance Management. Employee Performance Management. Key Performance Indicators. | Software. Gartner: Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Software Solutions. | 232 countries reviewed. 87 with performance management legislation in place. Abkhazia. Afghanistan. Åland Islands. Albania. Algeria. American Samoa. Angola. Anguilla. Antarctica. Antigua and Barbuda. Argentina. Armenia. Aruba. Australia. Austria. Azerbaijan. Bahamas. Bahrain. Bangladesh. Barbados. Belarus. Belgium. Belize. Benin. Bermuda. Bhutan. Bolivia. Bosnia and Herzegovina. Botswana. Brazil. British Virgin Islands. Brunei. Bulgaria. Burkina Faso. Burma. Burundi. Cambodia. Cameroon. Canada. Cape Verde. Caribbean Netherlands. Cayman Islands. Central African Republic. Chad. Chile. China. Christmas Islands. Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Colombia. Comoros. Congo, Democratic Republic of the. Cook Islands. Costa Rica. Cote d’Ivoire. Croatia. Cuba. Curacao. Cyprus. Czech Republic. Denmark. Djibouti. Dominica. Dominican Republic. Ecuador. Egypt. El Salvador. Eritrea. Equatorial Guinea. Estonia. Ethiopia. Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). Faroe Islands. Fiji. Finland. France. French Guiana. Gabon. Gambia, The. Georgia. Germany. Ghana. Greece. Grenada. Guadeloupe. Guam. Guernsey. Guyana. Honduras. Hong Kong. Hungary. Iceland. India. Indonesia. Iran. Iraq. Ireland. Isle of Man. Israel. Italy. Jamaica. Japan. Jersey and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Jordan. Kazakhstan. Kenya. Kiribati. Korea, North. Korea, South. Kosovo. Kuwait. Kyrgyzstan. Laos. Latvia. Lebanon. Lesotho. Liberia. Libya. 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Swaziland. Sweden. Switzerland. Syria. Taiwan. Tajikistan. Tanzania. Thailand. Timor-Leste. Togo. Tokelau. Tonga. Transnistria. Trinidad and Tobago. Tunisia. Turkey. Turkmenistan. Turks and Caicos Islands. Tuvalu. Uganda. Ukraine. United Arab Emirates. United Kingdom. United States. Uruguay. Vatican City. Uzbekistan. Vanuatu. Vietnam. Virgin Islands. Wallis and Futuna. West Bank. Western Sahara. Zambia. Zimbabwe.

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FEBRUARY 2016

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT IN 2015

More Publications INTERVIEWS

LEGISLATION

“New IT developments and software tools allow countries around the world to break conventional boundaries.”

EDUCATION

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT IN 2015

EVENTS

State of the discipline annual magazine

“Collaborative efforts will grow continuously and further impact Performance Management.”

Perspectives 13 Interviews. 10 Countries. Practitioners. Academics. Consulants

Around the World Performance - related legislation in 232 countries

Keyword Trends Statistics for the most popular performance-related keywords in Google search

Keep up to date with industry trends and leaders!

Education Degrees. Subjects. Main Events.

Resources Best-selling books. Latest published books. Academic articles. Portals. Communities

Software Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for 2016.

For more details visit our store: marketplace.kpiinstitute.org

DECEMBER 2017

9


COVER EVENTS STORY

KPIS IN A COMPLEX WORLD CAN THEY DESCRIBE EVERYTHING? ANDREI UNGUREANU

Performance Indicators (KPIs) are an important tool for K eybusinesses, enabling organizations to measure their results

and compare them against their pre-set goals. If well designed and implemented, KPIs provide an accurate measurement of the company’s performance, allowing decision makers to guide the organization towards achieving its strategic objectives.

An often-quoted line states that “what gets measured, gets done”, underlining the role of performance measurement in the organizational context. In setting KPIs, decision makers focus on what they consider to be the most important goals of the company. Starting from this, KPIs will be cascaded down to the individual level, so that employees better understand their contribution to the achievement of the strategy. However, the real challenge is to choose the processes that have the most impact on the company’s results, and the appropriate way of monitoring them. Tracking KPIs is an activity that consumes resources, both time and money, and monitoring everything is impossible. Remember the line “don’t measure the unmeasurable”.

10 DECEMBER 2017

So just because an activity is not monitored, that does not mean it has no impact on the company. Focusing on meeting the set KPIs is just fine. However, this can lead us to ignore anything else that is not measured. Therefore, we should keep in mind that reaching our targets is important, but how can we be sure that our 10-12 KPIs accurately measure the complexity of our business? Somehow, we can relate performance management to trying to assess the beauty of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting, Mona Lisa, by describing the colors used, the painting technique, the time it took to be completed, and the character’s gestures. This will give a fairly accurate description of the painting, but it will never be able to catch and describe Mona Lisa’s mysterious smile. The message is that companies are complex organizations, activating in dynamic economic environments, which cannot be reduced to a number of indicators. Surely, KPIs are the basis, but what makes the difference between success and failure in implementing them is flexibility and the ability to see beyond the measured indicators, beneath the surface.


AROUND THE WORLD

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INTERVIEWS

EVENTS INTERVIEWS

Tya Adhitama PT Navigadhi, Founder/CEO, Indonesia

Antonny Teo Panorama JTB Tours Indonesia, Chief Financial Officer, Indonesia

Dr. Zuraidah Khwaja Kamaluddin Director, Strategic Management Office, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNIRAZAK), Malaysia

Salman Atiah Al-Zahrany MARAFIQ Company, Business Planning and Corporate Performance Manager, Saudi Arabia

12 DECEMBER 2017


INTERVIEWS

One aspect of Performance Management that needs to be explored more through research is the way in which top leaders can inspire teams and employees.

TYA ADHITAMA

Consultant Tya Adhitama PT Navigadhi, Founder/CEO, Indonesia In 2017, the Performance Magazine editorial team interviewed Tya Adhitama, Founder/ CEO at PT Navigadhi, Indonesia. Her thoughts and views on Performance Management are detailed below. Which were the 2016 key trends in Performance Management, from your point of view? From my point of view, the 2016 key trends in Performance Management were related to understanding the effective and appropriate way of assessing millennials that have joined the work force, while the majority of employees still follow more "conventional" performance evaluation KPIs. What are your thoughts on the integration of Performance Management at the organizational, departmental and employee level? The integration of Performance Management at the organizational, departmental and employee level is extremely important, as aligning these three can help the organization set the same goals and standards throughout the entire organization, ensuring that all employees work towards achieving the same goals. Which will be the major changes in managing performance, in the future? I believe that in the future, feedback sessions will become more immediate/timely, improvement-oriented, as well as more creative and more motivating and that the use of IT/online systems could become even more effective. Nevertheless, when taking into consideration the human factor I also

believe that face-to-face feedback sessions will remain just as important, especially here in Asia. What aspects of Performance Management should be explored more through research? In my opinion, one aspect of Performance Management that needs to be explored more through research is the way in which top leaders can inspire teams and employees, and get buy-in for the organization's vision, strategies, and strategic initiatives when many are not within the same location. This aspect should be thoroughly explored as townhall meetings 1-2x/year just don't cut it anymore. Which organizations would you recommend to be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results? I recommend a comparison between multinational companies and successful national companies. National companies encounter significantly different business landscapes and challenges relative to multinational corporations. Operating a business that targets a smaller marketplace requires distinct strategies compared to doing business in multinational locations. However, despite sometimes facing an uphill battle, national companies have strengths to play up in competitive industries worldwide. Which of the existing trends, topics or particular aspects within Performance Management have lost their relevance and/ or importance, from your point of view? I believe that one dimensional assessments (target achievements) that don't include a more holistic approach (stakeholders, environment, triple bottom line, etc) have lost their relevance and/or importance, because in reality MANY organizations are saying one

thing, while practicing something else on a daily basis. Which are the main challenges of Performance Management in practice, today? The main challenges of Performance Management in practice today seem to relate to the moments in which team leaders need to help their team members translate KPIs into daily routines, which can help them achieve their individual and team goals. What should be improved in the use of Performance Management tools and processes? The most important process that I believe needs to be improved is the frequency of meaningful, behavior changing feedback that should be implemented through better coaching conversations. Coaching conversations are an important means by which experiences are turned into learning. Through coaching, managers can help employees become more self-aware. They can also reinforce strengths and explore challenges, and help employees take responsibility for their actions and their development. What would you consider as a best practice in Performance Management? In my opinion, one best practice in Performance Management is the coaching for improvement vs reprimanding for not achieving. Managers should focus on motivating and helping the members of their team to improve and to work towards achieving the same goals. Even though motivation and discipline are on opposite ends of the management spectrum, managers need to provide both to lead a team successfully. That is why, managers should combine moments of coaching with moments DECEMBER 2017 13


INTERVIEWS

Coaching conversations are an important means by which experiences are turned into learning. Through coaching, managers can help employees become more self-aware.

of feedback, namely they should combine motivation and discipline, in order to create a balance of rewards and corrective actions that can drive a team to perform better.

What personal performance measurement tools do you use? I mainly use coaching conversations and the 4 Disciplines of Execution.

Which aspects of Performance Management should be emphasized during educational programs? One aspect of Performance Management that should be emphasized during educational programs is the best way in which one can translate KPIs into daily routines and habits.

The most important process

Students must learn and understand that KPIs should be used as the mechanism that can link the top-level vision for the business down to the individual drivers of performance on a day-today basis. What are the limits that prevent practitioners from achieving higher levels of proficiency in Performance Management? Some practitioners cannot achieve higher levels of proficiency in Performance Management, because they get caught up in different situations, urgent or not, thus leaving little space for investing their time in more important things, like improving proficiency in performance management. What is your opinion on the emerging trend of measuring performance outside working hours? To lead a balanced life, we must align the body with the mind, the spirit and the heart. Some people have difficulty doing this on their own: setting personal goals and measuring achievement helps. I strongly believe that what gets measured, gets done. I do not appreciate people being forced to work beyond a rigorous but healthy schedule. 14 DECEMBER 2017

that I believe needs to be improved is the frequency of meaningful, behavior changing feedback that should be implemented through better coaching conversations.

Consultant Point of View: What are the processes and tools you look at, in order to differentiate a successful performance management system, from a superficial one? In order to differentiate a successful performance management system from a superficial one I mainly look at whether: it is being executed regularly; it is simple enough that everyone actually uses it; employee satisfaction surveys are qualitatively verified in the field; online systems are accessible to all.


INTERVIEWS

Two of the main challenges of Performance Management in practice today are the dynamic business environment and the short supply of expertise.

ANTONNY TEO

Practitioner Antonny Teo Panorama JTB Tours Indonesia, Chief Financial Officer, Indonesia In 2017, the Performance Magazine editorial team interviewed Antonny Teo, Chief Financial Officer at Panorama JTB Tours Indonesia, Indonesia. His thoughts and views on Performance Management are detailed below. Which were the 2016 key trends in Performance Management, from your point of view? In 2016 the economy was slow and there were a lot of unpredictable events. These events made businesses turn towards a more conservative style. Hence, “value added” and “lean management” were the key trends in performance management. “Value added” is used to ensure that every activity in the corporation offers positive incremental value added, and one of the ways to measure “value added” is by using the Economic Value Added (EVA) concept. “Lean management” is a methodology that relies on a collaborative team effort to improve performance by systematically removing waste activities, and it’s also very responsive in dealing with dynamic business environment. What are your thoughts on the integration of Performance Management at the organizational, departmental and employee level? The integration of Performance Management at the organizational, departmental and employee level is very critical. To ensure that the strategy (long term) is aligned with the

operational level (short term), performance management measurement should firstly be aligned with the organizational, departmental and the individual level. Without precise alignment, the punishment and reward management at the individual level might not reflect the organization’s goal. With precise alignment, all the activities will have the same direction and goal. Which will be the major changes in managing performance, in the future? These days, the business world is more dynamic and more complex. It is constantly changing and evolving and these changes are felt by tech companies in particular. The traditional approach to performance management might take too long to develop a complete strategy map and key performance index (KPI). Besides that, since the environment is very complex and dynamic, it will need to revise the strategy map and all KPIs frequently. In the future, businesses will need simpler, more flexible and more responsive performance management tools when dealing with the complex and fast changing business environment. What aspects of Performance Management should be explored more through research? I think 2 things should be thoroughly explored through research: 1. Comparing the financial performance of companies, whether they implement excellent performance management or not. This will encourage companies to pay more attention when implementing good performance management. 2. Implementing more robust, flexible and responsive performance management tools to deal with a very dynamic and complex business environment.

Which organizations would you recommend to be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results? I believe that both Astra and Gunung Sewu Group (GSG) have shown strong financial performance amidst the slow economic situation of ASEAN. What is more, due to the concepts of lean management and value added, GSG managed to keep expanding with prudent risk management and to keep adapting to the changing environment. Which of the existing trends, topics or particular aspects within Performance Management have lost their relevance and/ or importance, from your point of view? In my opinion, the tradition of the annual review process should be replaced with frequent, informal check-ins between managers and employees. The biggest limitations of the annual reviews are: the heavy emphasis on financial rewards and punishments and their end-of-year structure, holding people accountable for past behavior at the expense of improving current performance and grooming talent for the future. Which are the main challenges of Performance Management in practice, today? Two of the main challenges of Performance Management in practice today are the dynamic business environment and the short supply of expertise. With the fast changing and complex business environment, the traditional annual review might be irrelevant. When human capital was plentiful, the focus was on which people to let go, which to keep, and which to reward, and for those purposes, traditional appraisals worked pretty well. But when talent was in short DECEMBER 2017 15


INTERVIEWS

Without precise alignment, the punishment and reward management at the individual level might not reflect the organization’s goal. With precise alignment, all the activities will have the same direction and goal.

supply, developing people became a greater concern and organizations had to find new ways of meeting that need. What should be improved in the use of Performance Management tools and processes? Based on my experience, beside data collection and measurement calculation, it’s also very important to have a simple and easy to understand dashboard that can show performance results. Sometimes it’s hard to prepare simple presentations of performance results when having to deal with complex and not very user-friendly dashboard settings. I think software companies should place more emphasis on simplifying such tools and processes.

interesting topic, which will give audiences more insight about what is happening in the world of performance management. One performance review topic could be: The traditional annual review process, might be replaced with frequent, informal check-ins between managers and employees.

What is your opinion on the emerging trend of measuring performance outside working hours? I think measuring performance outside working hours can be useful as it can help you develop your abilities or gain new experiences, e.g learning CPA/CFA for finance profession, etc. However, at the end of the day, work-life balance is just as important as it keeps all things in check and helps you stay healthy.

What would you consider as a best practice in Performance Management? Not matter how good the strategy map or how precise the link between the organization and the individual goal, without capable human resources all will be futile. So, beside developing a right strategy and a good link for performance measurement, companies must be able to inspire and help their employees to reach the same destination or goal. Which aspects of Performance Management should be emphasized during educational programs? Apart from leadership, technical skills and project management, we should emphasize the ethics and a case study of performance management evolution. A Code of Ethics and Standards should be established, to become an ethical benchmark for performance management professionals around the globe, regardless of job title, cultural differences, or local laws. A case study of performance evolution is also a very 16 DECEMBER 2017

tools need to be adapted to those changes. If practitioners do not keep pace with the performance management evolution, they will be left behind. It’s very important for practitioners to keep reading and brainstorming, so that they can be up to date with all the recent issues and with the ways in which they can be solved.

What personal performance measurement tools do you use? I use the Balanced scorecard to track my overall performance, and when I want to measure my financial status, as well as my financial health, I use a set of ratios that I learnt from the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification.

What are the limits that prevent practitioners from achieving higher levels of proficiency in Performance Management? The business world is changing very fast and is becoming more complex by the day. That is why, all performance management

Practitioner Point of View: Which were the recent achievements in generating value from performance management, in your organization? GSG achieved significantly better growth compared to Indonesian GDP’s growth. GSG is leaner, more collaborative, and more prudent when managing risk, thus unlocking the potential value added activities to the companies. GSG is also enjoying the benefits that come with the use of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and project management, which lead to creative problem solving & closely monitored strategy expenses.


INTERVIEWS

Social media has played a part when it comes to recruiting and it looks like it will also impact performance management.

DR. ZURAIDAH KHWAJA KAMALUDDIN

Practitioner Dr. Zuraidah Khwaja Kamaluddin Director, Strategic Management Office, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNIRAZAK), Malaysia In 2017, the Performance Magazine editorial team interviewed Dr. Zuraidah Khwaja Kamaluddin, Director, Strategic Management Office at Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia. Her thoughts and views on Performance Management are detailed below. Which were the key trends in Performance Management, from your point of view, as seen in 2016, in the ASEAN region? A key trend in Malaysia is the role of Performance Management in the Education sector. As part of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 for Higher Education, the Malaysian Ministry of Education aims to catalyze the transformation among private and public Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs). Key performance-related initiatives will include greater consistency in performance standards and regulations across public and private HLIs, and defining outcome-based performance contracts between the Ministry of Education and public HLIs. The Ministry of Higher Education intends to disburse funds for public universities in accordance with a Funding Formula. The Funding Formula will focus on outcomes, national priorities and innovations in moving Malaysian universities towards becoming regional and global champions. The structure of the Funding Formula encourages higher returnon-investment, whilst directly supporting the

five-system aspirations outlined in the Malaysia Education Blueprint for Higher Education, i.e. to increase access, quality, equity, unity and efficiency. All public universities will stand to benefit from the new Funding Formula regardless of university type, size, or date of foundation. Universities will also have a shared outcomefocused set of Headline Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are cascaded from the Ministry, underscoring a partnership between Universities and the Ministry of Higher Education. What are your thoughts on the integration of Performance Management at organizational, departmental and employee level? The key here is alignment at all of the organization’s levels, to the overall strategic objectives - from the bottom-up, the individual employee objectives and KPIs should contribute to the departmental objectives, and the departmental performance should add to the overall performance of the organization. It is crucial that the top-down cascading of the organization’s strategic objectives and setting of KPIs with targets is properly conducted at the departmental levels, and further cascaded down to every employee. A disconnect at any stage of the department and employee level will contribute to a misalignment, with serious consequences during the performance review. When done correctly, the employee personal goals, incentives and competency development should be aligned in order to achieve and sustain the departmental and organizational strategic objectives. Which will be the major changes in managing performance, in the future? Performance management at the employee level

is changing rapidly. Several large well-known organizations have scrapped the traditional performance appraisals and restructured their performance management processes. Amongst the trail-blazer organizations were Microsoft, Adobe, Cigna and Accenture which dropped formal rankings and introduced ongoing feedback facilities and informal check-in meetings. All four of the companies reported positive outcomes, leading the way for other companies to embrace change. By 2016, General Electric finally put an end to their toughest form of formal annual performance review known as the “vitality curve”, “bell curve” or the “rank and yank” system, where the employees’ performance were based on a rating, then judged and ranked against peers, with the bottom 10% of underperformers fired from their jobs. General Electric has replaced the formal annual reviews with a system of frequent feedback via an app. Studies have shown that employee performance ratings can lead to lower levels of motivation and are proven to negatively impact performance as a result. Instead, forward-thinking companies are favoring well-structured objectives and regular feedback for employees over outdated grading systems. Continuous performance management has continued to shake up rigid, traditional Human Resource processes and flexibility is becoming crucial, particularly given the preferences and motivations of Generation Y. Millennials are changing the way business is done and companies that acknowledge this and embrace these new changes will be the ones to flourish and succeed in the future. What aspects of Performance Management should be explored more through research? My particular research interest is to assess the success factors of the implementation of the Performance Management approach in the DECEMBER 2017

17


INTERVIEWS

Studies have shown that employee performance ratings can lead to lower levels of motivation and are proven to negatively impact performance as a result.

Education sector in Malaysia, in both the public and private Higher Learning Institutions. According to the QS World University Rankings 2016/2017, the Top 10 Universities in Malaysia ranked with the best academic reputation are Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, International Islamic University Malaysia. All these public Universities have in place a rigorous Performance Management System (PMS) using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and KPIs as the key management tool, whereby all the strategic objectives formulated by the University's management is transmitted throughout the organization. As an example, prior to the implementation of the PMS, one of the aforementioned universities highlighted several issues: the difficulties of obtaining data for measuring performance, the lack of understanding of the outlined strategies and plans by lower level personnel, poor monitoring of the execution of action plans by the respective division, unclear responsibility in executing the strategies and initiatives which were put forward by the university’s management. After the implementation of the systematic PMS, the university noted some advantages of adopting the BSC framework: it provided an initial alert system known as performance dashboard for easy monitoring, it offered a structural mechanism for analyzing performance, it also integrated all of the related sources for performance data entry, with each entity of the university now having a clear responsibility in contributing to the success of the Strategic Plan, alongside the ability to communicate the execution progress of the strategic initiatives. 18 DECEMBER 2017

Further research will be useful to set the benchmarks for implementing the Performance Management approach in the Education sector throughout the ASEAN region.

Which organizations would you recommend be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results? The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) aims to transform the private and public Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs) via Performance Management, with all public universities being given a shared outcomefocused set of Headline Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) cascaded from the Minister of Education. MOHE has instituted seven Headline KPIs for public universities as follows: KPI 1.0 Graduates Employability, KPI 2.0 Number of Publications, KPI 3.0 Number of Citations, KPI 4.0 Income Generations, KPI 5.1 Students Attrition

Rate, KPI 5.2 Intake Graduate-On-Time Rate, KPI 6.0 QS-World University Ranking by Subjects, KPI 7.0 Number of International Students. As rated by the Quacquarelli Symonds’s (QS) 2016/2017 World University Ranking, the nation’s oldest university, Universiti Malaya (UM), went from its previous 146th position to 133rd, within reach of breaking into the top 100 universities in the world. According to a statement by QS, “Universiti Malaya is one of three Malaysian universities to improve its research impact. It rises 30 ranks for citations per faculty. It is now close to becoming one of the world’s top 500 research institutions”. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) are now among the top 300 universities in the world. In 2015, UPM was ranked 331st and in 2016 is now 270th, while UTM rose 15 places to 273rd. My research interest would be to consider the impact of Public Universities that use Performance Management to achieve the transformational objectives outlined in Malaysia Education Blueprint for Higher Education. The lessons learnt can then be applied to the many other Private-sector led Universities in Malaysia, where the usage of Performance Management and KPIs has not been fully established. Which of the existing trends, topics or particular aspects within Performance Management have lost their relevance and/or importance, from your point of view? In my opinion, the usage of the Bell Curve as a forced ranking system of performance appraisal will be made obsolete. Some Human Resource professionals believe that a Bell Curve is the best way to identify the top performers and underperformers, whereas others believe it compels the appraiser to use a forced rating instead of a fair one.


INTERVIEWS

When an organization eliminates appraisals or ratings and does not establish a structured framework for ongoing performance management to replace them, it is left with a vacuum.

Forced rating assumes that all the employees in a company can be ranked as follows: Top performers – 10%; Average performers – 80%; Low performers – 10%. The normal distribution of this systematic bell-shaped graph places the majority of people in the average performance area while keeping the exceptions on both sides of the dropping slope. For organizations that use the pay-forperformance concept, this rewards top performing employees, boosting their confidence and motivating them to achieve the set business goals, whilst encouraging mediocre performers to work harder and get into the square of highest performance, identifying low performers to guide and get them back on the track to better performance (or in the case of General Electric, to sack them from their jobs). Studies however have shown the disadvantages of using the Bell Curve, which is nowadays considered a rigid approach to rating employees. Sometimes managers need to put employees in specific gradients just for the sake of the Bell Curve requirements. This happens more often when the manager’s teams are small. The Bell Curve performance appraisal creates doubts in the mind of both managers and employees, who may worry about the possibility of an exit during tough job market conditions. This may lead to a loss of morale and further deterioration of job performance. The Bell Curve is not suitable for small companies where the number of employees is less than 300. With fewer employees, the categorization cannot be done properly, and the results are mostly erroneous. Which are main challenges of Performance Management in practice, today? The usage of ‘traditional’ performance ratings will decline further. During 2016, more and more organizations eliminated annual

performance ratings. Today, companies who choose not to use ratings should have a reliable system in place to ensure employees are receiving valuable, constructive feedback, from both their manager and peers, on a regular basis. General Electric are a great example of an organization who have successfully achieved this, and their employee satisfaction has increased since dropping ratings and most of their managers say they are able to differentiate performance for pay purposes without ratings. A point worth noting is that some organizations who have eliminated ratings are still measuring performance for reward or talent management purposes. Microsoft famously got rid of annual appraisals and performance ratings, but managers still assess each team member’s ‘impact’ on the team, business and customer on an annual basis to help determine reward. This process is however completely separate from their performance management discussions which take place 3-4 times a year. What should be improved in the use of Performance Management tools and processes? Some experts have predicted that a shift to the cloud and increased use of online Performance Management software and apps software will be a big part of the future of performance management. Cloud-based HR could improve employee engagement as well as cut down on admin time for HR teams. Many companies are already introducing performance management software that uses the cloud. General Electric is currently using a performance feedback app for managers and employees so that they can request feedback and provide comments from their devices.

Social media has played a part when it comes to recruiting and it looks like it will also impact performance management. I believe that in the future, social media interfaces will be part of software design to make it as user-friendly as possible. Software will be designed to function in real-time, to allow for constant feedback and regular updates between managers and co-workers. When an organization eliminates appraisals or ratings and does not establish a structured framework for ongoing performance management to replace them, it is left with a vacuum where little communication takes place between managers and their team members. For this reason, organizations are looking for software tools to help ensure that employees receive on-going performance feedback. Yet, as Josh Bersin points out in his “Predictions for 2017”, the trend towards a more agile, continuous, feedback-based approach to performance management has “left the incumbent HR software providers flat-footed” and “the big software vendors… do not have the software yet”. As a result, Bersin predicts that organizations will rapidly adopt a new generation of performance management tools which enable employees to receive and request feedback in real-time, send automated email reminders to ensure employees and their managers checkin with each other regularly, provide online agendas for effective one-to-one conversations and give HR and senior management visibility over the recurrence of regular performance discussions. These tools also enable agile objectives and shorter-term priorities to be agreed and monitored, as opposed to traditional performance management software which typically ties organizations into an annual goal setting cycle. DECEMBER 2017 19


INTERVIEWS

Continuous performance management has continued to shake up rigid, traditional Human Resource processes and flexibility is becoming crucial, particularly given the preferences and motivations of Generation Y.

What would you consider as a best practice in Performance Management? Frequently, when Performance Management is mentioned, people think of the employee performance appraisal or review. Performance management, however, involves so much more. Properly constructed appraisals should represent a summary of an ongoing, year-round dialogue. Focusing only on an annual appraisal form leads to misunderstanding and underappreciation of the benefits of performance management. An effective performance management process enables managers to evaluate and measure individual performance and optimize productivity by aligning individual employees’ day-to-day actions with strategic business objectives, providing visibility and clarifying accountability related to performance expectations, documenting individual performance to support compensation and career planning decisions, establishing focus for skill development and learning activity choices, creating documentation for legal purposes, to support decisions and reduce disputes. Many of the practices that support performance also positively impact job satisfaction, employee retention and loyalty. Recommended best practices include delivering regular relevant job feedback, setting and communicating clear performance expectations, linking performance to compensation clearly, identifying organizational career paths for employees, evaluating performance and delivering incentives in a fair and consistent manner, providing appropriate learning and development opportunities, recognizing and rewarding top performers. The primary reason to ensure that performance management processes are functioning properly is to tighten the link between strategic business 20 DECEMBER 2017

objectives and day-to-day actions. Effective goal setting (including timelines), combined with a method to track progress and identify obstacles, will contribute to success and bottomline results. Regularly tracking progress against performance goals and objectives also provides the opportunity to recognize and reward employees for performance and exceptional effort, contributing to job satisfaction and productivity. Employees want to feel successful, do well at their job and feel they are making a valuable contribution. In order to ensure this happens, employees need a clear understanding of individual goals and how they fit into the overall organization. New technology-based solutions can provide goal visibility across entire organizations, offer extensive reporting options and can reduce paperwork. Clear visibility, regular individual analysis and company-wide employee appraisals help identify corporate competencies and skill gaps. With this valuable data in hand, companies can identify training and development plans. When effectively implemented, performance management best practices result in a wide range of benefits for employees, managers and companies Which aspects of Performance Management should be emphasized during educational programs? On a personal note, although I was already a Palladium Kaplan-Norton Balanced Scorecard Certified Graduate, I still pursued a program to become a Certified KPI professional from The KPI Institute, which gave me a thorough understanding of KPIs to complement my practical, onthe-job work experience in corporate Strategic Performance Management. Hence I would always emphasize the importance of setting correct KPIs for any Performance

Management or Balanced Scorecard training/ educational programs. At an organizational level, a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a quantifiable metric that reflects how well an organization is achieving its stated goals and objectives. If the KPI is inappropriate, the resulting behaviors may be counterproductive. Furthermore, while it is important for organizations to choose the correct KPIs for business performance, it is equally useful if managers and employees define correct KPIs for their team members. The ideal situation is where KPIs cascade from level to level in the organization, which will help employees work in such a way that their activities are aligned with the corporate strategy. What are the limits that prevent practitioners from achieving higher levels of proficiency in Performance Management? The limitations that a practitioner may encounter are: Lack of leadership commitment and willpower to lead in the overall implementation of Performance Management, which could typically start as part of a Transformation or Change Management project. Resistance by employees who perceive Performance Management as additional workload to monitor and report on the results of their KPIs. Misalignment of KPIs and targets which are not set and cascaded correctly at the organizational, department and employee levels. Inadequate communication about the Performance Management process, which could lead to poor buy-in and lack of cooperation from stakeholders.


INTERVIEWS

An effective performance management process enables managers to evaluate and measure individual performance and optimize productivity by aligning individual employees’ day-to-day actions with strategic business objectives.

Gap in the integration between Strategic Planning systems (for Organizational Performance Management) and Human Resource Management systems (for Employee Performance Management). What is your opinion on the emerging trend of measuring performance outside working hours, during our private time? I would fully support measuring personal performance outside working hours. Setting personal Wellness KPIs will help improve the health of the person and indirectly have a positive impact on one’s productivity as an employee. Some examples of such Wellness KPIs are: Body Mass Index, no. of steps taken per day (target of 10,000 steps, as suggested by experts), no. of hours of exercise per week (target minimum of 30 minutes of brisk daily walking). What personal performance measurement tools do you use (i.e. gadgets that track blood pressure, steps taken, heart rate, burnt calories or tools that help with one’s finances or personal skills)? The gadget called “Fitbit” helps track my daily activities including exercise, food, weight etc., and assists with measuring the results of my Wellness KPIs targets. Previously, at the start of a year, I would set myself some idealistic New Year resolutions, kept them in my drawer and wonder why some of them were not achieved by the end of the year. But since the moment I have found out & learnt about the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), I have modified the four perspectives of the BSC, to suit my personalized KPIs at the start of every New Year. This has actually helped me have clear personal life objectives, set targets for various aspects of my life,

monitor the results of my personal KPIs and track my progress towards achieving my life objectives on a more regular basis. Practitioner Point of View: Which were the recent achievements in generating value from performance management in your organization? Although UNIRAZAK is a private-sector owned University, it has aligned with the aspirations of the Ministry of Education Malaysia as stated in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 for Higher Education. In my role as the Director of the Strategic Management Office, we had obtained Board approval to implement the UNIRAZAK Strategic Transformation Excellence Plan 2012-20 (STEP2020), which outlines the Strategy Map, key strategic objectives, key results areas and strategic initiatives to drive strategy execution and implementation, by using the Balanced Scorecard methodology and KPIs. As a result of this, we have even developed a Master’s Degree, Masters in Strategic Human Resource Management, in which the core courses are around the subject of Performance Management. The value generated at UNIRAZAK was focused around having KPIs set at the organizational, departmental and employee levels, to cascade the strategic organizational objectives of the University to every employee, with their own scorecard performance objectives, KPIs and targets. The regular quarterly monitoring and reporting of organizational KPIs to the Board has been the basis for discussion on continuous performance improvements, to ensure we always achieve the organizational objectives and targets. DECEMBER 2017 21


INTERVIEWS

The main element within Performance Management in need of dire improvement I would say is the discipline of strategy execution.

SALMAN ATIAH AL-ZAHRANY

Practitioner Salman Atiah Al-Zahrany MARAFIQ Company, Business Planning and Corporate Performance Manager, Saudi Arabia In 2017, the Performance Magazine editorial team interviewed Salman Atiah Al-Zahrany, Business Planning and Corporate Performance Manager at MARAFIQ Company, Saudi Arabia. His thoughts and views on Performance Management are detailed below. Which were the key trends in Performance Management, from your point of view, as seen in 2016? The key trend that I have seen is the alignment of different levels of the organization through its Performance Management System (PMS). The PMS is not just a tool that measures performance, but it is also a very important factor in setting smart objectives for organizations and employees alike. What are your thoughts on the integration of Performance Management at organizational, departmental and employee level? It is crucial that organizations have a PMS and cascade it at all levels, to ensure progress towards achieving the company-wide objectives.

There two areas that require focus, the first one being PM visualizations being made simpler, easier to use and more streamlined, to help decision-making, with the second one focusing on making said visualizations more dynamic, to accommodate changes/updates and require less human interference. Which organizations would you recommend be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results? I would recommend looking at MARAFIQ, which has a Performance Management System in place that links departments with corporate objective, thus resulting in a fully top-down/ bottom-up alignment. Which of the existing trends, topics or particular aspects within Performance Management have lost their relevance and/or importance, from your point of view? I would raise a different point here than most would answer. I believe that KPI alignment is a topic that needs more focus from organizations worldwide. Nowadays, due to unintentional dynamic changes that have taken place in the business and market areas over time, many companies have forgotten about this very important practice. So it is not an element that has lost its relevance per se, but has become forgotten bit by bit, as companies tend to other matters.

Which will be the major changes in managing performance, in the future? I believe the major change is the emphasis put on linking employee performance with the company’s performance. In other words, aligning employee objectives with company objectives.

Which are main challenges of Performance Management in practice, today? I can summarize the challenges as follows:

What aspects of Performance Management should be explored more through research?

2. Maintaining a continuous improvement process by setting smart KPI targets.

22 DECEMBER 2017

1. Selecting appropriate KPIs that are aligned with the organization’s corporate objectives, vision and mission.


INTERVIEWS

I personally do not have an issue with measuring performance in our private time, as each person should have certain objectives to achieve in his life and having a PM framework guide him.

3. Simplifying performance visualizations so that the decision-making process is smoothed out. What should be improved in the use of Performance Management tools and processes? There are lot of improvements I would say, especially if the PMS is linked with the 4 BSC perspectives. However, the main element in need of dire improvement I would say is the discipline of strategy execution, as implementing a corporate strategy nowadays is more important than ever.

believe the main obstacle is being dragged down by business whirlwinds and kept away from true Performance Management tenets. Another limiting aspect is the reasoning that PM is a business-only framework, which is somewhat limited I’d say. Performance Management can also be adopted in our daily lives and yield great results if we stick true to ourselves and the goals we put forward.

What would you consider as a best practice in Performance Management? One can look at a Performance Management System and think of it as a best practice if the following are true:

practitioners is being dragged

1. KPIs are selected based on industry/ functional area best practice examples.

down by business whirlwinds

2. The system is entirely aligned at all organizational levels.

and kept away from true

3. The system’s results can be visualized in a fully automated fashion.

Performance Management

Which aspects of Performance Management should be emphasized during educational programs? In my opinion, two aspects of PM that need to be emphasized concern understanding KPIs, as well as selecting them properly, in order to achieve the established corporate objectives and reach a state of full alignment in the organization. What are the limits that prevent practitioners from achieving higher levels of proficiency in Performance Management? I’d rather call them obstacles than limits. I

I believe the main obstacle for

tenets.

What is your opinion on the emerging trend of measuring performance outside working hours, during our private time? I personally do not have an issue with measuring performance in our private time, as I actually do this. The way I see it is each person should have certain objectives to achieve in his life and

having a PM framework guide him will be very helpful to measure his performance against his set objectives. What personal performance measurement tools do you use (i.e. gadgets that track blood pressure, steps taken, heart rate, burnt calories or tools that help with one’s finances or personal skills)? I like to keep myself as healthy as possible, therefore I use a lot of apps which measure how many steps I take a day or how many calories I’ve burnt. Then all the data gathered by these apps are summarized in a scoreboard that I review weekly. Consultant Point of View: What are the processes and tools you look at, in order to differentiate a successful performance management system, from a superficial one? I believe that if an organization has implemented a comprehensive automation system, fully integrated with SAP or dBas, that is a sign of a well-thought out PM System. Practitioner Point of View: Which were the recent achievements in generating value from performance management in your organization? Back at our company, the PMS we’ve implemented helped us overcome the critical financial situation that we were experiencing back in the day. We started monitoring several performancerelated indicators and embarked on a process of continuous decision-making, as we started fixing issues as results were coming in. By using a well-designed Performance Management System, our weakness became our strength. DECEMBER 2017 23


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PORTRAIT EVENTS

MARTA KONDRYN An unwavering belief in people’s potential to deliver success. ANDREI COSTEA

I process. Sometimes, one has to change things early on mproving performance is not always a straightforward

in order to succeed and reach the level he or she desires.

The same is true for Marta Kondryn, Head of People at Mindvalley, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Having been a longstanding member of AIESEC, Marta felt that she wanted more from life, after graduating from her university. Although there were very promising business opportunities back at home, she wasn’t happy and money was not her end game goal. That’s when she decided to switch things up a notch. Immediately after graduating, she worked in Hong Kong in a social enterprise, having started her corporate career in recruitment, where her duty was to manage hiring for big corporations and companies. After a while, she became self-employed as an HR Trainer and People Management Consultant, and although the experience offered her valuable insight, it was a somewhat lonesome job, as there was no team to rely on or at least feel part of. Her longing for a team and being part of a “tribe of like-minded people” led her to apply to Mindvalley, a lifestyle brand, a global community with the aim to transform people's lives through personal growth, wellbeing, spirituality, productivity, mindfulness and more – and combines them with cuttingedge sophisticated learning technology within engaged and supportive communities. 26 DECEMBER 2017

"Performance Management is a way of celebrating individual and team success."


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I think a best practice example can only be found in one’s own organization. To me personally, it's the approach where the person is at the center of the practice.

Nowadays, after 4 years at Mindvalley, her team has grown from 80 to around 250 individuals and the company has also made great strides in how it works, rebuilding its culture, adopting key tech solutions to support their knowledge base and putting together a truly global team. This is the feeling she has longed for and she could not be happier and prouder, as she told us: “building my HR team and growing the company through its people has been the most satisfying experience in my life so far”. When asked whether she has any role models that influenced her decision-making, Marta stated that she’s in a constant search for inspiring people, depending on how things are going in her life at any given particular moment. As of right now, her main interest lies in the topic of female leadership and as she puts it, „there are only a few examples that could be shared as models for young girls or professionals, like Sheryl Sandberg, Oprah Winfrey and Angela Merkel, as each of them is a strong leader in their field and they change our world in a very peaceful and powerful way”. From a professional standpoint, she follows the opinions of Josh Bersin, found of Bersin by Deloitte, as his work on management, HR tech and people analytics have proven to be very insightful for her. In addition to this, Marta mentions that she’s an avid reader, trying to read around 50 books each year if possible, with some of her favourite authors being from Erich Fromm, Ken Wilber, Alan Watts, while some of her most cherished readings are Reinventing Organisations by

Frederic Laloux, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, Maverick by Ricardo Semler, Conversations with God, by Neale Donald Walsch, Why Nations Fall, by Daren Acemoğlu, Daring Greatly by Brene Brown and Master and Margarita, by Mykhail Bulgakov. Furthermore, as far as influences in her life are concerned, one of the most impactful and emotional viewings for her has been Richard LaGravenese’s Freedom Writers. In her words, „it's about the power of one person to impact her surroundings and change them for the better. This is the story of a teacher who wants to instill in her students coming from unprivileged families a love for learning and knowledge. Love, persistance, passion for work, belief in the impact of your work – all of these elements help her overcome all obstacles.”

Emboldening people from day one While many individuals say that their journey into the field of Performance Management (PM) began with their first corporate position, Marta’s story began earlier than that, leading her on the path to performance all the way back when she first started at AIESEC. Her role there was to motivate and evaluate the performance of the youth organization’s volunteers. Today, at Mindvalley, she conducts regular performance reviews for their entire team. As far as Marta sees it, the traditional way of managing performance is on its dying breath. We have to reinvent it and make sure its catered

towards individuals. The role of team leader or Head of People, in her case, has to be the bridge between the system, the company and the employee. Our employees mustn’t feel that the system is designed to herd them, prod them like cattle; aux contraire, it should inspire them, offer them the knowledge they need to improve both professionally and personally, and to align their goals with the company’s. When asked what does PM mean to her, she believes it is not so much an HR process, as it is a way of celebrating individual or team success. In a way, performance review meetings are a time of reflection – you take a look back on what you did well, what did not go according to plans and where you can improve. You share your failures just as openly as you would your success stories, while using this knowledge to plan for the future. Sure, some of this planning might fall flat on its face as well, but it will be less than the first time. This process repeats itself until you reach that level of performance where setbacks are close to non-existent and every piece of the puzzle falls in place perfectly. One thing Ms. Kondryn mentions is that we should all remember that the puzzle is not the same for everyone. Many companies today try to immitate other businesses, instead of making their own system, based on their employees’ needs. Performance Management should not have a cookie cutter build to it, a one-sizefits-all framework. With today’s diversity of employees & customers, it’s akin to insanity to vie for such a goal. In her view, there cannot be a one solitary, standardized approach. DECEMBER 2017 27


PORTRAIT

Certainly, there are some elements which might be implemented by multiple actors in the business scene, such as performance conversations, goal assessments, 360 degree feedback sessions and as-you-go learning, but that doesn’t mean an entire system has to become the norm. PM should not be viewed as an object of mass production, but more of a way in which you can see where everyone stands in your organization, while evaluating how the entire collective did in a specific period of time. PM should be a way to celebrate your business through its people, it should be like post-game scoreboard where you get to see how you and everyone else did. It should inspire faith and duty, not instill fear and dread.

Performance Management should be all the rave One point which Marta cannot stress enough is how important excitement is, in relation to PM. Her opinion is that the entire organization should think about Performance Management with relish. If the entire organization raves about it, then your there is done, as the saying goes. This single aspect is the definining keystone of the field – how to convince employees that it’s not intricate system of hunting down and punishing mistakes, but more of a reap your hard work’s rewards type of system. If we’d have to look at how multiple organizational entities build their system, we’d see it’s quite the dull process – measure, evaluate, review, decide. Rinse and repeat for every employee. Marta reckons it needs more lightness, fun and engagement, something to relax the mood for everyone. Nonetheless, the process should remain objective, analytical and process-driven, but there has to be a sweet spot where we can make it more human-focused and employee-based, in general. As stated earlier, PM should be that process where the organization and individual stand side by side and celebrate their gains. When asked if there is a best practice or method to get these gains, she answered that such an element can only be found in one’s own organization. Still, given her experience, Ms. Kondryn is of the belief that if the employee is at the center of the practice, if his experience is at the core of the entire process, then everything is alright. 28 DECEMBER 2017

Nonetheless, she reiterates her previous point and mentions that although that’s her example of a best practice, it might not work for everyone: „things might be different for your organization. I recommend studying other companies, testing our what works well for yours, implement it, analyze the achievements and innovate & adapt as you go”. This last bit about achievements is another point Ms. Kondryn stressed out in our interview. She mentioned how even if a company adapts another one’s PM-related elements, their achievements might not be the same, due to a plethora of factors, such as differing industries, functional areas, employee types, corporate cultures, structures and so on. Nevertheless, she talked to us about a few achievements brought by the use of Performance Management at Mindvalley, namely a company-wide alignment of objectives and employees, as well as bias removal, both of which directly impacted the company’s profits. Since their first implementation of a PM System, they saw their profits rise sky-high and had one of the best years in terms of business performance.

My recommendation when it comes to PM is building a framework that suits your organization. Don't try to copy it from other companies or simply because somebody told you to make it in a certain way.

Listening to your employee – in and out of the workplace If Performance Management were to be seen as one big picture, then Marta Kondryn’s opinion is that Individual Performance Management should be its centerpiece, with all of its defining elements, such as talent management, succession planning, individual assessments, compensation and benefits and so on. „You should not build them as separate projects, but as one cohesive, all-encompassing employee experience.” She highly recommends focusing on an employee’s journey and the type of experience a workplace provides for them, with the aforementioned elements serving as tools and approaches to smoothen that experience. On top of all this, offering an experience without listening to feedback is not productive, which is why Marta values listening to employees as often as possible and gathering feedback regularly. In her view, employees always have valuable insight, and if you as a manager listen to them & adjust your Performance

Management System (PMS) based on their information, this will ensure you get buy-in from every single person in the organization. Even more so, she believes that talking things through with your employees about their personal development, outside work, is conducive to generating a healthy and trustfilled workplace. „Personal development is just as important as professional development”, so having a chat once in a while with your fellow employee about non-work related aspects can build up a friendly relationship, opening up avenues that were previously inaccessible. „Companies that foster personal development will be at the forefront of work and employee relationship management. We should encourage setting up personal development goals, and celebrate their achievement. For example, here at Mindvalley, every new person who joins our team creates their goals (usually for a year) in 3 categories: growth, experience and contribution. We encourage everyone to share his or her goals with everyone and we host a celebration once somebody achieves


PORTRAIT

any of their goals. We call this exercise "The 3 Most Important Questions" – we’ve found it to be a very powerful and team-building tool.”

Tools, trick and tips for life management When it comes to managing her own life, Marta mentions that she has been using the Lifebook methodology for the past year and would warmly recommend it to anyone. It is a framework designed to spread your life goals across 12 categories: health and fitness, intellectual development, emotional growth, character building, spiritual growth, love and relationship management, parenting skills, social skills, financial prowess, career management, quality of life and life vision. Each of these categories and their corresponding goals can be designed with the help of some very beautiful pictures and quotes, which afterwards showcase how your life unfolds around them in various time-frames. This exercise taught Marta how to blend work with other parts of her personal life,

making for a well-homogenized mix. Apart from this, she mentions how she is very lucky to do what she truly loves, working with some of her closest friends. “I would recommend finding organizations or companies that have similar values to yours, and then you will not have any issues managing your work-life balance. You will experience growth like you have never before.” A growth mindset is the key to success in life. Ms. Kondryn believes that we should look to question our work all the time, striving to improve constantly & consistently, searching for new ways of doing things, learning and asking questions to others who we believe might be better than us, for that is the only way to grow in a realistic fashion. After we’ve put together all of these pieces of our growth puzzle, we need to implement our ideas right away, constantly keeping our goals of growth and learning at the back of our minds, because an idea is only good as its practical application – if we keep it at a theoretical level, we’ll never know what could have been had we decided to try it out.

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AROUND THE WORLD

THE SUNNYBROOK HEALTH SCIENCES CENTRE BALANCED SCORECARD ANDREI COSTEA

H topic of discussion in any society, as the ealthcare has always been an important

level of care often reflects the level of well-being within that society. How quickly can you get treated, how easy it is to access medication, how innovative physicians are and how in-depth does research actually go, in order to find the best possible line of treatment for any ailment that may befall an individual or a group. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at a healthcare facility which strives to keep those questions on their minds every single day The Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, from Ontario, Canada. It has a very clear & definitive mission, illustrated beautifully in its 2015 – 2018 Strategic Plan, which is to serve two main roles: first and foremost, it has a community which it must care for and second, it acts as an R&D, as well as teaching centre. This is quite the task and showcases the extraordinary amount of power to do good which they have at their disposal. And as the saying goes, ”with great power, comes great responsibility”, meaning that Sunnybrook’s employees have had to design measuring methods that ensure they are always on top of their game. 32 DECEMBER 2017

Therefore, they have taken the Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term Care indicators, which all hospitals have to abide by – Nosocomial Antibiotic Resistant Organism Infection Rates, Monthly Clostridium Difficile Rates, Central Line Infection, Hand Hygiene Compliance, Hospital Standardized Mortality Ratio, Surgical Safety Checklist Compliance, Surgical Site Infection Prevention, Ventilator Associated Pneumonia, and have added their own indicators, to boot. Sunnybrook’s staff decided these indicators were not enough for their facility and they wanted to create a more comprehensive list of indicators, which will offer their patients an even greater sense of assurance when stepping into their institution. Thus came into existence the aforementioned 2015 – 2018 Strategic Plan, which outlines 3 major dimensions, alongside 9 strategic goals, which are then broken up into several KPIs for each goal. Quality of Care Goal 1 Improve the patient experience and outcomes through inter-professional, high quality care

Objectives: reduce preventable harm, lead provincially in patient outcomes for select QBPs, lead in the provision of high quality end of life care. Goal 2 Focus on the highest levels of specialized care in support of our Academic Health Sciences Centre definition Objective: To increase the proportion of specialized activity. Goal 3 Work with system partners and government to build an integrated delivery system in support of our communities and our Academic Health Sciences Centre definition. Objective: To identify, develop and establish internal and external clinical partnerships that enhance safe transitions of care to the community, timely access to high quality care and efficient use of resources. Goal 4 Achieving excellence in clinical care associated with our strategic priorities.


AROUND THE WORLD

Objectives: To achieve the highest level of clinical outcomes and standards in Cancer, to achieve the highest level of clinical outcomes and standards in Heart and Vascular, to achieve the highest level of clinical outcomes and standards in Image-Guided Brain Therapies, to achieve the highest level of clinical outcomes and standards in High Risk Maternal and Newborns and to achieve the highest level of clinical outcomes and standards in Trauma. Research and Education Goal 5 Change health care practice through the creation, translation and application of new knowledge with a focus on our Strategic Priorities.

Objectives: Ensure patients have access to specialized services when they need them, optimize capacity by ensuring patients are cared for in the right place and provide evidence-based care within the defined funding envelope. Goal 9 Create a culture of engagement, respect and inclusiveness that attracts and inspires talent to achieve excellence. Objectives: To attract and retain talent and to build leadership capacity.

As mentioned above, every single one of these objectives comes with its own package of KPIs which are monitored and reported on twice a year, highlighting gradual improvements which have happened over the reporting period. As you may peruse through the report, you will notice that there are several colourcoded indices and legends for every objective and KPI. That is due to how Sunnybrook recommends readers look over its report. Any data covered in it may not directly indicate that they have either achieved their targets on a sustainable level or that there are significant & legitimate signs of concern. Their information

Objectives: To create new knowledge that advances our strategic priority areas, to test and translate new knowledge into improved treatment approaches and apply in the clinical domain, to support the commercialization of technologies into industry, to support the implementation of discoveries and/or findings into practice and to support the wide-spread adoption of discoveries and/or findings into practice. Goal 6 Lead in the development of innovative methods of teaching and learning. Objectives: Enhance utilization of technology enabled learning (e.g. LMS, simulation) throughout Sunnybrook and enhance health literacy skills of Sunnybrook providers to better engage patients and families. Sustainability and Accountability Goal 7 Advance our Strategic Priorities through the appropriate and purposeful use of resources. Objectives: Position our Strategic Priorities for ongoing development to invent and deliver world class care and align Medical Human Resource Plan (MHRP) to our Strategic Priorities. Goal 8 Deliver sustainable performance that meets health systems expectations and commitments.

simply shows their journey towards meeting the desired goal and how much ground they have covered so far, so keep this in mind when leafing through the data. All things considered, the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is one of the best examples of how healthcare can incorporate a seemingly business-only tool, and that is the Balanced Scorecard. By looking at their thought process and emulating their decision-making, any institution can follow in Sunnybrook’s footsteps to increase its performance. Good results come to those who go beyond conventional wisdom and incorporate any tool that may bring them closer to their objectives, be it from an adjacent industry or a completely parallel one. Hone your desire & drive to be the very best, and you will have something to show for. DECEMBER 2017 33


AROUND THE WORLD

THE NEW KUWAIT A DIVERSIFIED, SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY ANA LECHINTAN

K world’s largest oil reserves. A country uwait - a country hovering on one of the

which extracts over 60% of its GDP from the ground, which represents an estimated 95% of its export revenue. Oil, however, can sometimes turn into quicksand in the Arabian Desert and its dropping prices have taken their toll on the nation’s economy. Kuwait wants to prove that its economy is not a castle made of sand (and oil), therefore it developed pertinent strategies to manage its performance and strengthen its foundation. Kuwait’s economy is fully integrated and aligned to the world economy, mainly through its oil exports. Thereby, it is highly susceptible to global influences, such as economic crises, fluctuations in oil demand and prices. The government is fully aware of these facts, and has launched a series of 34 DECEMBER 2017

ambitious initiatives, meant to weaken oil dependency by empowering the private sector, fostering the development of small and medium enterprises and attracting foreign investors, among others.

by a generous welfare system. Now, the private sector will increase its contribution to the national economy in partnership with the public sector and through managing the state’s utilities.

In April 2017, in the Emir of Kuwait’s a speech held during the first session of the National Assembly’s 15th legislative term, where he formally announced that the Arab country is facing a strong decline in its revenues, due to the global collapse in oil prices. At the same time, a few proposed solutions to this situation were the following: reducing the general spending, increasing public revenues by developing tax systems and rationalizing the current subsidies.

This initiative is bound to provoke massive changes in a country where 87% of the citizens, approximately nine out of ten people, are employed in the public sector. Even more, 58% of the unemployed Kuwaitis would prefer to remain workless than to join the private sector. All these aspects made it imperative for the government to highlight the benefits of its strategies, which it successfully managed to do through its Vision 2035 and the Kuwait National Development Plan, the latter being explained for the population in a comprehensive, visually stimulating manner on a dedicated website.

In the past, the Kuwaiti economy had been dominated by the public sector, accompanied


AROUND THE WORLD

NewKuwait Pillars and Strategic Directions, Available at: http://www.newkuwait.gov.kw/en/

to become the leading development generator, among others through the privatization of state-owned enterprises, the optimization of administrative and regulatory obstacles, the simplification of investment procedures and the attraction of foreign investors.

Kuwait Vision 2035 The Vision 2035, branded the “New Kuwait”, centers around 6 strategic aims of development to be attained until 2035: Increasing the Gross Domestic Product as well as the citizens’ standard of living, through focusing on non-oil growth, the diversification of the production base, strengthening the financial institutions’ competitiveness and focusing on the just distribution of the national income. Fostering a positive economic environment for the private sector

Supporting social development by promoting education, training and research, aligning health and services to international standards. Adjusting demographic policies to the development strategy by optimizing the demographic composition of the population, improving the skills of the indigenous population as well as of the expatriate workforce and by promoting the observance of human rights. Improving the effectiveness of government administration through an increased degree of transparency and accountability, the implementation of electronic tools for the delivery of public services and

the modernization of information dissemination with the focus on the development of the information society. Consolidating and preserving the Islamic and Arab identity in accordance to the country’s constitution. The Mid Rage Development Plan (2015/2016 – 2019/2020) In alignment and cascaded from the “New Kuwait” Vision, the Mid-Range Development Plan (2015/2016 – 2019/2020) is built on five themes that represent a desired “end state” for Kuwait. Its purpose is to provide a unified national framework for strategic planning. In this direction and to ensure an objective measurement of the progress towards reaching the set targets, global indices are utilized for benchmarking at an international level. This approach represents an improvement in relation to previous development plans, where there was no direct link between KPIs and goals, policies and projects. DECEMBER 2017 35


AROUND THE WORLD

The indexes selected for measuring the country’s performance against the vision’s themes are based on international sources and are broken down into their subcomponents - key performance indicators, in order to provide more granular measurement criteria. KPI results which are below the set target form an area of improvement, where the responsible entities will have to concentrate their efforts in order to yield better scores. A number of 20 indexes are used, most of which belong either to the World Bank, or to the World Economic Forum. These include:

# Starting a business # Dealing with construction permits # Getting electricity # Registering property # Getting credit # Protecting minority investors

# Ease of doing business index

$ Paying taxes

# Business sophistication index

% Trading across borders

# Logistics performance index # Environment performance index # Healthcare quality index # Workforce readiness index # Education quality index

Kuwait’s Vision

As already mentioned, each one of these indexes is de-aggregated in order to identify the exact area where improvements are required. Thus, the # Ease of doing business index for instance, takes into consideration various variables:

# Enforced contracts % Resolving insolvency For each index in the Development Plan, you will find listed the current results, the strategic direction (initiatives to be taken in order to obtain improved results), and the exact description and potential owners:

Five themes

”Transforming Kuwait into a financial and trade centre, attractive to investors, where the private sector leads the economy,

Prosperous & diversified economy - Developing a prosperous & diversified economy through ensuring growth in the economy, other than from oil production and developing a strong presence in a variety of industries.

creating competition and promoting production-efficiency, under the umbrella of

Effective and transparent government - Creating a transparent government, through improving fairness and responsibility in policymaking, formalizing rules and regulations and the proper implementation of formulated policies.

enabling government institutions, which accentuates values, safeguards social identity, and achieves human resource development, as well as balanced

Citizen participation & respect of the law - Creating a respected rule of law through controlling corruption, building confidence in and respect of rules of society and improving citizen participation in government.

Nurturing & cohesive nation - Developing a nurturing & cohesive nation through providing high quality healthcare and education and ensuring the economy and the infrastructure provides a good quality of life for residents.

development, providing adequate infrastructure, advanced legislation and inspiring business environment.”

Globally relevant and influential player - Acting as a globally relevant and effective partner through maintaining strong political, economic, trade and diplomatic influence internationally.

Kuwait Mid-Range Development Plan, Available at: http://www.mop.gov.kw/ArchevePage_library.aspx 36 DECEMBER 2017


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Index (percentile) 15. Healthcare quality index (54)

15.1

Indicator

2012

2013

Current percentile

Strategic direction

Diabetes

n/a

94

94

Reduce rate of diabetes and other lifestylerelated noncommunicable diseases

Description Improve preventive healthcare through a more integrated healthcare system and encouraging increasingly healthy lifestyle choices (focus should be on diabetes and obesity)

Potential owner Ministry of Health

Increase public health campaigns and introduce regulations to target smoking and unhealthy foods 15.2

Life expectancy

n/a

47

47

Increase life expectancy of population

Introduce modern continuum of care to ensure better healthcare, with a particular focus on improving primary healthcare provisions

Ministry of Health

Develop a more competitive healthcare system through improved data tracking and increased private involvement

Better attract and retain healthcare talent by providing favourable conditions and improved training

Kuwait Mid-Range Development Plan, Available at: http://www.mop.gov.kw/ArchevePage_library.aspx

Through designing an objective, structured performance management framework, the Kuwait government is one step closer to reaching its Vision for the year 2035. Best results should be obtained if the index framework would be constantly adapted and a Performance Management System would be designed especially for Kuwait (rather than solely relying on international indexes), based on specific strategic objectives,

KPIs and initiatives, customized for the country’s context and later on cascaded to its ministries and public agencies. By envisioning and actively contributing to the development of a business environment marked by sustainability and diversity, the country is prone to pour oil on the troubled economic waters and return to its place as one of the wealthiest and prosperous countries in the world.

DECEMBER 2017 37


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OMAN’S FOUNDATIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE ANDREA MINELLI

L Sultanate

ocated just south of the UAE States, the of Oman has experienced a wealthy pattern in terms of economic development since the early 2000s, primarily due to the exploration of its oil reserves. With high oil prices, the Omani economy was barely impacted by the international financial crisis and has registered robust growth figures. These figures eventually dropped significantly in recent years, mainly due to an overall drop in oil prices. Considering the country’s high dependence towards oil and gas, which add up to represent around 88% of the Omani GDP, the oil prices drop was seen as a wakeup call for the local Omani government and its financial institutions. In 2015, economic growth has been fueled to a large-extent by non-hydrocarbon sectors and by a more diversified economy, that has focused its resources on infrastructure projects, manufacturing and tourism. However, given Oman’s high dependence on raw materials, along with an alarmingly under-skilled workforce, the government has been taking actions, believing that a more diversified economy can provide the foundations for a more sustainable economic development. These foundations have been developed and discussed in the “Oman Vision Plan 2020” that is considered to be the first trailblazer for the long-term Omani Future Vision 2040. Oman’s Five – Year Development Plan (2016 – 2020) – Vision Plan 2020. In early 2016, the Omani government has developed and approved their Vision for 38 DECEMBER 2017

Oman’s Economy plan 2020, as a preliminary step towards the Omani Future Vision 2040. The main goal of this plan lies in the diversification and innovation of the Omani economy with the integration of five promising sectors: Transformational industries, logistics, mining & fisheries and manufacturing. As mentioned above, the Five Year plan has been developed and prepared in light of the various challenges affecting the Omani economy, represented by sharp fluctuations in oil prices at the international level, the recurrence of conflicts and violent political

changes in many neighboring countries and a general wave of economic recession due to a slower economic growth. The Five Year plan takes into consideration all of these economic and social circumstances, with the goal of creating a quantitative shift in the Omani economic sectors, and to foster the creation of non-oil revenue sources. The transformations, planned by the Omani government in response to the abovementioned challenges, can be classified as follows:

Dimensions of the Plan Formulation The works for the formulation of the Plan were launched from five pillars which are:

1

The effective response to the Royal Directives, which at the forefront is the necessity of continually monitoring economic and social dimensions, particularly related to the provision of work opportunities for youth.

2

Guided by the results of evaluating the achievements of the Vision (2020) and the 8th Plan (2011-2015).

3

Confronting fluctuations in oil prices and inherent uncertainty, with a planning approach that considers multiple alternative scenarios.

4

Maintaining a real growth rate in GDP, no less than (3%) annually, so as to maintain in balance the Omani citizens’ level of real income.

5

Consistent developments in international development declarations, particularly the 2030 agenda for achieving sustainable development.


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Shifts in the structure of the Omani economy from one primary source, oil, to a diversified production base that includes all the promising sectors Oman has a competitive advantage in; Shifts in growth drivers by empowering domestic and foreign investment to take a leading role promoting Public-PrivatePartnerships; Shifts in the management of public finance to be more effective and disciplined through rationalizing expenditure and increasing non-oil revenues;

diversify growth sources. In order to achieve such diversification, the Sultanate aims to prioritize the development of such promising sectors, by increasing the share of non-oil exports in total exports. It is expected that the oil share of total GDP will decrease from 44% to 30% in the Vision Plan 2020. Below, it is possible to analyze the shift towards non-oil related activities.

quite under-skilled. Moreover, according to the study, only 47% of Omani graduates enter the labor market. The Vision Plan 2020, and to a stronger extent the Vision Plan 2040, aims at shifting its available human capital to becoming a more qualified workforce through the creation of several national training programs;

3. Provision of productive and remunerative work opportunities for citizens. Taken from a 2015 Statistical Project, more than 40% of the workforce either has limited skills or is

4. Development of private sector and improving the business environment, supporting both domestic and foreign private sector investments, in response to the fall of

Shifts in the labor market structure, in preparation for developing several training and qualification programs for Omani citizens. The Plan’s formulation occurred through a series of more than 40 panel discussions and 5 workshops, and has been based on five dimensions, aiming at confronting the challenges faced by the Oman’s economy. The Eleven Pillars of the Five-Year Plan The Government has established a set of pillars that structure the Vision 2020 Plan, aimed at accelerating the process of productivity and competitiveness of the Omani economy.

Necessity of diversifying the sources of growth (broadening the production base and diversifying the economy)

1. The first priority is creating a stable macro-economic status of the Sultanate in order to promote investor confidence and mitigate the consequences of oil price fluctuations on the country’s growth and citizen’s income levels. Given the uncertainties related to unpredictable global changes such as oil prices & political crises, the Plan has developed multiple scenarios to serve as secondary financial pathways for the Omani economy. The scenarios are, each, based on assuming a defined price for oil fluctuations, and a defined range of variation regarding the quantity produced. The following data is taken from the evolution of oil prices in the last 36 years. 2. Economic diversifications and broadening the production base are the main goals, by eliminating structural obstacles that may limit the exploration of promising sectors in order to DECEMBER 2017 39


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Oman’s ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index. 5. Emphasis on comprehensive social development, comprising education, training and employment programs, in order to bridge the gap between the educational system supply and the demand for labor in Oman. 6. Enhancing the role of youth, through educational programs and defining achievable target levels of Omanization. 7. Implementation of the National Strategy for Urban Development, through an intensification of government investments directed to the least developed regions; 8. Development of governorates and local communities, which will work on increasing their performance levels in diverse areas such as education, health and social services throughout the country’s regions.

an increase in the number of tourist facilities around the territory along with an increase in the number of foreign visits. According to the Sultanate’s Plan, the role of the tourism sector is expected to become more and more relevant. The Tourism Strategy 2016-2040 aims at providing guidelines on how to improve the Sultanate’s position as a tourism hub, with the creation of more than half a million jobs and a turnaround investment of more than RO20bn. Conclusion Oman has exerted serious efforts to diversify its economy during the last twenty years, partially achieving its goal by reducing its dependency on oil-export-revenues. With the development of the Vision Plan 2020, Oman is pursuing the path towards the creation of a broader portfolio of profitable activities, focusing on the five sectors targeted by the government that will eventually reduce economic and financial

risks annexed to oil–related practices. Given the shrinking fossil fuel resources available in the territory, Oman should succeed its long-term quest of diversification by liberalizing the economy and establishing a much bigger private sector that serves as an economic growth and job creation engine. “In 2015, the contribution to the total GDP from private service industries amounted to 49.9% , but there is uncertainty for the future years as the economy will continue to be affected by drop in oil prices”, Ali Shaban, representative of W J Towell, commented. With the objective of developing a sustainable long-term plan, the Energy Master Plan 2040, which is part of the Vision Plan 2040, aims at providing the guidelines to develop the recommended strategies to maximize the benefits of energy resource diversification in Oman.

9. Enriching cultural life and promoting the role of citizenship and identity, with cultural and musical events; 10. Furthering environmental sustainability and confronting natural disasters, through energy national management plans.; 11. Upgrading government performance, by raising e-government execution programs, updating the systems of Human Resources management and increasing their efficiency and distribution, while revising sectoral policies and regulations to ensure full conformity with governance standards. The Targets of the Vision Plan 2020 In a mid-sized, open economy where the biggest driver of growth in the history of the country has been oil, managing the transition to a more diversified economy can be considered challenging. Fortunately, through the development of these eleven pillars, Oman aims at achieving the strategic targets set in its Vision Plan by 2020. The financial and economic targets included in its strategy are as the figure below. As far as the Ministry of Tourism is concerned, the government is expecting to see an increase in direct contributions to the Omani GDP from around 2% to 5% by 2020. This figure is seen as reasonable enough, given that there has been 40 DECEMBER 2017

Vision Plan 2020 Targets, Available at: https://www.scp.gov.om/PDF/NinthfiveyearplanEnglish.pdf#page=60


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HOW KPIS CHANGED A GOVERNMENT A MALAYSIAN APPROACH OANA GAVRIL

N in the business world, most of the firms owadays, due to increasing competition

Fighting Corruption, which will prevent resources being taken away from the economy of the country, and it will ensure a fair playing field for all the participants within the economy;

and organizations are obliged to adjust to new ways of enhancing their performance. This improvement is mainly linked with the implementation of performance management systems, new strategic directions, or important shifts in the strategy of the organization.

Assuring Quality Education, which generated a 12-year programme- The National Education Blueprint- that ensures short and long term changes in the education system of the country;

Malaysia took into consideration these aspects, especially after being faced with drastic changes in the governing party. Following six decades of performance management initiatives, combined with accountability, planning and coordination, the results were not satisfactory for Malaysia. The efforts directed towards increasing efficiency “were extensive, somewhat unconnected, and, until recently, rarely emphasized measurable outcomes,” said John Anthony Xavier, professor at Putra Malaysia University, and former director of research in the Public Service Department. As a result, the Malaysian government decided to employ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as one of their main performance measurement tools. In 2009, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak created a specialized unit to supervise the implementation of the performance management system, naming it “Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU)”. The official website presents a detailed overview of the program,

Raising Living Standards of low-income Households, which aims to reduce the disparity between the economically advantaged and disadvantaged, as well as raising the income level of the country; besides being the official communication portal as well, designed to present the public with recent results that it has achieved. The structure of the program was created in accordance with the 7 main areas of interest, named National Key Results Areas, which serve the purpose of creating both short and long term initiatives in order to improve these sectors. Six ministers have been appointed to lead the mission of fulfilling the six National Key Results Areas (NKRA) which focus on: Reducing crime, which includes a number of initiatives destined to descend the trend in crime and to increase public satisfaction of police services;

Improving Rural Development, which focuses on offering the people who chose to live in rural areas a healthy and sustainable living; Improving Urban Transport, which will fix the public transport within the Klang Valley and Kuala Lumpur, as these are the major economical areas; Addressing Cost of Living, which is designed to offer immediate term measures for the living costs of Malaysians affected by the global food and energy prices, while assessing other strategies that will address the rising cost of living within a long term plan. DECEMBER 2017 41


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The purpose of the implementation of this 7-point program is to ensure accountability among the administration and the civil public service, and to ensure the transparency that each government is looking forward to offer to its citizens. Due to the presence of these National Key Results Area, people can have an objective evaluation of the effectiveness of the leadership and the implementation degree of these strategies. Together with the National Key Result Areas, the government of Malaysia has defined the vision, mission and objectives of the country for 2020 by creating 4 pillars to support its strategy: “1 Malaysia: People First, Performance Now” has become the administrative tag line, with highlights on the efforts that the government is putting into achieving the 2020 vision. In 2009, the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) was established to “oversee the implementation and assess progress of the Government Transformation Program (GTP) and Economic Transformation Program (ETP), facilitate as well as support delivery of both the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs), and National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs)” as stated on their official website.

Performance Management and Delivery Unit, The Government of Malaysia, available at: http://www.pemandu.gov.my/download-centre/

Additionally, the role of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit was also to support the Unity and Performance Minister in implementing the Key Performance Indicators system, and in helping the government achieve the ideals settled in their vision and become a high income nation by 2020. Performance management reforms in Malaysia have resulted in improving efficiency within the bureaucratic and public service delivery systems, besides helping the economy function very well in the competitive South East Asia region. The case of Malaysia’s government is just another example of how a thoroughly implemented performance management system can help increase performance within any type of organization. 42 DECEMBER 2017

Performance Management and Delivery Unit, The Government of Malaysia, available at: http://www.pemandu.gov.my/download-centre/


AROUND THE WORLD

AMERICA'S SWIMMING PROGRAM AN EXCELLENCE STUDY MARIA JUNCU

U has won a total of 520 Olympic medals, 220 p to this day, the U.S.A Swimming Team

of which are gold, giving the country a sturdy lead in the international event. The runnerup, Australia, has won only 171 medal. This great number of medals is the only proof one needs to acknowledge the fact that swimming has been among the most successful Olympic sports for the U.S. for more than 25 years. But the question still remains: How can America be so good at swimming? You might think that the answer is Michael Phelps, but you would be wrong. The U.S. has been dominant in the sport long before Phelps's first Olympics. What is more, the organization has produced a study that might have found the answer to that question, namely management. This study is known as the Excellence Study and it closely examined the leadership and structure of America's swimming program and arrived at the conclusion that it is the school and not any individual teacher or student, that drives success. Finbarr Kirwan, the U.S. Olympic Committee’s high performance director, says that the study rests on the premise that consistency in structure has served American Olympic swimmers better than any one part of the program. The USA Swimming's motto is: “Build the base, promote the sport, achieve competitive success”.

Based on this motto, Kirwan explains that each tenet - build, promote and achieve - overlaps and feeds the others. The “achieve” pillar includes - trusting in the individual, pairing swimmers with individual subject-matter experts, and imbuing them with a service mentality. "Build" includes - a strong talent pipeline and the establishment of a team environment. "Promote" means - giving support to swimmers in their swimming career and in their career outside the pool, as well as mentoring young athletes and making swimmers adaptable to change. At the very center of these three pillars stands a “bottom-line results focus”. This means that Kirwan’s diagram is based on results, and the results show that U.S. Olympic swimmers win constantly. Clear definition of roles is another key to the program, and it provides something of a corporate management lesson. Chuck Wielgus, Executive Director of USA Swimming, uses his own job as an example. Although he is the executive director, and the coaches and athletes know him, he keeps to his own duties. He lets the trainers and coaches fulfill their roles without trying to meddle in the way they do their jobs.

He believes that “Performance by committee is a major mistake,”, and that “…coaches run their show, directors do their part, and it's a separation of state.” Apart from good coaching, there are also individual stars who have a profound influence. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the U.S. took home 31 swimming medals, six of which were won by Phelps. Nevertheless, Wielgus claims that it would be shortsighted to place all the credit on one star: “Consistency is underrated. If you have consistency across your culture, you will always be at least in the top 80 percent. Then, from time to time, you might have a huge star pop up [like Phelps], but even if you don't, you'll still have your 80 percent.” However true that may be, Phelps remains a true product of the USA Swimming program, and a personal example of just how strong the program builds its family environment. In the end, it is clear that both the school and the individuals within it are the reason why the U.S.A Swimming Team has known such heights and has developed so much over the course of time. Their performance is the product of a well-oiled system that follows a rigid management map that focuses on consistency, clear definition of roles and good coaching. DECEMBER 2017 43


DIGITAL PERFORMANCE

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION PERFORMANCE MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE OLIVIAN BREDA

W Optimization (SEO) performance of a web hen

evaluating

the

Search

Engine

site, there are some KPIs which you can find very valuable, as they will point you in the right direction in terms of showing you your website’s traffic number, referrals, domains linked to you and much more. You will find in the following article numerous KPIs which you can use for your SEO endeavors, which have been taken from several sites that measure SEO performance. The first 2 KPIs are very standard ones, used for virtually every website, so it is highly recommended that you implement them: # Rankings for main keywords – local On what positions does your web site rank for main keywords on local searches (around your area of delivering products / services)?

44 DECEMBER 2017

# Rankings for main keywords – organic On what positions does your web site rank for main keywords on organic searches? Following this, we have a few KPIs from Ahrefs, which along with Majestic and Moz are three of the more reputable SEO measurement websites out there. As far as Ahrefs is concerned, some of the KPIs you may consider are the following: # Ahrefs domain rating A number indicating a snapshot on what Ahrefs considers as the main rating for your web site. Ahrefs # of root domains How many domains link to you.

Ahrefs # of links How many individual pages link to your web site. When it comes to Majestic, our suggested indicators are as follows: # Majestic trust flow How trustable are the links pointing to your web site. Majestic # of root domains How many domains link to you. Majestic # of links How many individual pages link to your web site. Last, but not least, Moz has a few metrics of their own to share with us that can offer you valuable insight:


DIGITAL PERFORMANCE

# Moz domain authority A figure indicating a snapshot on how Moz. com sees your site’s authority. # Moz page authority A figure indicating a snapshot on how Moz. com sees your page’s authority.

seem important but in actuality are not very relevant. General overview KPIs

Conversion-related KPIs # Goal completions Total of conversions you got.

# of Sessions or # of PageViews How much traffic you get.

% Goal conversion rate How many visits result in goal conversions.

# Moz spam score Relatively to the total number of links, how many links seem to be spammy.

% Percentage of returning visitors How many of your visitors return to your web site after an initial visit.

% E-commerce conversion rate It measures the conversion rate just for e-commerce transactions.

Moz # of root domains How many domains link to you.

# Pageviews and # Average time on site How much time to visitors spend on your web site.

Moz # of links How many individual pages link to your web site. As we can see, several KPIs, such as # of links and # or root domains are highlighted by every source, as these indicators showcase your website’s strength and recognizability. In addition to these, we have taken the liberty to offer your a few additional KPIs that can serve as guiding points for your SEO performance. What we mean by guiding points is that if you have ever wondered how you could measure pageviews or no. of sessions or the ROI of a website, these metrics will do just that. This will help you learn the basic pattern of measuring SEO, understanding which ones are important and which ones

# Non-brand organic traffic volume You look, in here, at the traffic brought in for non-brand keywords. % Bounce rate How many people visit just one page on your web site. # Number of landing pages It measures your exposure in search engine listings. # Page load spee How fast does your web site load. # of indexed pages How many of your web site’s pages are indexed by Google.

Revenue-related KPIs # Revenue Shows the revenue of your web site, and helps you estimate which traffic sources bring in revenues. # ROI of SEO You should evaluate what’s the return-ofinvestment for SEO efforts. # Revenue per searched visit How much earnings you make for a person reaching your web site. In conclusion, KPIs are just as much part of SEO measurement and management as they are of any business endeavor. When selecting the best ones for your website, always take a look at trustworthy sources that explain what each and every indicator means, as you do not want to crowd your Excel sheets with metrics that have nothing to show for.

DECEMBER 2017 45


DIGITAL PERFORMANCE

DIGITAL STRATEGIES A DIGITAL PATH TOWARDS PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT MARIA JUNCU

I want to be successful have to constantly

n today’s day and age, companies that

change and improve their game, in order to keep their competitive advantage. If they want to succeed, they need to incorporate a unique value proposition that can incorporate digital technologies in such a way that it is near impossible for their competitors to replicate. The most successful companies are the ones that have discovered the importance of embracing biometrics, artificial intelligence, drones, and other digital technologies. Because these leading companies have found a way of boosting their efficiency through these new technologies, senior business executives at many other companies feel pressured to do the same. 46 DECEMBER 2017

That is why, those business leaders who want to hop on this digitalized wave and maximize the value from investment in new technologies, must make sure that their companies have a great digital strategy.

radical changes, all companies can be clustered in two groups, the first being that of the daredevils, of the “big and bold�, and the second that of the companies who play it safe, without taking too many chances.

Why is the digital strategy so important? Because a great digital strategy can provide direction, thus enabling executives to lead digital initiatives, measure their progress, and then redirect those efforts where needed. The first step in this direction is to decide what kind of digital strategy to pursue. When it comes to choosing the appropriate digital strategy, there are two types of companies that must be taken into consideration.

The daredevils are those companies that embrace radical changes at the expense of consuming their revenue and profit pools, and are more than willing to invest in digital technology. The higher the investment devoted in comparison to competitors/ peers, the bolder the strategy. These companies play an offensive game, they are more radically adapting and are willing to invest more than their peers.

Based on how bold their corporate strategy is and how determined they are to risk the present for a brighter future by adopting

From this, one can deduce that the bolder the digital strategy, the more likely the company is to have a successful digital


DIGITAL PERFORMANCE

to access a previously inaccessible sources of supply at a marginal cost, sometimes in combination with a platform. For instance, H&M and Ikea are offering an online reseller option for their own customers, allowing them to sell used, branded products to one another.

3. Products and services with digital features Other companies use digital technology to create new products or services with digital features, so that they can serve new demand. One example is P&G’s Oral-B toothbrush with Bluetooth-enabled digital guidance

4. Rebundling and customizing A large number of companies use digital technology to rebundle their products or services to better serve their existing customers.

transformation. It is no surprise that bold corporate strategies are associated with significantly superior performance on all counts: revenue growth, profitability growth, and return on digital investment. Of course, a bold corporate strategy does not work for every company and the best strategy depends on a company’s existing capabilities and the way it wants to compete. The most important requirement for a great digital strategy is to choose one kind of strategy. The following digital strategies are six strategies that have been featured in an HBR article written by Jacques Bughin and Nicholas Van Zeebroeck. The first three are primarily offensive, targeting new demand, new supply or new business models. The other three are defensive in nature, as they are aimed at improving what the firm already does.

5. Digital distribution channel Many companies invest in digital distribution channels, in an attempt to make it easier for customers to access their products or services.

1. Platform game By engaging to some degree in platform strategies, some companies attempt to redefine their industry’s value chain so customers and suppliers can interact more directly and benefit from network effects. Platforms have the power to radically alter the way value is distributed in a value chain.

2. Marginal supply A few companies use digital technology

6. Cost efficiency A lot of companies use digital technology to improve their cost efficiency, mostly through automation or cost scaling. These six strategies can be employed by both offensive and defensive companies. The offensive companies, the ones that have a bold corporate strategy, will surely employ one of the first three offensive digital strategies, while those companies that want to ward off digital disruption, will choose one of the last three defensive strategies. DECEMBER 2017 47


DIGITAL PERFORMANCE

HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENT THE INTERNET OF THINGS MARIA JUNCU

T of connecting devices to each other and he Internet of Things (IoT) is the concept

to the internet. This applies to everything from coffee makers and washing machines, to cellphones, lamps and almost any other device that has an on/off switch. What is more, the IoT is a limitless network that does not only connect things, but people as well.

The IoT’s popularity has grown over the years to the point where companies begin an Internet of Things journey with great expectations. Unfortunately, many of those companies end up experiencing disappointing business results. According to Gartner, starting with 2018, 80% of companies will fail to monetize IoT data. This claim is backed up by Cisco’s survey, which found out that one-third of all completed IoT projects were not considered a success. The question that needs to be answered is: “How can some companies successfully implement IoT solutions, while others fail miserably from the get go?” In his article, “Success with the Internet of Things Requires More Than Chasing the Cool Factor”, Maciej Kranz, the author of “Building the Internet of Things”, believes that the answer lies in change, as those organizations that implement IoT solutions successfully and achieve their expected ROI, change their traditional business approaches in a number of ways. 1. Establishing a Partner Ecosystem IoT is mainly based on interconnectivity. Interconnectivity does not only refer to the 48 DECEMBER 2017

connections between devices, it also refers to the connections between customers, suppliers and partners. Because of this, IoT is creating the premise for a major shift in the structure of businesses, as it leads the way towards a more inclusive business model where two or more companies start working together. This means that companies have to embrace models that have an open and flexible structure, where partners can work together to solve business problems. Companies implementing IoT successfully in sectors such as manufacturing, oil and gas, mining, and transportation, have started searching for multiple partners to create better solutions. They do this because they have realized that this approach enables organizations to gain the best possible technologies that can further help them develop better solutions that advance their goals. 2. Updating the Talent Management Strategies By employing the IoT, a company will not only have to acquire new technical skills, but also experts who possess both the business and people skills to collaborate across groups inside and outside the company.


DIGITAL PERFORMANCE

Why this need for experts? Because IoT solutions cover information technology, operational technology, and core business functions – three groups that need to work together. As such, companies have come to the conclusion that they need to bring these functions together at an organizational level, creating new roles and hierarchies, if they want to successfully implement the IoT. According to Kranz, there are several strategies that can be used to develop IoT talent: Train employees in IoT skills, such as: technology, processes and collaboration;

important factor that defines the future of an IoT based enterprise is the way in which the team-based culture of diversity and openness is nurtured. 3. Focusing on the Challenge and not on the Technology In order to better understand this last change in the traditional business approach, Maciej Kranz explains how Harley-Davidson, the iconic American motorcycle company, found a way to respond to changing customer desires and to become more efficient operationally. For this, Harley-Davidson assembled people from both IT and operations to create a unified team, he “integrated multiple systems into a single enterprise network, consolidated islands of data, and created a fully IoT-enabled plant”.

Challenge employees to form teams to work together on solutions;

This major change led to the shrinking of the 21-day production schedule for new orders down to six hours, reducing operating costs by $200 million and improving production efficiency. What is more, Kranz explains that the “build-to-order cycle times sped up by a factor of 25, allowing the company to respond to customer desires far more quickly and efficiently.”

Empower, incentivize and encourage employees to think like interdependent entrepreneurs at a startup.

Sooner or later, the IoT will become the main power source that will help businesses improve their dealings with customers and stakeholders alike.

He also believes that knowing how to attract the next generation of IoT talent is crucial, as money is just one factor that needs to be taken into consideration. One other

However, for this to happen, enterprises need to make changes to their business models and strategies so that they can align themselves to the IoT’s network character.

Implement a culture of innovation across all grades, functions, and regions;

DECEMBER 2017 49


EVENTS STRATEGY

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS STRATEGY? PAUL ALBU

S organizations, trategy

has

become, for many a buzzword, a cliché that everyone has heard about and whose importance is broadly acknowledged, but not everyone can actually name the benefits of a good strategy are and why the organization should pay attention to it. In order to understand the benefits of a good strategy, first we must understand what exactly it refers to. According to Henry Mintzberg, strategy can be defined by using the 5 P’s: Perspective Vision, mission, values and goals;

According to Michael Mankins and Richard Steele, less than 15% of the companies compare the actual business results with the performance forecasted for each unit in its prior years’ strategic plans. In this case, an analysis is required, in order to avoid wasting resources on a strategy which is underperforming, and changing obsolete objectives and initiatives becomes a must. 3. Improving the business strategy will result in efficient communication

Pattern A set of actions;

Sometimes, managers are not informed regarding the best means to execute the strategy. A good practice is to take into account the communication possibilities across all sectors of the organization. The communication between departments can be improved by having all processes mapped.

Position Results.

5. Strategy means setting the right objectives for each employee

Plan/ Ploy Objectives, KPIs and Initiatives;

After understanding what the strategy is, we now proceed to a deeper analysis of the benefits of improving the business strategy: 1. Develop a clear strategy for your organization By analyzing the external and internal environment, a sound strategy can be formulated, which will furtherly be cascaded across all level of the organization, so that each employee can understand it and benefit from it. 2. Achieve your organization’ goals 50 DECEMBER 2017

It is essential for managers to be able to set effective and efficient goals. Problems in this area can be avoided by involving the managers in a community of practice and by having strategy meetings and training programs. 6. Strategy offers a clear direction According to Robert Kaplan and David Norton, only 7% of employees today fully understand their company’s business strategy and what is expected from them in order to help achieve the company goals. This means employees are working in

silos and the majority of them go different directions. Knowing the vision, mission, values and goals of the organization is important and should be expected of every employee. Moreover, cascading the organizational objectives to departmental and individual level is a must in order to achieve alignment across all sectors of the organization, for the employees to have a clear direction and to know where they are heading. 7. A good strategy takes into account how to measure performance Measuring the performance of an organization is vital in order to make relevant decisions, based on facts. A solution to this problem is implementing a Performance Management System within the organization. 8. Strategy will offer alignment between initiatives and objectives Initiatives have the role to ensure that the organization’s objective are met. Allocating the resources of the organization in the opposite direction of the strategic plan, will lead to different results compared to the ones which are expected. In conclusion, there are many benefits in which a sound strategy provides, but the main point is that a strategy should to take into account all the factors relevant for an organization to succeed: strategy should offer a clear direction by having the right goals and objectives, cascaded across all level of the organization the right initiatives should be implemented in order to achieve them.


EVENTS BALANCED SCORECARD

THE IMPORTANCE OF AN HR BALANCED SCORECARD MARIA JUNCU

A performance

Balanced Scorecard is a strategy and measurement tool that can be used by employees to determine the efficiency of an organization's architecture or design. What is more, the BSC can be also used to keep track of activities that various team members are working on and to monitor the causes and effects of changes to organizational structure. The main goal of an HR scorecard is to help enterprises determine the value of their human resources departments. According to the website HR Folks International, this goal might prove to be a bit difficult to achieve as human capital is largely intangible and difficult to measure as a component in a company's business success.

In the article “The Meaning & Definition of an HR Score Card”, we’re told that HR departments normally quantify elements that can be easily measured such as: # hiring times for filling open positions, % turnover rates, as well as workers' compensationrelated issues such as # lost time and injuries. Unfortunately, this approach does not address the department's contribution to a company's business goals, including $ reducing operating costs, and increasing sales and profit. According to the article’s author, an HR scorecard should provide a link between HR operations and a company's business targets. Establishing the HR Scorecard Before establishing an HR scorecard, you must

first identify the areas of an HR department that contribute to the company’s goals, make a list and then modify it accordingly. For instance, measurements should be established in order to quantify items such as: pay structures, payfor-performance results, benefits programs and training programs. After creating the necessary measurements, process steps need to be developed in order to implement the scorecard. In the book “The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance”, authors Dave Ulrich, Mark Huselid and Brian Becker, recommend a four-step process that includes: “Identifying the critical deliverables for human resources, identifying human resource customers, defining HR activities that provide deliverables like high-talent DECEMBER 2017 51


BALANCED SCORECARD

staffing or employee-retention initiatives, and conducting cost-benefit analyses of deliverable-providing activities.� The HR scorecard can show senior management that there are better ways of measuring financial results more easily. Based on the same book, “The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy, and Performance�, HR Folks International provides a sevenstep model: 1. HR managers must define the company's business strategy to employees and define employee roles in achieving that goal; 2. HR departments must make the case for their role as a strategic partner within an organization; 3. A strategic map is created to identify the HR department's position in an organization's chain of command and barriers to its contribution to business success;

Translating the vision of the company into workable goals

Linking each goal with a performance indicator

Evaluating the goals in light of actual performance

Adjusting the company's strategy to meet the goals or adjusting the goals to be more realistic

4. HR deliverables are established for the strategic map that identify changes and potential contributions to overall company success; 5. The HR structure is aligned to achieve established deliverables; 6. A strategic HR measurement system is designed that provides for moving from traditional measurables like % turnover and #employee satisfaction to more intangible measurables. 7. The new measures are implemented and constantly reviewed and modified. You have to keep in mind that the basis for the HR scorecard lies in identifying the strategic objectives of the company and then matching them with outcome-based HR goals. What is more, by using the SMART methodology you can transform each scorecard item into a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time constrained item. Thus, you can develop a scorecard objective of "increased training" into "health and safety training hours increased to 10 hours or more per employee over the next two quarters." 52 DECEMBER 2017

The most important thing you have to keep in mind is that the BSC approach is based on 4 crucial steps: Translating the vision of the company into workable goals; Linking each goal with a performance indicator; Evaluating the goals in light of actual performance; Adjusting the company's strategy to meet

the goals or adjusting the goals to be more realistic. Performance metrics are often used to express the value and success of every department of an organization. Although the efforts of human resources cannot appear as a number contributing directly to sales, HR practices can make significant contributions toward a company's success. That is exactly why an HR scorecard measurement system is so important, as it allows a business to monitor and boost HR performance.


OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

IMPROVING OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE AT METRO ANDREEA VECERDEA

almost every time of those 8,000 journeys! In 2015, the company had 120 consecutive days without a single delay over 8 minutes. This operational performance is also reflected in the company’s financials because, on average, 1 trip costs the company only about $ 1. According to Robert Cervero, professor of city and regional planning at UC Berkeley, Hong Kong Metro is the “best designed, best operated and most successful metro systems in the world”.

T least, one of the most used transportation he metro has become, for large cities at

means. It is fast, affordable and accessible from all areas of the city.

Metro Corporation, the operator of the Melbourne rail system, strives to improve its performance on a daily basis, in terms of both punctuality and delivery. A train is considered to be on time, if it comes either 59 seconds earlier, or 4 minutes and 59 seconds later than scheduled. In terms of punctuality, the target is to run the service on time in 88% of cases, while in terms of delivery, the target is to run at least 98% of trains according to the established timetable. On its website, Metro publishes its performance results on a daily basis. Current results are higher than the target in

both cases. For example, the average results for March 2015 are 98.5% for % On time delivery and 92.1% for % On-time arrivals. The prior rail network operator, Connex, had a much lower performance than Metro. In 2009, when Metro took over the network, punctuality was below 85%. In 2011, Metro was struggling to avoid penalties for not meeting contractual targets. Now, when results exceed targets, there is still place for improvement, because when compared to the parent company, based in Hong Kong, where trains arrive on time in 99.9% of cases, Melbourne results do not seem that high any more. In Hong Kong, Metro runs about 20 hours per day, which is translated into 8,000 trips. Furthermore, it manages to do this on time

So how do they manage their performance? One of the key success triggers is the software used to monitor all trains in real time. Super OCC, as the system is called, brings all control centers in one place. Large screens with graphs showing real time progress help operators spot problems in a glimpse. Moreover, once the running schedule ends (around 1 a.m.), more than 1,000 employees start checking the tracks and the trains, in order to maintain the system functional. Radiofrequency identifiers are used to monitor the trains and provide an early warning in case of potential problems. Also, infrared monitors on tracks are used to detect cracks too small for the human eye to detect. The Hong Kong parent company’s expertise and technology is implemented step by step in all cities where Metro operates, one more reason why in Melbourne as well, the company is expected to have great performance results. However, there are times when trains skip stations or run short DECEMBER 2017 53


OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

services to make up lost time and minimize the number of residents in delay. This causes dissatisfaction among citizens, because it seems to be a quite common technique used by the metro operator. In March 2015, alone, the company seems to have shortened 550 services in the course of a week. The company sustains that the majority of delays are outside its control, including here police interventions, people being hit by trains, ill passengers, or vandals. In an effort to minimize them, the company is considering employing more staff to manage crowds in stations, and even handing out food in the morning to stop people from fainting in overcrowded peakhour trains: “We’re trying to work out ways we can give people energy bars in the morning – if you’ve skipped breakfast, have one of these.” Besides these out of control delay causes, there are the delays caused by Metro’s operational failures, including faults with signals, trains and tracks, or driver errors. One initiative taken in this sense was the introduction of a new automated system, PRS, designed to automatically record train arrival and departure times. Prior to this system, Metro staff kept track of this data

54 DECEMBER 2017

manually, and then the Public Transport Victoria had to cross check it using own samples, which was a time consuming operation. The need of making data available to the Government comes from the bonuses related to performance results achieved by the metro operator. In the last one and a half years, Metro received bonuses worth $16.7 million. Apparently, these good results were achieved because the company altered the services provided to citizens (incomplete services and stations skipped, leading to delayed passengers). Daniel Bowen, spokesman for the Public Transport Users Association, sustains that “Bypasses and short-running can disrupt hundreds of passengers on each train and the fact that they’re happening so often is a cause for alarm”. Punctuality above all, literally It seems the company is too focused on reaching its punctuality and delivery targets but “forgets” about its clients, Melbourne’s citizens. The company receives a quarter performance bonus, based on a “passenger-weighted minutes”

formula, but it also applied penalties in case it fails to deliver their service accordingly. However, as the penalties differ (a higher penalty is applied for a train running late during peak hours than for a train running late during off-peak hours, and a higher penalty is applied when a train is cancelled rather than when the train runs short), the operator chooses to skip stations and to run short services, while still reaching its performance targets and obtaining its bonuses. For example, from the 550 services altered in March, only 151 were officially recorded as cancelled. Such practices cause citizen dissatisfaction, who spot the opportunity for the Government to apply higher penalties or to increase the performance targets needed to be met by the metro operator. Despite its drawbacks and the need for further improvement, Metro remains without doubt an operator with good performance results, especially in Hong Kong, but also worldwide, wherever the company managed to expand. In Melbourne, for instance, it succeeded in making the rail network more reliable. Even if the trains are almost as punctual today as they were 10 years ago, there are now around 100 million more passengers using the system each year, which makes this a good performance in itself.


ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

ORGANIZATIONAL MEETINGS FOSTERING AN EFFICIENT DIALOGUE BETWEEN EXECUTIVES AND EMPLOYEES MARCELA PRESECAN

T up to 23 hours per week preparing,

he average senior manager spends

participating or following up on meetings. And still, an estimated 85% of executives are dissatisfied with the efficiency and effectiveness of organizational meetings, according to Steven G. Rogelberg. Employees spend approximately 6 hours a week attending meetings which they believe are a complete waste of time. There is obviously a top-down, bottom-up disruption when it comes to understanding the functionality of a meeting. And still, how else are we supposed to communicate vision and purpose, objectives and initiatives, without congregating? Well, there are the self-evident alternatives such as Instant Messaging.

The number of simultaneous conversations carried by means of Instant Messaging are limited only by the user’s capacity of processing information. Virtual conferences or teleconferences are another way of collaborative socializing without commuting to a meeting room.

DECEMBER 2017 55


ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Then we have wikipedias, which are web applications that provide an ideal environment for distributing work-related tasks and managing documents. They keep track of changes and assign responsibles for each editing activity. Lastly, Project Management applications such as “Wrike” or “Basecamp” enable file sharing, information exchange and task assigning. So as we can see, fostering dialogue is not an easy proceeding, let alone converting dialogue into effective communication. As time consuming as they might be, as rigid and outdated, meetings are the only means of face-to face communication. They unequivocally provide the possibility to both assess body language and hear tone of voice, while additionally detecting behavioral signals and verbal cues that might be crucial in understanding the perspectives of others. There are, indeed, a number of visionaries who indulge the dynamics of information technology, but is it always because of its efficiency and timeliness? Or is it because they just dislike being accountable for their work in a face to face encounter with the boss? Of course, this may just end up in a pointless discussion about communication skills, but the truth is that both managers and employees are looking for ways to express themselves optimally. Besides their more formal purpose, meetings also have a networking and even a team-building purpose for employees. Granting meetings their indisputable role in nurturing team cohesiveness, we should look at improving the quality of organizational meetings, rather than their total elimination. A productive and efficient meeting should be the result of:

A disciplined distribution of meeting agenda: use of e-mail with follow-up requirements helps share information about the meeting in a timely manner

A steady agenda tracking: maintain focus on the key topics of the agenda by minimizing distractions

undergo a study on the use of IM during organizational meetings. They have identified an “invisible whispering”, translated by an array of backstage conversations that were interfering with the meeting agenda. The purpose of the backend IM discussions were identified as follows:

Data consistency: ensure that the decision-making process is based on real data and accurate documentation

Directing the meeting: conversations intended to influence the content and process of the meeting;

Creativity and innovation encouragement for an overall contribution

Providing focal support: conversations that helped the team accomplish its work and minimize process losses that occurred due to a lack of preparation, missing information or gaps in communication;

An optimal use of computer and web based technologies: ensure meeting access availability to all participants, even those who might need to contribute to the meeting from a long distance

An unambiguous review: provide everyone with a summary of the meeting by centralizing minutes within an accessible document made available to all interested parties Typically, meetings should involve four to eight participants (except for one-toone meetings, which gather as few as two participants). Preferably, a meeting should last from 30 to 60 minutes, and a transcription of meeting highlights should be undertaken for future reference. Information technology tools should not be disregarded, on the contrary, they should contribute to the enhancement of traditional meetings. Information technology supported meetings share the face-to-face meeting’s propensity for group cohesion. When the group members are physically dispersed, web conferences are more than useful in facilitating an equal and coherent distribution of information. Although Instant Messaging (IM) is an integrated part of the modern organizational fabric, its use during meetings may be disrupting. In their book “Handbook of Group Decision and Negotiation”, Kilgour Marc and Eden Colin

56 DECEMBER 2017

A+

Providing social support: conversations that encouraged non-contributing members of the group to participate in the meeting; Seeking clarification: conversations seeking to clarify aspects that were not understood or omitted; Participating in a parallel subgroup meeting; Managing extra-meeting activities. An experiment focusing on decision-making processes organized separate 10-20 minutes meetings for groups that either stood up or sat down during the meeting. The result was that the groups standing up took 34% less time to make decisions, and there were no outstanding differences in decision quality between the two group types. So what drives an efficient meeting? Is it good pre-meeting preparation, standing up during meetings or the management of invisible whispering? Theory aside, practice may just provide us with an answer to an efficient dialogue between employees and executives.


ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

IS YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED? CRISTINA MIHAILOAIE

is an intriguing component of C ulture the organizational system, wouldn’t you

say? Although most professionals agree on the importance of building a strong culture, measuring the extent to which this goal has been achieved is quite challenging and tools have been far and few between. One such tool, used to get the pulse of the organizational culture, is provided by the GPA Unit – the performance culture audit. Another way is to measure specific KPIs, like Sears does. Sears used to monitor % Employees who attended cultural renewal training, while they were in a process of culture change, in ‘96. Other examples of KPIs are % Employees aware of corporate values or # Communications on corporate values, but most of them relate to some quantitative aspect of measurement. Using metrics to monitor performance or inform decision-making is always useful, but can we actually capture our organizational culture in one metric or index? As culture is a phenomenon that happens naturally in any group, without necessarily being guided, it will always be a reflection of the people’s energy within that group. Culture is more appealing to emotion rather than reason, it is something that can be easily felt when you walk in a company, but it is difficult to explain or justify. An organizational culture will embed the beliefs and values that define a company and they serve as guidance in daily actions. Culture DECEMBER 2017 57


ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

is a reflection of the company’s spirit and to a large extent, I believe that an organization’s worth is equal to the value of its people. Performance is a concept usually associated with processes that are more technical than culture, such as financial performance or machinery performance. So why would we want to have a performance-oriented culture? For many people this may sound like a very cold and profit-oriented working environment. In practice, there are several reasons to embed “performance” within your organizational culture: Impact on internal stakeholders Increases accountability regarding the quality of their work; Raises awareness on the importance of being efficient and result-oriented in their work; Nurtures constant learning and professional improvement; Brings clarity on their role and contribution to the organizational strategy; Increases engagement, by rewarding performance. Impact on external stakeholders Positions the organization as a trustful and reliable partner; Influences the quality of products and services in a positive manner; Enhances the customer’s experience; Improves employer brand and market image. Thus, a change management initiative to shift organizational culture towards a performance58 DECEMBER 2017

driven perspective, can become quite the leverage for companies wishing to get ahead of their competition.mTo have more clarity around how a performance culture looks like, consider the following key attributes: Shared vision Strong leadership is essential for any organization. Leaders must have the ability to communicate their vision and inspire employees to follow them. Their vision can be a key liaison that brings and keeps people together, effectively enabling them to work as a team. Communication Intense and effective communication increases employees’ awareness and understanding of the company strategy. This impacts the way they work and can help them make better decisions, in full alignment with strategic directions. Transparency regarding decisions and performance levels establishes greater levels of credibility and confidence in relation to leadership and generates employee interest towards understanding the impact of their actions on bottom line results. Continuous learning A culture of performance will act as an enabler for implementing a performance management system within the company. Monitoring performance results facilitates the development of a constant learning process for the entire organization. A performance-oriented culture not only sets up targets, but also provide employees the necessary training or mentoring to achieve the performance standards set. Process improvement A common characteristic of performanceoriented organizations is their concern for constant optimization. By not being satisfied with ”good”, and always striving for ”great”,

people adopt a new state of mind, in which they are constantly looking for efficiencies. Data In the age of big data, we need to make sure that both young and older generations are accustomed to work and make use of data in their decisions. Modern organizations must have the competencies and the ”habit” of data analysis. Technology Progress in today’s business environment is limited, without the support of modern technology. A performance-driven organization will invest in technology to support business processes. Innovation Technological growth will be conditioned by the organization’s ability to adapt to market dynamics and innovate in order to stay ahead of the competition. Innovation comes from employees, but what can make a difference between 2 companies that have the same talent pool is the way each manages to nurture innovation among employees. Rewarding performance A performance-oriented culture reflects a working environment, where effort and success are acknowledged and rewarded. Rewards don’t have to be exclusively financial. Engagement A performance culture should nurture employee engagement, through its employee centered initiatives. Authenticity Organizations should be able to identify its uniqueness, acknowledge and promote it among stakeholders. This is what makes a company feel real and meaningful for its employees, customers and business partners. For Zappos, for example, this authenticity is reflected in one of their corporate values – weirdness.


KPIS

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN METRICS, KPIS AND KRIS? ANDREEA VECERDEA

METRICS Measurement

KPIS Performance Assessment

A to

metric refers something we can measure. It has its roots in the word “metron”, used in ancient Greece to reflect measurement. For instance, air pollution, air temperature, water depth, people’s height or weight are all metrics. When metrics reflect the achievement of a desired state, they become Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). A KPI expresses the achievement of a desired level of results in an area relevant to the evaluated entity’s activity. For example # Air pollution may be just a metric, but for an organization that is concerned with reducing the environmental

KRIS Risk Assessment

ANALYTICS Decision Making

impact of its production process, it becomes an important KPI for the Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Department. When metrics provide an early warning regarding an increased risk exposure in certain area of operations, they become Key Risk Indicators (KRIs).

% Large customers in financial difficulty can be a KRI as it indicates how large the company’s exposure is towards its clients. A large percentage of customers with financial problems can affect the cash flow of the organization. Therefore, everything we measure is a metric. If it reflects performance it becomes a KPI. If it reflects risk it becomes a KRI. With all of these tools: metrics, KPIs and KRIs we can do analytics to explore trends, data patterns and interdependencies, all for supporting better decision making and ultimately the achievement of desired results. DECEMBER 2017 59


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ASK THE EXPERTS

ASK THE EXPERTS

HOW CAN YOU BUILD A STRATEGY MAP? MARCELA PRESECAN

B as by acknowledging its main capabilities, an organization can y identifying what differentiates it from its competitors, as well

set the objectives that have to be attained in order to reach its vision. A performance based organization will formulate its objectives and map its strategy, in order to identify cause and effect links that turn assets into desired outcomes.

The objectives are clearly defined statements of what an organization sets out to achieve. They are important strategy components which reflect on strategic priorities. Objectives embody the link between the mission/vision of the organization and its related initiatives/activities. Clarifying objectives serves for performance monitoring and evaluation, while providing the necessary framework in aligning organizational priorities

Red: Below targets (Unacceptable values) Yellow: Within target limits (Acceptable values) Green: On or above targets (Desired values) The Balanced Scorecard Perspectives, horizontally grouping strategic objectives within each perspective, as reflected by the Strategy Map; The cause and effect relationships visually represented by arrows linking strategic objectives both horizontally and vertically Strategic themes, which establish the required criteria used to group together strategic objectives within the Balanced Scorecard perspectives of the Strategy Map. The organizational Strategy Map is a performance management tool that:

The Strategy Map is a visual representation of an organization’s strategy, highlighting the strategic objectives of the organization and the cause and effect argumentations, linked within the four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard.

Provides and architecture for describing the strategy;

The Strategy Map components are:

Helps executives turn strategy into outcomes by providing a framework for the process;

The strategic objectives, structured within graphic representation models, such as ovals, which can be adequately colored, according to target thresholds: 62 DECEMBER 2017

Maps the organization’s strategic objectives and uses a cause and effect logic to reflect their interdependencies;

Groups strategies into relevant themes for optimal segmentation and execution;


ASK THE EXPERTS

Makes strategy operational at all levels of an organization by effectively communicating strategy and related objectives. There are several best practices that need to be taken into consideration when designing a Strategy Map: 1. Choose the right template When building a Strategy Map, the template must provide a structure that clearly illustrates an organization’s strategic objectives, initiatives and targets, while emphasizing the connections between objectives and themes that aim for the same strategic direction. Strategy Maps may all

be based on the same guidelines, but choosing the right visual outline is a decision of how the Strategy Map template best suits the company’s vision on performance. 2. Start from the Top Down The optimal way to build a Strategy Map is starting with the vision of what an organization wants to achieve, and then identifying the actions required to get there. A company must first envision its purpose and then develop a strategic vision. 3. Identify what’s missing Strategy Maps can help identify flaws in the

way the strategy is implemented at different levels of the organization. It is important for business units to be aligned with company strategy. Performance measurement should not be eluded at lower levels of the organizations, and strategy maps are a good tracker of such omissions. 4. Adjust to best reflect the strategy When missing pieces in strategy execution are identified by the use of a Strategy Map, adjustments are needed, in order to fill in the gaps and coherently reformulate the strategy, for a successful implementation.

DECEMBER 2017 63


LIFESTYLE

LIFESTYLE

BOOST YOUR SELF-CONFIDENCE AND BECOME THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF MARIA JUNCU

T

he term “self-confidence” has a number of definitions, but in my opinion, on the one hand being defined as: “an internal emotional force that enables you to believe and trust in your own abilities.” Each and every one of us is born with certain abilities. Whether we hone them or not is another issue altogether, but the fact that we have an inner potential cannot be denied. That is why, one might say that self-confidence is the result of unleashing that potential. Self-esteem, on the other hand, can simply be defined as “how much you like yourself ”. When you like and respect 64 DECEMBER 2017

yourself, you always perform and behave better than if you did not. There is a very strong correlation between self-esteem and self-confidence, as they feed into each other and influence each other at all times. It is no secret that the more you like yourself, the more confident you become. What is more, when you gain confidence and learn how to appreciate yourself, you become more efficient and effective in every area of your life. The two main questions at this point are: “What happens to those who lack self-confidence?” and “How does a lack of confidence influence their lives?”


LIFESTYLE

Here are a few examples of how low selfconfidence can control your life: It steals your freedom by diminishing your willingness to dare and to act; It does not allow you to enjoy your achievements and forge new relationships; It makes you seek perfection in everything you do, even though deep down you know that perfection is unattainable; It demotivates you, chipping away at your belief in yourself and your ability to succeed; It makes you feel incompetent when accepting outside help; It is an impediment to the development of assertive behavior, forcing you to be either passive or aggressive. It is true that a lack of confidence can easily rule certain aspects of your life, however you must not despair, as self-confidence can be learned and with a bit of guidance and a lot of hard work, you can become more confident. So, if you want to become that self-confident person who is admired by others, who sees his/ her life in a positive light at all times and who is not afraid to face his/her fears head on, then you should try to apply the following tips to your daily life so that you can slowly but surely build up your self-confidence. 1. Exchange the negative for the positive Try to walk away from those individuals who put you down and shred your confidence. Be more positive, even if you’re not feeling like

it and try to show some positive enthusiasm when you interact with others.

confidence by learning how to keep your insecurities at bay.

Stop thinking about your problems and start focusing on ways in which you can make positive changes. Never give up and never think about failures. You should always keep in mind that there is a solution to everything and that you just have to keep searching until you find it.

6. Give yourself the chance to win Many people are discouraged about their abilities because they set goals that are too difficult to achieve. If you want to avoid this situation, you should start by setting small goals that you can win easily.

2. Improve upon your body language and image Posture, smiling, eye contact and speech can greatly influence your attitude and if properly harnessed they can boost your confidence. Just the simple act of pulling your shoulders back gives others the impression that you are a confident person. What is more, by keeping eye contact with the person you are speaking to and by taking the time to speak slowly and clearly you will appear more selfconfident to your interlocutors. 3. Learn to say “No” Research conducted at the University of California in San Francisco showed that people who have great difficulty in saying “no”, experience stress, burnout and depression, all of which destroy confidence. Confident people have no qualms when refusing someone because they know that saying “no” is healthy. They say “no” with confidence because they know that by refusing a new commitment they honor their existing commitments, which gives them the opportunity to successfully fulfill them. 4. Count every victory no matter how small it is Confident people have the tendency to challenge themselves and compete, even when their victories are very small. Why do they go to the trouble of doing this? Because they know that a series of such small victories, can boost their confidence for months to come.

After a period of easy wins and after building up your confidence with a stream of successes, you can then move on to harder goals. Do not forget to make a list of all your achievements, to remind yourself of the times that you have done well. 7. Stop putting yourself down People who are not confident tend to see others as better or more deserving than themselves. Instead of embracing such a skewed perception, you should see yourself as being equal to everyone. If you make this mental shift, you will surely gain more confidence in yourself. Self-confidence can be shaped, manipulated and owned. It does not control us, we control it. It is ours to develop or undermine. It is a reality, a knowledge, a desire for more. Selfconfidence can shape our lives if we know how to use it and it can help us discover a better version of ourselves. As Viktor Frankl, psychiatrist and Holocaustsurvivor famously said in his book “Man’s Search for Meaning”: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

5. Be assertive, not aggressive As previously mentioned, when you lack confidence, you tend to struggle with developing an assertive behavior. You become proficient at either being passive or aggressive. That is why you need to practice asserting yourself without getting aggressive. This can only happen after you increase your DECEMBER 2017 65


LIFESTYLE

PERSONAL KPIS MEASURE, ACKNOWLEDGE, IMPROVE! ADELINA CHELNICIUC

W H. James Harrington, who once mentioned that:

e’ll start off today’s article with a quote from a well-known author,

“Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.” Therefore, measurement is the first step towards improvement, in all the dimensions of an entity: from time to processes and from inputs to outputs.

Focus, by conveying both what matters and what requires attention; Improvement, by evaluating the level of achievement of the desired results and by providing data to accelerate corrective actions; Engagement, by offering a sense of ownership through responsibility and by motivating the attainment of better results; Communication, by providing common understanding of the numbers that matter;

Learning, by enabling comparison of results in time. Within organizations, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are known to provide multiple advantages, which can be divided into six main Now translate all these advantages into your personal life. Can you categories: imagine having access to the data you are interested in? Or making informed decisions in multiple areas of your life? What about having Clarity, by providing you with a detailed numerical view of the desired better control, taking corrective actions when needed and boosting results; personal performance? 66 DECEMBER 2017


LIFESTYLE

Budget Management # Property investments % Personal Saving Rate % Household saving rate $ Debt $ Expenditure on holiday trips Home Economics # Electric power consumption in kWh # Time spent cooking # Hours dedicated to house cleaning % Use of vouchers and coupons # Shopping sessions Personal Development # Jobs changed # New places visited # Training programs followed # Books read # Major events attended

Well-Being - Fitness # Time spent walking # Time spent sitting # Minutes of vigorous physical activity per day

Well-Being - Health # Days of poor physical conditioning # Diastolic blood pressure # Weight-loss supplements taken

Well-Being - Nutrition # Intake of fruit # Intake of whole grains # Weight-for-height index

As complicated as it might sound at first, the idea of using KPIs to measure your personal productivity is very simple and effective, once properly understood. As I’ve mentioned in a previous article, the first step towards an integrated and controlled personal improvement process is goal setting. Once you established your objectives, setting KPIs can help you focus on those goals and support the process. There are four main areas that you can focus on when measuring your way to improvement and success. These are everyday aspects which, if properly measured and controlled, can meaningfully improve your personal results, namely Budget Management, Home Economics, Personal Development and Well-Being. On the left we offer some examples of KPIs for these areas, which can be therefore adapted and used according to each person’s measurement and improvement needs When measuring personal performance, even if you do not use tools such as a scorecard, a strategy map or a portfolio of initiatives, you still need standardization, to a certain extent. In order to get the most value out of your measurement system, some basic rules can be useful, namely: 1. Simply setting personal KPIs will not be useful, unless they are strongly connected to your objectives. For example, when setting Lose weight as an objective, you might be interested in

measuring both # Weight and # Minutes of vigorous physical activity per day. On the same principle, in order to make sure you achieve the objective Improve English skills, you can monitor KPIs such as # Grammar exercises per day or # English books read. 2. Setting targets for these KPIs will provide you with a reference point against which your personal performance is measured. Both short term and long term targets can be set, in order to motivate you to take actions. 3. Initiatives should be taken in order to achieve your targets. Let’s take, for example, the case of the objective Lose weight. If when monitoring the KPI # Time spent walking per day, which has a target of 30 minutes, your result is barely 10 minutes of walking per day, some initiatives could be Stop using the elevator or Walk towards work 2 times a week (if possible). More details about personal targets and initiatives will be provided in a future article. Besides these simple rules, keeping track of your KPIs in writing offers you a better visualization of your results, along with a sense of responsibility. After deciding what you want to achieve by setting clear goals, measuring your personal performance with KPIs is the next step towards improving both your everyday and your long-term productivity. By choosing the right KPIs and keeping a positive attitude towards the entire process, it becomes not only useful, but also highly motivational and even entertaining.

Well-Being - Relationships # Time spent with family # Twitter followers # Friends who can be counted on

Well-Being - Work-life balance # Promotions % Nights with 6 hours of sleep or more # Time spent walking in nature each month DECEMBER 2017 67


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LIFESTYLE

FASTING HELPS MAINTAIN YOUTHFULNESS AND LIVE A LONGER LIFE ADELA TUDORACHE

M in a balanced diet, is considered healthy living and any individuals suggest that eating 2000 calories,

can decrease our chances of developing health issues. However, others suggest that eating less – to the point of fasting, can actually reduce aging. Many scientists believe that it can even increase our life span. According to a team of researchers from the University of Southern California, eating as little as possible and only consuming certain foods, can make our body think that it’s fasting. In doing so, it adjusts itself to “reduce aging factors and increase our life span.” 70 DECEMBER 2017

This idea came from a method called “caloric restriction”, which is defined as consuming a restricted, daily amount of calories. Scientists believe that when our body starts to fast, it reprograms itself: cells are destroyed and the body system goes into standby. This produces stem cells, which help regenerate old cells and organ mass. This is the main reason why scientists believe fasting can help with maintaining youthfulness and contribute to a prolonged life span. In 2006, Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, of the University of Florida, used this caloric restriction method on mice.


LIFESTYLE

He believed that by consuming 8% less and doing small amount of exercise helps in alleviating aging-related issues and even lessen the effect on damaged cells. Another study shows that dogs undergoing a similar caloric restriction test have been proven to have longer life spans, by an average of 1.8 years. Valter Longo, Professor of Gerontology at UCS Davis, tested this idea with both humans and mice as subjects. Human subjects had to fast for five days in a row, every month, for three months. Every human subject had to take in 1000 calories on the first day, while consuming only 750 calories on the remaining four days. The subjects also had to eat specific meals that contained the right amount of fats, carbohydrates and protein. Longo named this the “human fasting mimicking diet”, FMD for short. FMD is an exercise which focuses on consuming the right amounts of protein and micronutrients, like vitamins, while still triggering the body to think that it’s fasting. After three months of testing, loss of body fat and decrease of cardiovascular disease risks were quite visible. All while still increasing stem cell production – a characteristic of fasting. However, just fasting alone will not have the same affect. Longo found that out by having test subjects consume 1000 calories and then the other 750 calories, which left subjects simply craving with hunger.

By triggering the body into thinking that it’s “fasting”, the pathways in the system will be controlled. These pathways include IGF pathways – which are essentially body switches for certain reactions, like organ shrinking. Longo states that our cells have a workload of things to do, like protecting our immune system and flushing out toxins. When we consume fewer calories, we alleviate any stress suffered by our cells. As a result, it helps the cell do more important tasks – such as maintaining youthfulness and longevity. Although many are skeptic towards the actual benefits of this method, others believe that it does not only work, but it is considered quite safe. Longo considers that his fasting method of five days is difficult to do, but nonetheless harmless. However, he does not suggest to fast longer than that. His work and those of many other researchers who continually try to find the connection between fasting, anti-aging techniques and longevity still need to be refined. Regardless, it should be clear that fasting does not result in immortality, but only helps the body create good cells and destroy damaged ones. In the end, fasting for a couple of days may be what someone needs in order to rejuvenate oneself.

DECEMBER 2017

71


HARDWARE REVIEW

HARDWARE

Tile Pro Sport

Wahoo Fitness Tickr X Heart Rate Monitor

If you have the bad habit of misplacing important objects, finding them could become a walk in the park with the Tile Pro Sport tracking device.

The Wahoo Fitness Tickr X Heart Rate Monitor is ideal for anyone who needs a reliable device that can track the heart rate during workouts. This device connects via ANT+ and Bluetooth and it can send the data it collects either to a phone or to a fitness tracker.

Lost No More

The Pro Sport is a Bluetooth-connected tracking device that helps you find your keys, backpack, laptop, camera or whatever item it is attached to. Its long-range Bluetooth tracking locates tagged items, its loud alarm informs you of their location and its waterproof build is a clear sign of its durability. The Pro Sport has a textured design with a dark slate finish. It has rounded edges with thick rings around the sides for added durability. To activate the ringtone, it has a circular button in the middle. In terms of its software, setting up the Pro Sport is just as easy as the previous Tiles. Pairing takes place through the Tile app for Android and iOS devices. However, its most impressive feature by far is its Bluetooth range. According to Tile, it works at up to 200 feet from your phone, which is twice as far as the Mate and Slim. What is more, the Sport has Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility. How does it work? After configuring the Tile skill through the Alexa app you can say, “Alexa, ask Tile to ring my keys�, and your Tile will sound an alarm if it's in Bluetooth range, and if not, then Alexa will provide its last known location. Google Assistant works the same, the difference being that it works through the Google Home, Android phones, and iPhones using the Google Assistant app. The Tile Pro Sport has amazing durability, a longer Bluetooth range, and a louder alarm and these newly improved features make it the ideal tracking device for anyone who does not want to waste time when searching for those easily misplaced belongings. 72 DECEMBER 2017

More than a HRM

The Wahoo Fitness Tickr X HRM does more than any other similar device, as it includes an internal sensor that counts repetitions during strength training and records advanced running metrics, such as oscillation and ground contact time, during runs. The Tickr X has a soft black strap with thin heart rate sensors along the inside front, two sliders for adjusting the tightness of the strap, and two snaps on the front where the sensor attaches. This HRM has both Bluetooth and ANT+ and as a result it can connect to practically any device. It can be used directly with a fitness app on your Android or iOS device, and it works just as well with the iPhone 4s and newer devices, such as iPads and iPod touches. The amount of apps that work with it is also pretty impressive, including Strava, Endmondo, RunKeeper, Pear Mobile, iCardio, Runtastic, MapMyFitness and others. If it is used with any of those apps, the Tickr X sends heart rate data only. But if you use the specialty apps by Wahoo, such as RunFit, 7 Minute Workout app, Beachbody on Demand, it tracks not only heart rate, but also reps for strength training, and for runs, pace, cadence, stride rate, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation. The Tickr X is great for indoor workouts as well. For treadmill running, it captures speed and distance. For stationary cycling, it estimates cadence. This is the only HRM that does something like this. The Wahoo Fitness Tickr X is more than a HRM, it also works as a run tracker, it can be used with or without a phone and because it has both Bluetooth and ANT+, it works with an enormous range of fitness devices.


HARDWARE

DJI Inspire 2

Fly to Infinity The DJI Inspire 2 drone is the best choice for pro filmmakers, local news stations, and enthusiasts who want to go beyond the limits of high-end performance, as it has features that any self-respecting aerial videographer requires, including dual-operator control and pro-grade video compression. The Inspire 2 is powered by four rotors and it has a fixed, built-in camera that faces forward and is meant to provide a forward video feed to the pilot at all times. The camera that is actually used for video capture hangs underneath the body.

It supports TapFly, Active Track, Spotlight Pro, as well as Orbit and Waypoint flight modes, all of which leverage the obstacle avoidance system. The Inspire 2 uses a different flight app than earlier DJI drones. The DJI Go 4 can import flight logs from the cloud, and it supports some other recent models—including the Phantom 4, Phantom 4 Pro, and Mavic Pro.

The aircraft features multiple interesting systems built-in, such as dual Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) and barometers, as well as a flight transmission system has a backup communication path in the event the main one fails during flight.

The Inspire 2 is a premium aircraft, and it delivers premium performance. Its cruising speed is about 40mph in its standard operating mode and it can go up to 69mph in the Sport configuration. It also has several integrated safety features, including the basic Return-to-Home function, which automatically brings the Inspire back to its point of launch if communication between the remote and aircraft is disrupted.

What is more, it has two self-heating batteries that can operate in temperatures as low as -4 degress Fahrenheit (-20 degress Celsius). Apart from that, the drone can be operated in areas that are high above sea level, as it can go up to 16,400 feet (5000m).

The DJI Inspire 2 is quite pricey and most consumers wouldn’t dare touch it, but it's a great purchase for video production companies and news organizations, due to its large Micro Four Thirds sensor, ability to use different sensors and pro-grade production. DECEMBER 2017 73


SOFTWARE REVIEW

SOFTWARE

Sisense

Zenefits Z2

Sisense is a business intelligence platform that lets users join, analyze, and construct information they require to make better and more intelligent business decisions and create efficient plans and strategies.

Zenefits is a cloud-based Human Resources Information System (HRIS) that integrates user dashboards and core Human Resources elements, like benefits administration, onboarding and employee scheduling.

With the help of Sisense, users can unify all the data they ever need into visually pleasing dashboards via a drag and drop user interface. Sisense allows users to turn data into highly valuable insights and then share them with colleagues, business partners, and clients via interactive dashboards.

Zenefits Z2 is the newest version of the software that includes a new HR App Directory, 27 partner integrations, an open third-party app developer platform, mobile apps and HR Advisor, a new HRas-a-Service app for small business owners and human resources administrators. What is more, it also includes a benefits shopping and enrollment marketplace modeled to feel like an e-commerce experience.

One Of The Best BI Platforms

This software is the leading business intelligence software for many companies, ranging from startups and developing enterprises to Fortune 500 giants including NASDAQ, Sony, ESPN, Comcast, and NASA. As one of the best BI softwares, Sisense offers the following advantages: It gathers all your information from all your sources and unifies them into a single, accessible repository; it produces rich and intelligent analysis using robust visual reports without going through the trouble of preparation; easily shares your insights with your team, partners, and clients. Has an easy to use interface that allows non-techies to quickly adapt and get acquainted with the system; has a fast system as it maximizes the potential of 64-bit computer, multi-core CPUs and parallelization capabilities. Sisense has all the tools one needs to prepare, analyze and visualize complex data. Some of its pros and cons include: No waste of time with data preparation; instant deployment; shortest time-to-insight and unmatched TCO; minimal total cost of ownership; great performance; full range of business analytics; accurate analysis of data; easy integration. Sisense is one of the best business intelligence platforms out there because of its ability to handle complex big and disparate data, remove the constraints of traditional BI and take the burden off IT. 74 DECEMBER 2017

The Free of charge HRIS

Its features are ideal for startups and small businesses with full-time, part-time, and hourly workers. The software includes applications that provide help when hiring independent contractors and setting up paid time off policies and stock options. Even though the tool is best used by companies with two to 200 employees, it can also be used by companies that have up to 2,000 employees. The Z2 updated software has a host of new features that make it so much better than the original. The 27 partner integrations include productivity, payroll and accounting, expense reporting apps, stock options, performance management, recruiting, and employee engagement apps. When new employees are hired, HR professionals using Zenefits have to complete only five online fields to begin the onboarding process. Employees sign all agreements online, and Zenefits can automatically process their information. When employees leave, HR can remove them from the payroll and benefits scheme, and initiate a COBRA setup with a single process. Zenefits also offers an employee self-service portal. Zenefits Z2 is a great HRIS, as it can integrate your standard payroll, health insurance and other systems, with users being able to also set up new payroll, insurance, retirement plans and more. The software’s development team makes weekly changes based on user feedback and they also have a team of in-house HR, payroll and insurance specialists to answer questions via phone or email.


SOFTWARE

HappyFox

The Helpdesk Ticket Management Software HappyFox is a cloud-based help desk and customer support application. Its ticket support system lets users solve customers’ issues quickly, on the spot. The producer offers a built-in knowledge base, end-user support portal, and community forum. Many small, medium, and large companies prefer this software as its pricing and feature sets are perfect for their business. HappyFox is unique because it is simple and easy to use as it is not loaded with unnecessary features. This software comes with an astoundingly large range of benefits: Intuitive interface that helps users concentrate on incoming requests; It’s highly customizable with robust automation; In-depth reporting and analysis with appealing visual representation; Integration with website and email accounts to ensure all support requests get collated; Better organizing, delegating the right email to the right agent, responding and tracking everything; On top of all that, it offers a way to create online help desks and knowledge bases that can be integrated into existing online channels

and websites, and its knowledge base software manages both external help pages (for customers) and internal knowledge bases (for employees). Furthermore, the software provides quick access to the internal knowledge bases to resolve customer issues and complaints. What’s more so, HappyFox provides companies with a multichannel ticketing system, automating tickets for speedy processing, organizing them to support quicker query resolution, as well as helping users write informative articles about their products, which give customers the information they need, in addition to reducing customer support ticket levels. If that was not enough, here are even more features that the ticket management software has to offer: It provides detailed customer support reports to help businesses boost customer satisfaction levels; Uses smart rules to automate tasks; Centralizes multi-channel support requests; Measures and acts on important support metrics. As we can see, HappyFox is a great helpdesk ticket management software due to its comprehensive feature set, ease of use, and price. DECEMBER 2017 75


RECOMMENDED

RECOMMENDATIONS

Must-haves for your 2017 reading list 1

3

2 1. Myths of Work: The Stereotypes and Assumptions Holding Your Organization Back

By Ian MacRae, Adrian Furnham

5

4

6

2. Coaching & Mentoring Are Not the Same Things: Achieve Optimal Employee Performance By Calvin Alan Lickfelt

This book takes an entertaining and evidence-based look at the most pervasive myths about our working lives, from the serious to the ridiculous, to give you the insight you need to become a better manager in the modern workplace. Fascinating real-life case studies from organizations around the world display the myths (and how to overcome them) in practice.

Calvin Alan Lickfelt’s work focuses on how to better coach your employees to higher performance. Coaching is a process of relationship building and setting goals. How well you coach is related directly to how well you are able to foster a great working relationship with your employees through understanding them and strategic goal setting.

3. Environment, Health and Safety Governance and Leadership: The Making of High Reliability Organizations

4. The Future of Corporate Universities: How Your Company Can Benefit from Value and Performance-Driven Organisational Development

EHS Governance and Leadership reviews the factors influencing safety/EHS leadership and governance and addresses all the areas where the role impacts on the performance and sustainability of organizations developed by many leading organizations such as the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and more.

The corporate university is a whole-organization endeavour for today, tomorrow and for the future, raising questions about the size and shape of your business and where you aim to reach. This book introduces you to the major areas of corporate university performance and value management, examining the evolution of the corporate university alongside emergent business challenges. It provides the pieces of a large jigsaw puzzle for you to assemble.

5. The Zebra Reality: How to create unstoppable organisational momentum and achieve ALL your business goals

6. Exception to the Rule: The Surprising Science of Character-Based Culture, Engagement, and Performance

It might sound like a strange question but if you showed a hundred people a picture of a zebra and asked them what it was…a hundred would say ‘a zebra.’ Repeat that process in your business. Ask a hundred people who work for you what kind of business you are and I bet you get a hundred different answers. This is known as the Zebra reality.

Thoughtful leaders are keenly aware of the enormous challenge they face to drive high performance in a world that continues to ratchet up pressure and uncertainty. Some leaders respond by getting tough and establishing strict rules. They get people in line, but they don’t inspire excellence. Wise leaders, on the other hand, help their people practice character to navigate their way through.

By Waddah Shihab Ghanem Al Hashemi

By Richard Cotter

76 DECEMBER 2017

By Richard Dealtry

By Peter J. Rea, James K. Stoller, Alan Kolp


BURNT Ambition and Second Chances

B who almost succeeds to ruin his bright future by falling into a pit of urnt is the story of Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper), a top chef in Paris

drug and alcohol abuse. His meltdown causes a lot of trouble both for those close to him, and for him, as his career is put on hold while he fights his addictions. Nevertheless, after moving from New Orleans to London, Adam gets a shot at redemption when his former maître (Daniel Brühl) reluctantly hires him as the head chef of his restaurant. Demanding perfection from his newly formed staff (Sienna Miller, Omar Sy), the sarcastic, offensive and temperamental Jones gets a second chance to fulfill his dream of earning a third Michelin star.

Nevertheless, he has one saving grace, namely a talent that is beyond compare, coupled with a few signs of vulnerability that Cooper brings to the role to suggest that Chef Adam isn't entirely beyond redemption. This movie also has a darker, weightier tone compared to other similar movies of the same genre. As previously mentioned, this movie’s depiction of New Orleans is a land of exile, a place where Cooper's character has sentenced himself to serve out a very Bayou State penance. What is more, "Burnt" is rendered uncomfortably intense at times by the abusive kitchen tantrums employed by the main character.

The title of the movie perfectly illustrates the deplorable state of Adam Jones’ career and state of mind, hinting at the hardships the main character experiences before he can achieve the success he desires. The movie sees Bradley Cooper’s character decide to hit the reset button after falling from his pedestal of fortune and success because of his own decisions and actions. He realizes his mistakes and he wants to reinvent himself, thus leaving New Orleans, his prison of sorts, and moving to London.

However, Coopers’ character wakes up from his self-inflicted stupor and becomes a man on a mission. His newly found sober state of being allows him to re-emerge to rebuild his name by earning a much desired third Michelin star as the chef of a pretentious London restaurant.

Even though the movie is peppered with an unlimited number of storytelling clichés and ticks off all the expected boxes when it comes to this genre, the element that plays a big part in the relative success of the movie is no other than Bradley Cooper, as he brings enough texture to the role of Adam Jones to make his story interesting.

The main question is whether his obsessive, control-freak nature will allow him to let others into his life and help shoulder his burden, or whether the pressure of it all will see his future go out in flames once again. Following his road to success, "Burnt" touches all the bases: the self-destructive genius, the pretty girl/savior, the snooty critic, the lovingly photographed food, and the predictable third-act crisis.

We learn early on in the film that chef Adam was once seen as a culinary genius. However, his self-destructive behavior ruined his chances for success in the competitive kitchen landscape of Europe. He is disliked by his staff because of his arrogant and volatile nature, and because of his inclination to throw dishes, make threats and spread fear among his kitchen staff.

Things however don’t go as planned, because while he was ruining his life by drinking and partying, he also burnt a lot of bridges in the process, making his road to respectability a very bumpy ride.

Written by Steven Knight and directed by John Wells, “Burnt” is an enjoyable movie that proves once again that without ambition, perseverance and a bit of outside help, talent cannot tip the scale towards success on its own. DECEMBER 2017 77


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Performance Magazine, Printed Edition. Tenth issue, December, 2017. Content: News. Musk’s Newest Vision – The Ultra-High-Speed Underground Rail System. New Beginnings – The Era of Self-Driving Cars. Tapping into the Drone Revolution. The Decline of Seed Funding in Silicon Valley. The Gig Economy – Past and Present. The World’s First Smart Nation. Cover story: KPIs in complex world: Can they describe everything?. Expert Interviews: Tya Adhitama, Founder/ CEO of PT Navigadhi, Indonesia. Antonny Teo, Chief Financial Officer at Panorama JTB Tours Indonesia, Indonesia. Dr. Zuraidah Khwaja Kamaluddin, Director, Strategic Management Office at Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, Malaysia. Salman Atiah Al-Zahrany, Business Planning and Corporate Performance Manager at MARAFIQ Company, Saudi Arabia. Portrait. Marta Kondryn. Head of People, Mindvalley, Malaysia. An unwavering belief in people’s potential to deliver success. Around the World: Canada’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Balanced Scorecard. The New Kuwait – A diversified, sustainable economy. Oman’s Foundations for a Sustainable Future. How KPIs changed a government. A Malaysian approach. America’s Swimming Program – An Excellence Study. Digital Performance. Search Engine Optimization performance – more than meets the eye. Digital Strategies – A Digital Path towards Performance Management. How to Successfully implement the Internet of Things (IoT). Strategy. Why is it important to improve your business strategy. Balanced Scorecard. The Importance of an HR Balanced Scorecard. Operational Performance. Improving operational performance at Metro. Organizational Performance. Organizational meetings: fostering an efficient dialogue between executives and employees. Is your organizational culture performance-oriented?. KPIs. What is the difference between metrics, KPIs and KRIs?. Ask the Experts. How can you build a Strategy Map?. Lifestyle. Boost your Self-Confidence and become the Best Version of Yourself. Personal KPIs: measure, acknowledge, improve! Fasting helps maintain youthfulness and live a longer life. Hardware Review. DJI Inspire 2 – Fly to Infinity. Tile Pro Sport – Lost No More. Wahoo Fitness Tickr X Heart Rate Monitor – More than a HRM. Software Review. Happy Fox – The Helpdesk Ticket Management Software. Sisense – One Of The Best BI Platforms. Zenefits Z2 – The Free of charge HRIS. Recommended. Titles to include in your 2017 reading list. Myths of Work: The Stereotypes and Assumptions Holding Your Organization Back, by Ian MacRae, Adrian Furnham. Coaching & Mentoring Are Not the Same Things: Achieve Optimal Employee Performance, by Calvin Alan Lickfelt. Environment, Health and Safety Governance and Leadership: The Making of High Reliability Organizations, by Waddah Shihab Ghanem Al Hashemi. The Future of Corporate Universities: How Your Company Can Benefit from Value and Performance-Driven Organisational Development, by Richard Dealtry. The Zebra Reality: How to create unstoppable organizational momentum and achieve ALL your business goals, by Richard Cotter. Exception to the Rule: The Surprising Science of Character-Based Culture, Engagement, and Performance, by Peter J. Rea, James K. Stoller, Alan Kolp. Movie. Burnt – Ambition and Second Chances. Keywords: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Balanced Scorecard. Performance Management. Performance Measurement. Strategy. Employee Performance Management. Personal Performance Management. Balanced Scorecard Management System Performance. Measurement. Management. Business Intelligence. Education. Solution. Problem-solving. Decision-making. Project Management. Project Planning. KPI Selection. KPI Documentation. KPI Evaluation. Data gathering. Data presentation. Expert Interviews. Academics. Consultants. Events. Research. Mission. Vision. Strategy. Best know-how. Data and Facts. Common Sense. Data Accuracy. Performance Magazine Focus Categories: Editorials. Articles. News. Interviews. Multimedia. Strategy. Balanced Scorecard. KPI. Organizational Performance. Operational Performance. Individual Performance. Personal Performance. Around the World. The KPI Institute’s Professional Certification Programs. Certified Strategy and Business Planning Professional. Certified KPI Professional and Practitioner. Certified Performance Improvement Professional. Certified Employee Performance Management Professional. Certified Personal Performance Professional. Certified Data Visualization Professional. Certified Data Analysis Professional. Certified Benchmarking Professional. Certified Supplier Performance Professional. Certified Customer Service Performance Professional. Certified Innovation Performance


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