Performance Magazine: Printed Edition - April, 2016

Issue No. 4 April/2016

INTERVIEWS ACADEMICS. PRACTITIONERS. CONSULTANTS. Insights from practice AROUND THE WORLD MEET CHINA’S BAIDU: My organisational growth superhero CANADA’S BUSINESS CASE FOR WOMEN ON BOARDS NOTTINGHAM’S FOCUS ON CHILDREN’S EDUCATION ARTICLES BUILDING LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS: Steps and key success key factors + LIFESTYLE, HARDWARE & SOFTWARE, AND RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

PORTRAIT

ADRIAN BRUDAN

From passion, to education, to success.

INDEMNITY STATEMENT

Š 2016 The KPI Institute Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

ID Number: TKI0162011 ISBN-13: 978-1530607044 ISBN-10: 1530607043 An appropriate citation for this magazine is: The KPI Institute, Performance Magazine, Printed Edition, no. 4, vol. 2/2016, February, 2016, 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 4 311 6556 European Division: +40 3 6942 6935 South East Asia Division: +60 3 2742 1357 E-mail: office@kpiinstitute.org www.kpiinstitute.org APRIL 2016

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CONTENTS 2

APRIL 2016

EDITOR’S NOTE

3

ARTICLES

46

NEWS

6

Strategy and Performance Management

54

EVENTS

12

How to measure the performance of your accounting department

54

Performance Improvement and KPI Conference

12

Organisational Performance

55

COVER STORY

14

55

KPIs. How many types are there?

14

Is your organization culture performanceoriented?

INTERVIEWS

16

Organisational meetings: fostering dialogue between executives and employees

57

Jennifer M. Johnson

17

58

Ken Han

18

Transparency and openess challenges in 2015’s organizations

20

Risk Management

Mark Jaszczak

60

23

National risk management upgraded

Nigel Penny

60

24

Individual Performance

Paolo Panza

61

26

Retail banking: reinventing a profession

Peter A. Heslin

61

PORTRAIT

30

Adrian Brudan. From passion, to education, to success

30

AROUND THE WORLD

36

The national library of Australia. The better practice in performance reporting

36

Canada’s business case for women on boards

38

Meet China’s Baidu. My organisational growth superhero

40

Nottingham’s focus on children’s education

42

ARTICLES

ASK THE EXPERTS

62

The ultimate energy boost: KPIs used in the nuclear industry

62

LIFESTYLE

64

Big ideas and the wandering mind

64

Sleep and leadership. The uncanny relationship

66

Enhance personal performance by improving willpower

67

HARDWARE

46

70

Hitachi wearables

70

Customer Service Performance

46

Nokia OZO

70

7 Tips on how to handlge angry customers without losing your cool

46

Sensorwake

71

47

LaCie Rugged RAID

Trends in customer experience

71

Business Improvement

48

The importance of core values in building a powerful business

SOFTWARE

72

48

IActionable

72

Confluence

72

Performance Improvement

50

Personal Capital

73

Building learning organizations: steps and key sucess factors

50

Halogen TalentSpace

73

Innovation Performance

52

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

74

Digital analytics: redefining business performance

52

Books: Must-haves for your 2016 reading list

74

Films: The Company Men

75

Aurel Brudan CEO, The KPI Institute Diana Zărnescu Head of Publishing & Media

EDITORIAL TEAM Andrei Costea Editor & Publisher Specialist Mariette Wahyuningsih Editor & Publisher

DESIGN Javier Rocha Head of Graphic Design

MARKETING Valentina Matei Head of Marketing

With these thoughts in mind, we proudly announce the launch of our fourth issue of Performance Magazine, the spring edition. 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 Performance Measurement and Improvement, KPIs, Balanced Scorecard Systems, Strategic Planning, Innovation and Risk Management, 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.

April’s Performance Magazine portrays one subject matter expert who is close to The KPI Institute and its numerous connections: Adrian Brudan, General Manager at The KPI Institute EMEA. Through his passion for education and work ambition, he modelled the mentality of those surrounding him. Adrian’s portrait reveals his personal journey in the field of Performance Management and understanding of this complex field.

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 Specialists. Also, best practices, alongside the latest trends, will be offered for a wide variety of performancerelated sub-domains, from KPIs, to Innovation performance, and from Strategy and Business Planning, to Balanced Scorecard Systems.

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 April’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 Editor, or having your interview featured in PERFORMANCE Magazine.

Diana Zărnescu Head of Publishing & Media, The KPI Institute APRIL 2016

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SCHEDULED COURSES IN 2016 Upcoming 2016 Training Courses Americas

City

Date

Certified KPI Professional

Washington D.C. Las Vegas Toronto Seattle

22-24 June 27-29 June 26-28 October 31 Oct - 2 Nov

Asia Pacific

City

Date

Certified Strategy and Business Planning Professional Certified KPI Professional

Singapore Kuala Lumpur Perth Hong Kong Dhaka Bangkok Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur Jakarta Singapore

12-14 September 13-15 April 18-20 May 1-3 June 13-15 October 6-8 June 23-25 May 6-8 April 18-19 April 30-31 May

Europe

City

Date

Certified KPI Professional

Barcelona London

18-20 April 11-13 July

Middle East

City

Date

Certified Strategy and Business Planning Professional Certified KPI Professional and Practitioner

Riyadh Abu Dhabi Doha Jeddah Dubai Riyadh Cairo Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Dubai Riyadh

1-3 May 3-7 April 24-28 April 1-5 May 22-26 May 14-18 August 8-10 May 22-24 May 18-20 May 9-11 October 17-19 April 10-12 April 17-19 April 8-10 May 17-19 April 8-10 May 3-5 April

Certified Performance Improvement Professional Certified Employee Performance Management Professional Certified Supplier Performance Professional KPI Masterclass

Certified KPI Professional Certified Performance Improvement Professional Certified Employee Performance Management Professional Certified Data Visualization Professional Certified Data Analysis Professional Certified Benchmarking Professional Certified Supplier Performance Professional Certified Personal Performance Professional Certified Customer Service Perfomance Professional Certified Balanced Scorecard Professional

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APRIL 2016

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

THE KPI INSTITUTE’S PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS Certified Strategy and Business Planning Professional 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.

Certified KPI Professional and Practitioner 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 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 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 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 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.

Certified Data Analysis Professional 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 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 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 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 Innovation Performance Professional This course provides an interactive practicebased learning environment, focusing on best practices for developing and maintaining an innovation-oriented organizational culture within organizations.

Certified Balanced Scorecard Management System Professional 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: store.kpiinstitute.org/scheduled-courses APRIL 2016

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NEWS

NEWS

> Reinventing giants – GM’s new ride-sharing service General Motors, or GM for short, is one of the long-time leaders of the global automotive industry. Along with Ford and Chrysler, they make up the Big Three of Detroit, as they are known in the industry.

For more than 100 years, GM has been known for its sturdy cars and fine craftsmanship. Now, they feel the need to further their performance, by switching from simply making and selling cars to moving individuals from point A to B, as efficiently as possible. As a direct result Maven, a ride-sharing service within GM, was released. ”We are really not in the car business only. We are in the people business.” said Julia Steyn, the vice president of urban mobility at GM. The team working on it formed a tightly-knit partnership with Lyft, an American transportation network company.

Maven also started up a peer-2-peer car-sharing service. At the time of writing, it was only available in New York and Ann Arbor, Michigan, but will be soon available nationwide. This service offers users the possiblity of searching for, reserving and unlocking nearby GM cars via a very nifty smartphone app.

In Steyn’s words, GM’s current efforts are aimed at people who have never considered opting for a GM car. They wish to convey a feeling of ownership to the customer and given their manufacturing and engineering infrastructure, this is easily achievable. This last aspect is also the reason why other on-demand car-rental companies, such as Zipcar or car2go lag behind GM’s efforts.

To showcase General Motor’s forethought, GM and Lyft announced a joint short-term rental program, designed specifically for Lyft drivers, entitled Express Drive. The program is quite straightforward: every time a driver rents a GM car and completes sufficient rides on the Lyft platform, the rental becomes free.

A decade-old giant, reinventing itself to suit market trends.

Now this is the hallmark of performance.

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APRIL 2016

> The 2016 Environmental Performance Index: The good and the bad The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) is a Yale-based initiative report, which measures how 180 countries rank in terms of protecting human health and the environment. The 2016 annual report shows that almost every country has achieved a higher level of environmental performance than in the previous decade.

Waterborne-diseases also have a lesser chance of incidence, as countries have developed enhanced means of access to clean water and sanitation. The study shows that the number of societies with insufficient access to clean water have decreased dramatically from 960 million to 550 million.

However, air pollution stands out as a major point of concern in the 2016 EPI report. As of today, an astounding number of more than 3.5 billion people live under unsafe levels of air pollution. Places such as China and India, in particular, have their share of issues with air pollution. A staggering 75% of India’s population breathe in dangerous air every day. 4000 people living in China die because of air pollution every day.

Deforestation and protecting fisheries are other problematic areas.

Based on the EPI report, global fisheries are on the edge of collapse.

The World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF in short, conservation group reported that the numbers of fish in the ocean have decreased by half from 1970 – on the “brink of collapse”, as they have stated.

The staggering increase of forest destruction has also raised awareness, witnessing a 19% increase in the period of 2012 to 2014.

Brazil, the nation that pledged it will decrease deforestation by the year 2030, went in the wrong direction with a 16% increase in the previous year.

The report also illustrates how failures in developing the ecosystem means failures for the economy. The study emphasizes the fact that the loss of global ecosystem-based services was worth an astounding $4.3- $20.2 trillion per year. This fact draws attention to the direct linked between the economy and the ecosystem. The WWF hopes that by acknowledging this, countries will prioritize sustainability, which will help them maintain a steady economic development pace.

NEWS

Live Filters for Selfie > Masquerade teams up with Facebook and takes on Snapchat After Snapchat declined Facebook’s takeover offer, Mark Zuckerberg’s social media platform, which boasts an estimated 1.6 billion users, decided to become a competitor, by collaborating with the latest trendy app, MSQRD or Masquerade. It’s no wonder Facebook decided to book a deal with Masquerade, as 350.000 new users, per day, download this app within a constant two months. However, the biggest surprise is how the app was able to increase download hits from January to March 2016. BusinessInsider reports that Masquerade was able to increase app downloads to 19.2 million in less than three months. This staggering increase is rare, but with live camera-filters like face-swap, it is no wonder that Masquerade and Snapchat are furiously battling it out.

Facebook’s previous collaborations with Instagram and Whatsapp struck a flare of increase in users. For instance, Instagram only had

30 million users, but this got boosted to 400 million afterwards.

Whatsapp made an even bigger increase, when it joined forces with Facebook. It enlarged its user-base to over 900 million users, an increase of about 50%. Judging from these trends, it can only mean positive things for Masquerade.

However, Snapchat has also increased its users in the recent year. As it is most popular among 13-17 year olds, being the number 1 most used app in that age bracket, it’s no surprise to see how Snapchat has over 8 billion video views and 100 million users worldwide.

Then again, given that Masquerade has only been around for about a year, its current numbers are astounding and should heat up the rivalry between Facebook and Snapchat.

In patients with diabetes, these cells are either damaged or cannot generate enough insulin to keep one’s blood sugar levels at an optimal point.

Hence, for quite some time, diabetics had to resort to insulin injections, which oftentimes were risky business, as some individual would pump too much or too little insulin. This came with an increasingly dreadful array of side-effects, such as hypoglycemia, blindness, comas or even the loss of one’s life.

> Innovative solutions for diabetes management Diabetes isn’t a fun topic. Quite the contrary. And when it comes to managing it, it proves to be a massive hassle for diabetics. Monitoring yourself ‘round-the-clock, 24/7, whilst worrying if you had injected sufficient insulin is not an enjoyable way of living your life.

Now, scientists from the University of North Carolina have found a way to go around this tricky, micro-management predicament – synthetic patches covered in natural beta cells. Beta cells are commonly found in one’s pancreas and they help the body process any excess sugar in the bloodstream by releasing insulin.

But all these will soon be forgotten with the new patch that is in development. The same team had already tested out a previous version, the “smart insulin patch”, which contained synthetic insulin. The new one has real, live beta cells, meaning it will be able to more safely manage a patient’s blood sugar levels, for an extended period, with no risk of going over or under board.

The main link between a patient’s blood stream and the live beta cells will be ensured via microneedles the size of an eyelash that poke into the patient’s capillaries. Researchers at the University of North Carolina have also added “glucose-signal amplifiers”, which essentially turns it into a “smart patch”, as these sense any rising blood sugar levels and convey that message instantly back to the beta cells. There is still a long way to go before the product reaches pre-clinical and clinical trial stages, but after having been successfully tested on mice with type-1 diabetes, for 10 to 20 hours, without any external management, results seem extremely promising.

APRIL 2016

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NEWS

> The ASEAN Economic Community: Staggering or Lacking Progress In 2014, ASEAN was considered the 3rd largest economy in Asia and ranked 6th in the world, on the one hand. However, some speculators believe that the ASEAN Economy Community (AEC) has a long way to go in achieving their 2025 goals. On the other hand, others believe that AEC at the moment is just a reinforcement towards a greater economy.

When 2015 was over, AEC was able to accomplish its four main goals: develop as a single market and production base, become a competitive economic region, attain equitable economic development and achieve integration into the global economy. As of October 31st, 2015, ASEAN was able to accomplish two out of four goals. The goals of competitive economic region and single market and production base were successfully implemented, by 90.5% and 92.4%, respectively.

Nevertheless, in the eyes of countries outside the ASEAN, its progress seems slow and defective. Two reports, one from the Asian Development Bank report (ADB) and another from the Institute of South-East Asian Studies (ISEAS) state that the region is far from reaching a single market. Three main factors contribute to making a single market almost impossible.

The first and foremost is the diversity witnessed between ASEAN countries, such as having different religions like Buddhism, Islamism and Christianity. On top of this, their political spectrum is highly volatile, blending in democracies with communist dictatorships or Islamic sultanates. The second barrier that the AEC must tackle is fierce competition among these countries, which in turn leads to another issue: the high degree of economic protectionism experienced in some of these states. This is especially true for the biggest country in the organization: Indonesia.

Although AEC is seen as a “too good to be true” target amongst its community, it is believed that it can gradually grow and reach the 2025 mark, judging from the achievements of 2015.

The AEC forms a very diverse community, of ideologies and mentalities that span from one end to another, but all things considered, when push comes to shove, the general consensus seems to be economic development over anything.

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APRIL 2016

> Extreme marketing stunts that went viral Marketing stunts attract society’s attention, as they explore humorous or untrue breaking news. A probable, popular marketing stunt happened in 1996, when Taco Bell announced that they wanted to buy the Liberty Bell. After that stunt, the company gained an increase of customers and interest towards it skyrocketed. However, these stunts are never sustainable and often harder to create than your usual marketing strategies. Then why are companies still experimenting with marketing stunts? The following are some company cases that successfully created marketing stunts and will offer you the answer to this question.

Take for example, the Ministry of Supply, a high-tech men’s wear that turned to an unconventional way of getting their products across the market. Gihan Amarasiriwardena, the founder of the company, decided to walk half a marathon in his dress suit. He told Fastcompany media that he was not only making a publicity stunt, but also showcasing how the suit performed overall. He realized that the suit was not made for marathon runners, but it did not stop him in showing to the world that his products worked. Ministry of Supply’s products explore the idea of breathable and elastic dress suits that make those who wear them, comfortable. That particular marketing stunt helped Gihan Amarasiriwardena and got his company on the right track to success.

For Pablo Rochat, designing attracting innovative apps for new users can be done with a strategy that creates viral attention. He was able attract 30.000 visitors to a Knock Knock app company event launch, with a hilarious headline called “1st Annual Netflix and Chill Festival.” The informal way of attracting visitors was thought out to be a small event, but grew into a multiple campus event, spreading the Knock Knock brand enormously. For Pablo, creating awareness for innovative tech start-ups equates to helping them grow their brand. He believes that there are some tremendously talented people behind many of the lesser known apps, but they are unable to spread their brand because of high advertising costs. He wishes to change that, by helping tech start-ups with a viral strategy.

In many cases, making a product go viral takes courage and creativity. Even Pablo Rochat agrees that it is all about brainstorming numerous ideas, instead of sticking to just one method. Since the key in marketing stunts is to have “a constant flow of engaging content and experiences” –no one knows whether the stunt will actually go viral or not. But that’s part of the thrill.

NEWS

> New developments revealed at the HR Performance Forum, Jakarta, 2016 At the HR Performance Forum in Jakarta, March 16th, 2016 a variety of conference topics related to HR and performance management in a company were explored. One of those topics was “Transforming performance management – Issues and solutions for employee performance engagement systems”, which was was discussed by a diverse panel of speakers, such as Boedi Santoso, Mihai Toma, Yos Rizal Setiawan, Saiful Doeana and Rudy Afandi.

The discussion started off with defining what performance is. Saiful Doeana, HR Director of Vale Indonesia, defined performance as a “link between performance, development, and awards.” Yos Rizal Setiawan, HR Director of 3M Indonesia, believes that it is “the link between [the] gaps of organization.” Boedi Santoso, Director Human Capital of Aerofood ACS Indonesia, agrees with the previous definitions, but adds keywords like: “goals, strategy, communication, and awarding.” In other words, performance is how one company takes the current situation to the target situation, fulfilling goals and offering rewards, in order to develop its organizational performance.

Moreover, one must also realize the issues of lacking performance.

Most of the speakers agreed that it is difficult to assess performance, because some factors cannot be measured. Boedi Santoso agreed that there is a lack of metrics. He stated “[it is] not only numbers, but how they achieve it, how they can sustain it.” This essentially means how one can assess an employee based on non-data performance.

Many believe bureaucracy and the company’s system generate barriers. Some of them insist in filling out forms of employee performance, which are credited as unaccountable in measurements.

In relation to this, we have the topic of infrequent feedback, which creates a lack of self-improvement drive in employees. Many speakers agree that to improve performance, one must further engage his/ her employees. This can be done with frequent discussions and feedbacks. Ensuring the use of a Balanced Scorecard or adapting the rewards system are also two must-dos. In conclusion, we can see that more engagement and a shift in the system are generally good things. What is more important, however, is putting the effort in actually implementing changes in the organization.

> Innovative solutions for diabetes management A massive increase of crops created an oversupply that influenced the largest agriculture trader, the Louis Dreyfus Company, in a dramatic fashion, decreasing sells and profit. In the recent annual report, one can notice a downwards trend for the company.

orange juice, metals, and dairy businesses. He also considers selling Louis Dreyfus stock shares, so that the company can adjust to the economic turmoil at hand.

Its net income has decreased by over 60%, with a current $211 million in 2015 – a dramatic decrease from the $648 million in 2014.

It is the lowest in a decade. Sales also decreased by 14%, from $64.7 billion to $55.7 billion.

2015 was not a favourable year for crop traders, and this quickly became a geopolitical problem. With an oversupply of crops, but a decrease in prices, companies such as Louis Dreyfus were bound to feel this major shift.

Gonzalo Ramírez Martiarena, the new CEO of the company stated in Business Insider, “the world in which we operate is continuously evolving – consumers are becoming more demanding and our competitive landscape is changing.” He knows that he can help turn the company around with joint-ventures, such as pairing with APRIL 2016

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NEWS

> Robots Are to Replace 5 Million Workers by 2020 It is nothing new to note that robots are being suited to fly planes, drive cars or even serve you coffee – but can this have an impact in hiring human workers, instead of automated machines? Well apparently, the World Economic Forum thinks so. Their researchers believe that more than 5.1 million jobs will turn over to robots. Most of these jobs are either in factories, restaurants or transportation.

Even higher paid positions or creative jobs like managers and writers can find themselves vulnerable to such innovative technology. The advancement of robots is faster than we think. When comparing intelligence levels, various sources state that robots are at a slight advantage, due to their sheer speed. Take for instance, Google’s AlphaGo beating the Go player champion. The most interesting fact about this is that AlphaGo was designed as a self-teaching robot, which can mimic human intuition.

Software deciding who, how and when employees? is also in the works. VentureBeat believes that a new innovation wave is being witnessed, where robots are able to make these decisions due to the fact that they can generate heaps of information and analyze them to form an objective decision – way faster and more effective than having a human manager.

Strangely enough, creative jobs such as writing are being slowly adapted to fit this scenario. In order for the articles to appear in a Google’s search index, one has to provide relevant links and key words in his/her writing, so that this creative effort does not go unnoticed. It has been proven by search engine results, like the ones from Google, that machines do a greater job in deciding what should be integrated in an article and where, so that it pops up in a search result.

It is only a matter of time until robots and computers will end up competing for even more jobs in a company. As Harvard Business Review states, “Machine intelligence is already having a major effect on the value of work – and for major segments of the population, human value is now being set by the cost of equivalent machine intelligence.”

Humanity remains the only factor in comparing humans and robots.

However, will this prove to be enough in an economic system?

> Developing Countries Take on Leading Nations by 2050 Today, developed countries like the U.S., Japan and other nations from Western Europe represent the top economies in the world.

However, researchers from the Economist Intelligence Unit forecasted that these countries may not rank top of the list for much longer, but instead will be replaced by emerging markets from developing countries, by 2050. Countries like China and India seem to have the potential of overtaking global leaders, such as the U.S. and Japan, while other emerging markets, like Indonesia and Mexico, are predicted to join the rankings of the top ten market exchange rate countries, by 2050. The latter ones could replace current dominant economies, like Italy or Russia’s.

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> Entrepreneur’s Top 500 Franchises – Who got the top 10 Each year, Entrepreneur magazine puts up a list of the best franchises in the United States. Franchisors participate in a survey, which is then filtered through subsequent cuts. For example, in 2015, 951 companies made the first round; out of those, the team at Entrepreneur selected 500 which were the best and most successful franchises.

Success is based off of objective, quantifiable measures of a franchise’s operations. Variables such as financial strength, stability, growth rate, size of the system, the number of years a company has been in business and the time-span it’s been franchising. In addition, startup costs, litigation, % of terminations and whether the company provides financing or not are other aspects which are taken into consideration.

This ranking is by no means an endorsement on Entrepreneur’s part and subjective factors, such as franchisee satisfaction or management style were not taken into consideration.

As a result, the following somewhat diverse list of 10 franchises were seen as being top 10: 1. Jimmy John’s Sandwiches 2. Hampton by Hilton 3. Supercuts 4. Servpro 5. Subway 6. McDonald’s 7. 7-Eleven Inc. 8. Dunkin’ Donuts 9. Denny’s Inc. 10. Anytime Fitness Although as a nation, these developing countries are forecasted to rank high on the lists, it is not the same in terms of income per capita. Leading nations will still maintain their top positions. This being said, experts expect to see a fast and significant growth from the aforementioned evolving economies. Take China for example, whose income per capita will grow closer to Japan’s by 2050. Even in terms of spending power, China is also forecasted to have a dramatic increase. When compared with U.S. consumers, China’s consumers will be just below 50% in 2050, from the 14% that they had in 2014.

Income per capita for these countries still ranks below current leading nations. However, we cannot deny that there have been massive improvements felt by developing countries, both in terms of market exchange and income per capita, whether we look at China, India, Indonesia or Mexico.

EVENTS

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT AND KPIs CONFERENCE MAY 29th - JUNE 1st 2016 ∙ DUBAI

The first Middle East Conference that brings tomorrow’s improvement strategies into today’s business world!

REGISTER NOW! Improvement is not an option.

It is a necessity.

INTRODUCTION

OVERVIEW

The Performance Improvement and KPI Conference is a unique event organised by The KPI Institute Events, the events division of the organisation with the same name. Designed for professionals interested in better performance outcomes, it is intended as a platform for sharing and discussing the most important trends in performance improvement, KPIs, productivity, quality and innovation.

What draws interest to performance management within the GCC is the successful incorporation of elements specific to this region.

The area is a leader in terms of innovative business solutions, transplanting and executing plans from paper to reality with high levels of efficiency and effectiveness.

The Performance Improvement and KPI Conference has a unique structure, combining main plenary sessions with 3 track sessions taking place in parallel on day one of the event. For this year the track sessions selected reflect some of the key initiatives in government and industry in the GCC area in 2016: Government Performance, Healthcare Performance and Productivity, Quality and Innovation Performance.

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The Performance Improvement and KPI Conference provides an exclusive agenda supported by acclaimed authorities in the field of Performance Measurement and Management. The entire event is designed to carry vital knowledge to professionals of the 21st century. From Strategy and Key Performance Indicators to Analytics, Modelling, and Big Data, from Productivity and Quality to Innovation and Culture the Performance Improvement and KPI Conference covers some of the most relevant topics in today’s Performance Management practice.

EVENTS

CONFERENCE PREVIEW

100+ 30+ 40+ PARTICIPANTS

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

PRESENTATIONS

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

5+

WORKSHOPS

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS Abdulaziz Saddique Qimat Taiba, CEO, Quality Expert, Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Factory, KSA; Abdulaziz Abdulbaqi, Consultant, Quality & Patient Safety, Ministry of Health, KSA; Aurel Brudan, CEO, The KPI Institute, Australia; Cameron Mirza, Head of Strategy and Projects, Ministry of Education, Kingdom of Bahrain; Julie Cooper, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, Head Performance Management, UAE; Hany EL Sayed, Director of HR, Services & Control, National Holding Group, KSA; Hassan Al-Asaad, Strategist & Business Development, GCC Interconnectivity Agency (GCCIA), KSA; Khalid Alswat, Vice Dean Quality, King Saud University Medical City, KSA; Kim Warren, CEO, Strategy Writer, Strategy Dynamics Ltd, United Kingdom; Mohamed Adawi, Chief Strategy Officer, Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Operating Company, UAE; Mohamed Moustafa Mahmoud, Senior Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of Economy and Planning, KSA; Moshen Ba-Abdullah, Executive Director ICT, King Abdullah Medical City, KSA;

Plenary Coordinated approaches for performance improvement across organisations; Connect and align KPIs across departments and employees; Build a performance culture, by engaging staff and management; Drive process and Performance improvements across departments.

Discover new ways of operating performance management systems.

Government Performance Forum New approaches in managing government strategy and performance; Aligning ministry KPIs to national development strategy; Cascading performance management systems within a government department or agency; Government performance best practices from international context; State of government performance in 2016.

Healthcare Performance Forum Ensuring healthcare system performance by monitoring hospital KPIs; Aligning hospital KPIs to central healthcare performance reporting initiatives; Cascading performance management systems within a hospital; Hospital performance best practices from international context; State of hospital performance in 2016.

Productivity, Quality and Innovation Performance Measuring productivity; Applying excellence models for improved organisational performance; Approaches to improving innovation performance; Managing quality improvement; Best practice in performance excellence.

MAXIMIZE YOUR EXPERIENCE Access the latest research from The KPI Institute’s research division; Benchmark with regional leaders and learn best practices on performance improvement and quality excellence; Network and engage with professionals from your field.

WHAT IS IN THE AGENDA?

Obaida Qatuni, Quality Manager, VPS Healthcare, UAE;

The agenda features 2 days of workshops and 2 days of presentations on subjects like Monitoring government performance in the UAE, Key lessons from measuring hospital performance in Qatar, The role of Performance Excellence Frameworks in organizational success and Business Intelligence Software as a Performance Improvement enabler.

Puruhutjit Surjit, Deputy General Manager, KIMS Group in GCC, Bahrain;

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION & FEES

Nisha Varghese, Saudi German Hospital, HR Manager, UAE;

Tawfik Khoja, Director General Executive Board, Health Ministers Council for Cooperation Council, KSA.

You can express your interest for the Performance Improvement & KPIs Conference by calling our contact person, Teodora Gorski, Managing Director MENA, at +971 4 311 6556, or by sending an email to Diana Zarnescu, the event coordinator, at diana.zarnescu@kpiinstitute.com.

APRIL 2016 13

COVER EVENTS STORY

KPIS. HOW MANY TYPES ARE THERE? CRISTINA TARÂTA

N (KPIs) are common management tools

owadays, Key Performance Indicators

Some of the most common KPI typologies are:

that enable managers to better understand their business and improve performance.

Although their terminology may vary from one company to another (performance indicators, performance measures or KPIs), in essence all these terms have the same meaning.

Qualitative vs quantitative This is probably one of the most popular approach to defining KPIs. Usually, KPIs that measure personal traits and perceptions are considered qualitative, while the rest are quantitative. In practice, it all comes down to quantitative data when measuring a KPI, even if this data reflects qualitative aspects, such as opinions. Examples:

According to The KPI Institute, a key performance indicator is a measurable expression for the achievement of a desired level of results in an area relevant to the evaluated entity’s activity.

The field of performance management is a relatively new area, where tools and techniques may not be very well structured and terminology is sometimes ambiguous.

Bringing more clarity in regards to key concepts can reveal a more efficient way of using KPIs. Selecting KPIs is an important step in the process of measuring performance. In order to ensure the right KPIs are chosen for each objective, managers should have a wide understanding on what KPIs are.

KPI typologies present various ways to look at performance indicators and create logical clusters. Grouping KPIs on specific criteria provides more clarity in regards to what is measured in relation to the objective assigned.

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Qualitative # Customer satisfaction index; # International corruption index; # Service quality rating.

Quantitative # Transactions processed per hour; % Orders delivered on time; # Production cycle time.

Leading vs lagging This typology looks at the interdependencies between KPIs. In this situation, distinguishing between a leading and a lagging KPI depends on the context. “Leading” refers to those KPIs that can influence future value, while “lagging” includes KPIs that indicate past performance.Example: $ Profit can be a leading KPI for $ Training budget, but in a different context it can be lagging for % Processes optimized.

Efficiency vs effectiveness These categories are useful in understanding important dimensions of a process. The effectiveness looks at whether the desired outputs were generated, while the efficiency indicates the extent to which time, effort or cost are well used for the desired outputs.

Examples: Efficiency $ Delivery cost per item; # Transactions processed per man; # Time to process orders.

Effectiveness # Items delivered; # Transactions processed; % Orders processed.

Input/process/output/outcome Deploying a value flow analysis for each objective provides more insights for measuring the KPI. Relevant KPIs can be identified for each of the 4 stages (input, process, output and outcome).

Input KPIs measure the resources involved in achieving the objectives, whether they are related to time, human capital or costs: # Team members; $ Project budget.

Process KPI indicate the activities required to produce the expected outcomes:

COVER STORY

# Time to process invoices; % Equipment utilization rate.

Output KPIs refer to either the quality or the quantity of the goods or services created: # Items sold; # Electricity generated.

Outcome KPIs measure the impact achieved through the provision of goods and services: % Market share; # Customer satisfaction.

This Value Flow Analysis generates several KPIs that can be used to track the achievement of each objective. Based on the most important and cost effective aspects that can be measured, 2 or 3 KPIs can be selected as the most relevant to be included in the scorecard.

Strategic vs operational Clustering KPIs based on the organizational level that they impact on is highly dependent on the context. However, there are some popular KPIs that are usually recognized as: Strategic % Market share; # Customer satisfaction index; % Profit margin; $ Revenues.

Operational # Time to load a vehicle; % Perfect order rate; % Processes optimized; % Errors rate.

However, any of these KPIs can become strategic if the company identifies it as an important value driver.

Other typologies, less common are: active vs. inactive (the KPI is monitored or not), primary vs secondary (the KPI does or does not rely on another KPI to be calculated), public vs. internal (the KPI is published for a wide audience or reported only within the organization), human vs technological (the KPI data is exposed to human error or system errors).

In practice, acknowledging the existence of KPI typologies provides insights on how KPIs behave in different context and what dimensions can be measured for the same objective. By considering these categories in the KPI selection process, organizations can also balance their measurement, by selecting KPIs from the aforementioned opposed categories: efficiency/effectiveness; leading/lagging; strategic/operational.

Examples of KPIs for Functional Areas and Industries Functional Areas Accounting % Client cash net revenue # Days in accounts receivable Customer Service # Complaints received % Call abandon rate Human Resources # Employee engagement index # Time to fill a vacant position Research and Development $ Cost savings due to R&D # Payback period of new products Industries Call Center % Call setup success rate % First call resolution rate Hospitality and Tourism $ Revenue per available seat hour % Capture rate of hotel guests Telecommunications $ Subscriber acquisition cost % Data network availability APRIL 2016 15

INTERVIEWS

EVENTS INTERVIEWS

Jennifer M. Johnson Senior Program Manager at Prince George’s County Public Schools, USA

Owner and Managing Director at NSP Consulting, Australia

You shouldn’t look at Performance Management as being extra work.

For many managers, performance management is still (surprisingly) counter cultural.

Ken Han

Paolo Panza

CEO/Co-founder at Metaplan, China

ICT Performance Manager at Ericsson, Italy

Upon discussing with some other consultants, we have noticed a trend we called data-driven and focused on details.

KPI measurement must be minimally invasive and inexpensive.

Mark Jaszczak

Peter A. Heslin

Business Improvement Manager at WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, UK Integrating Performance Management at any level is tough, because most processes and departments operate at different frequencies.

16 APRIL 2016

Nigel Penny

Associate Professor at Uniersity of New South Wales, Australia Managers have to have a growth mindset that focuses more on developing and inspiring employees.

INTERVIEWS

Executives must fully support Performance Management and have it out as a mandate.

Jennifer Martin Johnson Senior Program Manager, Prince George’s County Public Schools, USA In 2016, the Performance Magazine editorial team interviewed Jennifer Martin Johnson, Senior Program Manager of Prince George’s County Public Schools in the United States of America for the “Performance Management in 2015” report. Her thoughts and views on Performance Management are detailed below.

Which are the 2015 key trends in Performance Management, from your point of view?

I would say that it is growing greatly in practice, particularly in this industry, people are giving more credence to tracking performance.

What are your thoughts on the integration of Performance Management at organizational, departmental and employee level?

I still think that they need connection, that type of information needs to be captured at each level but they also need to link it in an intelligent fashion. This whole process flows up because the performance of the bottom individuals impacts middle management and afterwards, those at the highest level.

Which will be the major changes in managing performance, in the future?

Making sure that it is strategic in nature and that eventually it is connected to evaluation.

You are trying to unify the work of the individuals, as it benefits the organization.

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

I would say training the individuals in data-gathering and understanding strategic alliances.

Which organizations would you recommend to be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results?

When we were first starting in this organization, it was recommended that we use KPI Institute as a source for information and that did get us some good samples of KPIs and information that was beneficial. The American Society for Quality also provided us with good information.

So I would say those two are good examples, since they offered us very useful guidelines.

What Performance Management question would you like to have answered by researchers?

How to bring the individual contributors on board, so that they understand the significance of this whole process and learn to take it seriously. You shouldn’t look at it as being extra work, but it is part of the job that focuses on capturing the performance levels within an organization and being able to articulate how your work impacts the organizational bottom line.

Which are main challenges of Performance Management in practice, today?

I would say the resistance from some higher management representatives and individual contributors. If you cannot collect information consistently and not everyone is participating, in the end the information you are going to get is flawed anyway.

What would you consider as a best practice in Performance Management?

Documenting your organization’s processes, before you actually implement them so that you are not saying “do this, this week”, the next week “oh, we changed our minds, let’s try this”, just because it was not fully thought out. So, when you implement it, you do it fully approved and

consistently, as a process that is backed up and documented by templates, where people can get assistance and support, in a neat little package.

Which aspects of Performance Management should be emphasized during educational programs?

Looking at this from the perspective of the primary benefits, being able to show the benefits it brings, from actual case studies. To show how it has improved organizational effectiveness, and then going into that as a reason for why you should implement it in an organization and how you should do it. It’s like selling the sizzle, not the steak. You have to show them the benefit of having such a system.

Which limits need to be surpassed in order to achieve higher levels of proficiency in Performance Management, among practitioners?

I would say it goes back down to the level of knowledge, motivation etc. The middle layer that needs to implement, the individual contributors who need to provide their information, everybody being fully knowledgeable, motivated and trusting that this is a good thing for the organization.

What is your opinion on the emerging trend of measuring performance outside working hours?

Well, there are trends towards that and technological advanced that support them, apps that track how many steps you take each day, how many calories you are effectively burning off, how many hours of sleep you are getting.

Technology is helping us with this and who wouldn’t want it?

What personal performance measurement tools do you use?

Although this may not be quite apparent to APRIL 2016

17

INTERVIEWS

If a manager is not a qualified performance consultant, they are not going to be very good performance managers.

many, it does have its advantages if one really considers applying it. Measuring performance in your daily activities, such as managing your relationships with others, or managing your finances, even managing your health, is definitely a well-proven process that can add value to one’s lifestyle.

It gives them a platform for them to undertake conversations with individuals who already have some expertise in this field.

Which were the recent achievements in generating value from performance management in your organization?

This year there was a, so to say, differently packaged initiative for management. It made it simpler for individual contributors to turn in their information. As a result, members of staff embraced it a little bit differently than the previous initiative.

Now, moving on to your question, in the projects that I have been involved this year, I noticed there is a change in performance management.

Upon discussing with some other consultants, we have noticed a trend we called data-driven and focused on details. Data-driven means that they are using some systems to collect data, for example the time spent selling something, the time spent analyzing the needs of customers and engaging in meaningful dialogue with them.

Ken Han

They rely on some particular systems to capture that data, not just for reporting. Traditionally, sales people report how much time they spend talking things out with clients.

When it comes to focusing on details, it comes down to behavioral changes, not just concentrating on the results.

CEO/Co-founder, Metaplan, China In 2016, the Performance Magazine editorial team interviewed Ken Han, CEO/ Co-founder of Metaplan in China for the “Performance Management in 2015” report.

His thoughts and views on Performance Management are detailed below.

Which are the 2015 key trends in Performance Management, from your point of view?

First of all, I would like to start by saying that I very much like The KPI Institute. I like the idea of this institute and I have benefited greatly from using information provided by your organization, on your websites and I am very grateful for it. I believe it is a good resource for consultants and leaders who can see the value of managing performance or that wish to improve the way they manage performance.

18 APRIL 2016

Your websites also offer a massive library for performance managers to use and check if their KPIs are right and I think that is extraordinary.

These trends have kind of become the premier way of dealing with matters related to performance management. Consultants and experts wish to educate companies, employers and employees on developing better results, by paying attention to these two aspects.

In China, most multinationals have already set in place sound systems for PMS, they have the best mechanisms to help managers evaluate their performance at least once per annum or twice a year. These evaluations involve, among others, talking to supervisors about performance appraisal systems, but as in-depth as they are, they still do not maximize the ability to offer employees plans for performance

improvements regarding career developments.

So by shifting focus on details and data-driven systems, they offer a lot more information to their managers and reinforce their role as leaders and administrators, instead of relying on a third party professional team to manage their system.

What are your thoughts on the integration of Performance Management at organizational, departmental and employee level?

I would have to evaluate the benefits of this particular idea, as many companies in China that have tried doing this have failed and my managers also do not see the value of doing this.

Such an effort would require a very high skill or knowledge cap, which many individuals do not yet have and it would be much more suitable for them to focus on the details of each level in particular, rather than grouping them up together.

Now, if we take each level in particular, at the organizational level in general, I think managers are doing very well. Afterwards, at the departmental level, I think fairness can be quite a topic of discussion. And what I mean by that is when a company benchmarks data received from different departments, it is quite hard to measure project workload and involvement, as each department is bench-marked on different aspects of the respective project.

Regarding the employee level, most individuals know performance management is part of their work life, so they just follow the flow of things. If it’s efficient, they are happy about it; if it’s a long and arduous process, they will be worried about it not being efficient enough.

Which will be the major changes in managing performance, in the future?

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I would like to see the system be made more practical and connected. When most people look at how a performance management system is structured, it looks isolated.

According to current realities, I do not think there will be any major changes in managing performance. The only thing I can see is the fact that here in China, given the current economic status, the country will become more datadriven, results-driven and more rational.

What this might entail, from an employee’s point of view, is the idea that managers have suddenly become crueler towards low-performers. That is the only major change I can see.

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

One aspect that should be very much highlighted is managing performance at the management level. Most managers just focus on sales numbers and don’t think they need other methodologies of evaluating performance.

They do not understand the definition of performance management and as a result, they do not see the proper criteria for performance management.

The other aspect I would like to highlight is part of performance improvement. If a manager is not a qualified performance consultant, they are not going to be very good performance managers. They will be able to simply do their daily tasks and not the entirety for what that process requires. This type of knowledge has to be integrated into their mission and responsibility as a manager.

Which organizations would you recommend to be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results?

Very good examples are the private sector companies, specifically those that are not necessarily multinationals, because they work with funds directly, so it is easier for a manager of a small, medium or even large - but not

necessarily multinational level, company to manage its assets properly and motivate managers to try out new things.

Hengdian, a company which I am now writing a research paper on, has become China’s largest studio by integrating various performance management elements in its development.

What Performance Management question would you like to have answered by researchers?

I have asked numerous company founders and CEOs multiple questions relating to performance management, but if I would have to highlight one, then it would be about integrating performance management systems in other mechanisms, such as company culture, leadership pipeline or succession planning.

Which are main challenges of Performance Management in practice, today?

The main challenges lie in the practice and expertise of line managers.

What should be improved in the use of Performance Management tools and processes?

I would like to see the system be made more practical and connected. When most people look at how a performance management system is structured, it looks isolated. The linkage to markets, customers especially, even internal ones, there is no feedback. You just manage your performance but you have no idea why, the “why” is missing. Why are we managing and measuring performance in this way? Why do you need to reach that particular number or description of performance?

And to add to this, there is no sure link between these two, management and measurement.

Most executives see these two as being isolated and furthermore, they consider them to be the

true way of doing performance management, in such isolation of one another. So this way, they lose out on the benefit that such a link brings, which is constant feedback from customers, from the market.

What would you consider as a best practice in Performance Management?

Well, this is a tricky question, because as a consultant, I always consider that my clients could do better. From the point of view of some clients, they start a performance management plan right from the point of goal-setting and they follow through with it, paying more attention to details and finally can give others a more realistic review of using such a system, from the evidence they have collected over time, precisely because they started using such a system early on. That might be an example of best practice.

Which aspects of Performance Management should be emphasized during educational programs?

Well, this relates to the previous question regarding integrating performance at different levels. My take on this topic would be that the focus should go again on managers and the requirement that they should start fulfilling multiple roles, as part of their education regarding performance management.

Which limits need to be surpassed in order to achieve higher levels of proficiency in Performance Management, among practitioners?

If managers pay too much attention to short term gains, they will lose out on whatever expertise they have gained, associated with performance management.

What is your opinion on the emerging trend of measuring performance outside working hours?

APRIL 2016 19

INTERVIEWS

Performance Management tends to be a very fragmented process, so the main challenge is to obtain, analyze and report on specific data within acceptable time frames.

It is a great trend and if there are accurate tools, which offer realistic measurements of real-time data, it will prove a great boon to both employee and employer, as managers will be able to focus on the intricacies of his worker’s character and behavior. This is important, from my point of view, because how you perform outside work will reflect how you perform during work hours.

Do you think this last aspect mentioned, the relationship between behavior at and outside work, is a stable one? Does it always stay the same? Or is it merely an individual trait, having to do more with each and every one of us, and not so much the tools we use to measure our performance?

Yes, I think it is quite a stable relationship.

And it is a beneficial one for both company and employee, due to the following facts: As far as the company is concerned, it develops a greater understanding of what performance means Now, from the employee perspective, he ends up better comprehending the rationality behind performance and thus will reach performance goals much, much easier.

This creates a balance between the two.

What personal performance measurement tools do you use?

I have designed many performance management tools, for my company or other companies. For example, I will use something resembling an energy bar and at the end of the day, when you are sitting in your cubicle, your self-score will evaluate your energy level, at that particular moment. Afterwards, before you leave the office, you re-measure 20 APRIL 2016

your energy level at that moment. This very simple tool makes it so that employees pay more attention to their energy levels.

What are the processes and tools you look at, in order to differentiate a successful performance management system, from a superficial one?

I look at the chain value system, inside the organization and as I previously specified, the management of the performance management expertise and willingness of line managers.

Mark Jaszczak Business Improvement Manager, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, UK In 2016, the Performance Magazine editorial team interviewed Mark Jaszczak, Business Improvement Manager of WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff in the United Kingdom for the “Performance Management in 2015” report.

His thoughts and views on Performance Management are detailed below.

Which are the 2015 key trends in Performance Management, from your point of view?

One major trend is the fact that Big Data is obviously very popular at the moment, but you don’t need Big Data to tell you where the performance improvement opportunities are.

It certainly has its benefits, such as generating complete pictures of certain situations and issues. But in my opinion, it is yet to be used to its full potential.

Another huge trend at the moment is collaborative working. This is a very positive trend, due to the fact that multiple departments work together to produce reports and streamline performance, a fact which can only help to boost performance. Businesses are a

lot more integrated now than they used to be, which means that you need to have a much better understanding of what those around you are doing.

Engagement is another emerging trend. In the past, you used to be told to go and see the latest report that had been pinned to the notice board. But in recent times, I’ve noticed that more people are getting involved in the creation and distribution of reports and, encouragingly, people are being asked what they want to see.

High level financial reports are great for a select few individuals, but they don’t mean much to the vast majority of people, unless they have shares! It’s pleasant to see smaller, more applicable reports being created.

What are your thoughts on the integration of Performance Management at organizational, departmental and employee level?

Integrating Performance Management at any level is tough, because most processes and departments operate at different frequencies in relation to each other. Add to the mix the fact that owners, contributors and recipients differ wildly across businesses and the levels of granularity change just as much, and you’ve got yourself a tough integration task.

I believe that Performance Management needs structure and levels. You can have individual reports that feed into departmental reports, and they then feed into divisional reports, which then are integrated into company reports. If at least this much is linked, then it saves you time and makes integration that much easier. It’s amazing how many businesses lack an integrated approach, which results in confusion and chaos; for example, solely reviewing the financials and ignoring critical items like the cost drivers will yield an incomplete picture of the business’s

INTERVIEWS

I believe that KPIs should be explored more through research.

I don’t think there’s a magic number of KPIs that all businesses should adopt, but I do think that more research is required to find the right ones.

status-quo. Each and every business out there needs to define and clarify its objectives. That’s always the first step in any integrated approach.

Which will be the major changes in managing performance, in the future?

I believe that collaboration efforts will continue to grow in the future and have a much larger impact on Performance Management.

Organizations are starting to understand that you can’t know where you’re going until you understand where you’ve come from. This not only increases the effectiveness of Performance Management, but also increases brand and business loyalty.

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

I believe that KPIs should be explored more through research. I don’t think there’s a magic number of KPIs that all businesses should adopt, but I do think that more research is required to find the right ones. Not only that, but these should be categorically linked to the strategy and reporting output. You’d be surprised how many companies out there keep KPIs separate from everything else.

I’ve seen organizations adopt 5 KPIs and I’ve seen organizations adopt over 100. In my eyes, 5 is probably too little and 100 is probably too much. But there’s a happy medium level, and that’s where the research comes in.

Creating KPIs is a real skill, and it’s something I love to do. They need to be the right ones though, measurements need to be sensible and not too easy, but they need to be easy to track and they need to align with the organizational objectives.

One of the best scorecards that I’ve ever seen incorporated employee training and churn as KPIs, and gave them the same weighting as key financial results. The prior research that

respective organization conducted identified that employees and financial performance were categorically linked, and they created KPIs to reflect that.

Which organizations would you recommend to be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results?

The Virgin Group – the way they continue to grow, branch out and increase employee and customer loyalty is very impressive. They’re a perfect example of creating and implementing a correct performance management strategy.

Google – They understand that their employees are their most valuable asset, and they build everything around them, invest in them, and give them all the tools they need to grow as an individual, which in turn grows the business.

What Performance Management question would you like to have answered by researchers?

Can you create one system that does everything?

That would be nice.

Which are main challenges of Performance Management in practice, today?

It’s common for Performance Management to be a very fragmented process, so the main challenge is to obtain, analyze and report on specific data within acceptable time frames, without it being detrimental to the overall objective. To do this, you need clear instructions and a system that’s fit for purpose.

I have seen companies conduct almost the entirety of their operations through one CRM system. This makes all forms of Performance Management very accessible, because everything is in one place. However, I have also seen many companies use a different system

for each process. This presents many problems, such as the time it takes to extract and analyze any meaningful data because more often than not, you’ll need reports from multiple systems to tell the full story of a particular issue.

Generating 6 reports from 6 different systems and then putting it all together in Excel is not an ideal practice, but it’s a common one. There’s a huge challenge there to streamline everything, as there are many barriers when it comes to technological implementation.

It would be very interesting to compare the costs of one all-encompassing CRM system (including installation, licenses and maintenance) and the on-going costs of maintaining multiple different systems that essentially do the same thing.

What should be improved in the use of Performance Management tools and processes?

Without doubt, response times need to be improved. We live in a rapidly-changing world, which requires us to be just as fast with our Performance Management output. Way too often are delays caused by the systems not being good enough. If you have a sustainability or environmental issue, how can you possibly act on it quickly if you need to delve into six different systems for information, three of which aren’t working? Too many companies have a process in place to deal with most issues, but they put no investment into preventing those issues from occurring in the first place, through performance management.

What would you consider as a best practice in Performance Management?

As simple as it sounds, doing the job properly and not cutting corners is absolutely best practice in Performance Management. Another best practice is considering the objectives in everything you do. After all, you can’t know APRIL 2016 21

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[…] the importance of Stakeholders and their requirements must be emphasized during educational programs. Performance Management systems should be built around these expectations and requirements […]

where you’re going until you understand where you’ve been.

I would also say that telling the truth is definitely best practice. The problem with statistics is that they can be made to tell almost any story and if that story isn’t aligned with your objectives, then you’ll definitely miss key messages. It’s great to know that 8 out of 10 projects were delivered successfully and you should take notes from that, but I would rather know why the other 2 weren’t delivered successfully. From there, you can build an effective performance management strategy. I always tell people not to be afraid to report failures. It’s those failures that often generate the biggest growth if you learn from them.

Which aspects of Performance Management should be emphasized during educational programs?

It’s difficult to cherry-pick as it’s a long list, but the importance of Stakeholders and their requirements must be emphasized during educational programs. Performance Management systems should be built around these expectations and requirements, so their importance cannot be understated.

Which limits need to be surpassed in order to achieve higher levels of proficiency in Performance Management, among practitioners?

It’s quite surprising how many people and organizations don’t fully understand what Performance Management means.

It’s probably this lack of understanding that hinders positive results. Performance Management isn’t just KPIs, it’s processes, objectives, risk, opportunities, rewards, recognitions, involvement, trends, analysis, statistics, predictions, time, costs, quality and so on. It’s a vast subject matter of which 22 APRIL 2016

Performance Management is just a term used to encompass it all. The more organizations understand this, the better the results will be.

What is your opinion on the emerging trend of measuring performance outside working hours?

If it’s a business, to measure employee performance outside of working hours, then I don’t particularly agree with that. It really does depend on what your role is. If you’re on call, then some sort of performance measurement would probably be necessary.

If you’re a CEO or Senior Director, then your role will extend beyond the contracted working hours so any work you do at any time of day or night may well need to be measured in some way, depending on what type of work it is, obviously.

I believe that Performance Management needs structure and levels.

But if you’re measuring your own performance in a non-business capacity, such as how many goals you’ve scored at football, how much weight you’ve lifted at the gym, how far you’ve swum at the pool, then I thoroughly endorse that. I believe it’s important to measure your own performance so you know what you’re doing well, what needs a little help and what positive effect you’re having on yourself and those around you.

What personal performance measurement tools do you use?

I’m really into my fitness, so I like to measure most of what I do at the gym such as how many reps I do, how much weight I lift, how far I run, that sort of thing. Not only is it a good way for me to check my progress towards my goals, but it’s also a good way for me to spot which exercises I keep avoiding! It means I cover all the basis, and nothing is left to chance.

When I was a teenager, I even used to keep a spreadsheet that tracked my performance in each and every cricket match I played. It logged everything – how many balls I bowled, how many sixes I hit, how many minutes I spent batting, it was very comprehensive. In fact, that’s probably where my love of Performance Management began. Even now when I go tenpin bowling with friends, I’m working out in my head what I need to do to get a score of 150, 175, 200 etc. I want to be the best I can possibly be at everything I do, so I will use various methods and tools that I’ve obtained over the years to help me achieve my goals.

Which were the recent achievements in generating value from performance management in your organization?

In the last few years alone, I have generated millions of pounds-worth of efficiencies for various clients. I have streamlined processes, I have helped departments and businesses become much leaner and it’s all through my performance management skills. I make sure that requirements are accurately captured, time frames are realistic, I draw on the experience of subject matter experts when necessary and I make sure that whatever I produce is clear and understandable. I also try and be as pro-active as possible, by anticipating things like queries and forthcoming movements in performance, and then acting upon them before they happen.

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For many managers, performance management is still (surprisingly) counter cultural. They like to immerse themselves in the day to day fire-fighting and find it difficult to see the overall performance of the organization from the ‘helicopter level’.

Nigel Penny Owner and Managing Director, NSP Consulting, Australia In 2016, the Performance Magazine editorial team interviewed Nigel Penny, Owner and Managing Director of NSP Consulting in Australia for the “Performance Management in 2015” report. His thoughts and views on Performance Management are detailed below.

Which are the 2015 key trends in Performance Management, from your point of view?

Firstly, performance management is a very illdefined subject area. My own interpretation is that performance management should be ring fenced to include discussions on organizational performance vs. the business plan/strategy.

Increasingly, performance management is also being used to describe the Human Resources process for setting performance objectives for individuals within the organization and assessing an individual’s performance, typically on an annual basis.

Whilst there should be a clear ‘line of sight’ between organizational goals and individual goals, it is critical that these two issues are seen separately, or else performance management degenerates into an annual staff appraisal process and misses one of the glaring gaps in business management – the need for executives to have more effective information and conduct better management reviews of business performance.

What are your thoughts on the integration of Performance Management at organizational, departmental and employee level?

This is still quite poor. Organizations that use balanced scorecards probably do a better job in this area as they will have cascaded business

goals through corporate, departmental and team-based strategy maps and performance measures. In this case, there will be a good integration and alignment process in place.

However, support functions such as HR, Finance etc. are generally quite poorly aligned in terms of understanding their wider contribution to the overall business outcomes.

Which will be the major changes in managing performance, in the future?

Major future changes will come from a complete revision of the way information is provided to executives. Instead of traditional budgets, p&ls etc, executives will need to design performance reporting that addresses specific business questions. They will need to restructure monthly business review meetings so that they are more ‘outcome’ focused rather than merely opportunities to share what executives have been doing. My other hope is that more executives will look at the ‘Beyond Budgeting’ approaches proposed by people such as Bjarte Bognes in assessing new ways to deploy performance management that is more focused on ‘relative’ rather than ‘absolute’ performance.

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

There is still a belief that setting performance goals and linking variable rewards at an individual level leads to improved performance.

I see no evidence of this, and instead have seen the proliferation of extensive and costly individual performance goal setting approaches that are hugely demotivating to the vast majority of employees and viewed as a time consuming overhead by the managers who have to administer them. I would like to see research that clearly identifies whether such schemes have ever produced measureable performance improvements in a majority of the workforce.

Which organizations would you recommend to be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results?

Here, I would refer you to organizations such as Statoil in Norway who have pioneered the Beyond Budgeting approach to performance measurement.

What Performance Management question would you like to have answered by researchers?

Do efforts to link payment bonuses and performance goals pay off? Is it worthwhile to go on believing in this relationship?

Which are main challenges of Performance Management in practice, today?

For many managers, performance management is still (surprisingly) counter cultural. Managers and executives still like to immerse themselves in the day to day fire-fighting and find it difficult to see the overall performance of the organization from the ‘helicopter level.’ If they could take a step back, then they could address themselves to the big ticket issues that would make the major difference to business outcomes. Strangely, this seems to be challenging for many managers and executives who feel their job is to get down to the ‘coal face’ and fix individual problems whilst missing the bigger picture items.

The other major challenge is that despite the sums of money that have been invested in information systems, many organizations still struggle to extract the actual data that they need to make management decisions, or alternatively, still have little trust in the accuracy of such data.

What should be improved in the use of Performance Management tools and processes?

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INTERVIEWS

Performance Management needs KPI Control Models to support the strategy of the managers and the day by day decisions of employees.

Performance management software seems somewhat inflexible when it comes to producing the customized reports that executives really need. Performance management software still focuses on dashboards of KPIs rather than analysis of business issues. Software developers need to engage with leading consultants in the performance management field to address this issue.

What would you consider as a best practice in Performance Management?

Balanced Scorecards stills set the benchmark for performance management practice even after 20+ years.

Which aspects of Performance Management should be emphasized during educational programs?

Education should focus on helping managers and executives to look for the big picture and better understand their role in driving overall organizational performance. One thing I would counsel against is the growth in ‘practitioner certifications’.

In my experience, virtually nobody fails if they turn up to these trainings, and it creates the impression amongst others that these ‘certified professionals’ somehow have a unique experience set.

What is your opinion on the emerging trend of measuring performance outside working hours?

I assume this applies to the measurement of performance within your private life. If so, please, please let’s not go down this route. I can’t imagine a world where we have to assess the quality of our lives through performance measures. How sad that would be!

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What personal performance measurement tools do you use?

None, other than my overall assessment of my businesses’ performance.

What are the processes and tools you look at, in order to differentiate a successful performance management system, from a superficial one?

Again, it’s the effective application of the Balanced Scorecard or else a Beyond Budgeting approach.

Paolo Panza ICT Performance Manager, Ericsson, Italy In 2016, the Performance Magazine editorial team interviewed Paolo Panza, ICT Performance Manager of Ericsson in Italy for the “Performance Management in 2015” report. His thoughts and views on Performance Management are detailed below.

Which are the 2015 key trends in Performance Management, from your point of view?

I think that during 2015 more companies have realized that Performance Management strategically affects their business’ modernization efforts. For example, the ICT departments have chosen the Cloud as the technological solution to consolidate hardware investments. Different institutional vendors have proposed the Hybrid Cloud infrastructure as an intermediate solution to ICT needs. I believe that we will see an increase of ICT contracts requiring a more structured control of ICT Services through Performance Management.

What are your thoughts on the integration of Performance Management at organizational, departmental and employee level?

Performance Management has to tightly integrate with people occupying different roles in a company, regardless of their department or level. To do this, Performance Management may use different tools. All these tools (e.g. CRM, Outsourcing, Business Process Reengineering) must be facilitated through Performance Measurement. Using a methodology based on Key Performance Indicator Models, Performance Management allows companies to review their organizations and their processes, based on quantitative values. So Performance Measurement helps the different layers of the company, managers and employees alike, to identify problems, take decisions and actions.

Performance Management may allow different people to measure their results in the transaction phase using a shared vision.

Which will be the major changes in managing performance, in the future?

The presence of new ICT technologies allows companies to better define their perimeter, the scope of ICT Services. So more companies may outsource ICT Services quickly using Managed Services thorough outsourcing contracts. These contracts involve ICT Services supplied by multiple vendors. For example, a CRM platform may have two different suppliers: a Cloud Service Provider and an Application Service Provider. To monitor the best of the two different services, in order to meet the CRM business’ needs, it is essential to simplify Performance Measurement through the development, maintenance and change processes of the KPI Control Models.

INTERVIEWS

[‌] a significant problem is that business individuals do not accept Performance Management as the company entity that introduces innovation.

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

Performance Management needs KPI Control Models to support the strategy of the managers and the day by day decisions of employees. The metrics, algorithms and target levels are produced via Performance Measurement. Talking about ICT Services (regardless of application, infrastructure services or thematic ones like security), we need to set up a structured control system in a very short time. The only way to accomplish this is to create a KPI Engine. This object will be generated by business requirements, with the purpose of producing software to collect data, set up algorithms and historical trends automatically. Human contribution will serve only to produce the KPI Control Models, simulations and to analyze the resulting information.

Which organizations would you recommend to be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results?

I suggest to contact organizations that operate in IT Service Outsourcing. For large suppliers you must ensure that they have a structured customer-oriented local organization. University institutes can also bring their contribution regarding this topic. In the Milan district of Italy, there are different universities that have sufficient experience to deal with complex projects. I also suggest to consider smaller universities, which have the required competences.

What Performance Management question would you like to have answered by researchers?

To support Performance Management, researchers have to answer if is it possible to build a methodology, a tool to create KPI

rapidly and to maintain them dynamically with few human efforts? Following a set of standards and fixed guidelines is it possible to set up algorithm, to feed data and to adjust performance of one KPI automatically to support KPI Control Models?

Which are main challenges of Performance Management in practice, today?

The control through KPI Control Models, powered by algorithms and quantitative automatic indicators, is time-consuming.

The true challenge is to convince people that their targets are reached via Performance Management governance. This is the only way to empower ICT decisional processes for any project and industry sectors. In a more pragmatic way, we can assume that any ICT Service contract must have a control section to regulate economics through KPI Control Models. These models may regulate contracts by using, for example, service credits and earn-back mechanisms.

What should be improved in the use of Performance Management tools and processes?

Performance Management must reduce both the project duration of KPI Control Model setups and the effort to coordinate the different stakeholders of the project.

Talking about Performance Measurement activities, it is imperative to have an automatic production of KPI values and dashboards, leaving all resources to analytics and governance activities.

What would you consider as a best practice in Performance Management?

Best practice in Performance Management is to activate KPI Control Models rapidly and

according to the different stakeholders. KPI measurement must be minimally invasive and inexpensive. Best practice is to observe the KPI production process in all its phases.

Best practice in Performance Management is to activate the processes of IT Service Management in such a way that there is a progressive convergence between Business needs and IT objectives.

Which aspects of Performance Management should be emphasized during educational programs?

Because I am particularly careful when it comes to Performance Measurement and KPIs, I think a good opportunity for Performance Management is to look at the European Competence Framework 3.0 (e-CF). “The European e-Competence Framework (e-CF) is a reference framework of competences applied within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector that can be used and understood by ICT user and supply companies, ICT practitioners, managers and Human Resources (HR) departments, the public sector, educational and social partners across Europe�.

At the moment, my opinion is that Performance Management needs Planning and Governance competences.

Which limits need to be surpassed in order to achieve higher levels of proficiency in Performance Management, among practitioners?

In my opinion, a significant problem is that business individuals do not accept Performance Management as the company entity that introduces innovation. In different situations, I see that measuring performance is considered a restriction or even worse, a APRIL 2016 25

INTERVIEWS

Performance Management needs KPI Control Models to support the strategy of the managers and the day by day decisions of employees.

guilt-inducing factor. We need to introduce a KPI culture with a persistent archetype, showing the benefits we get from this.

What is your opinion on the emerging trend of measuring performance outside working hours?

The only personal performance I measure outside my working hours are the vertical meters I cover during mountaineering.

Because ICT goods have an immaterial property and generally the “power of information” has an unpredictable value, I prefer to keep working hours separate from non-working hours.

What personal performance measurement tools do you use?

I have produced hundreds of KPIs using a custom tool, based on Oracle technology.

The KPI Control Models, the presentation and the simulation environment was based on Microsoft Office tools.

Peter A. Heslin Associate Professor, University of New South Wales, Australia In 2016, the Performance Magazine editorial team interviewed Peter A. Heslin, Associate Professor of UNSW in Australia for the “Performance Management in 2015” report.

His thoughts and views on Performance Management are detailed below.

What are your thoughts on the integration of Performance Management at organizational, departmental and employee level?

This is absolutely imperative, though of course much easier said than done.

Which are the 2015 key trends in Performance Management, from your point of view?

Some trends I see are:

The question of how (rather than whether) individual and departmental incentives are undermining organizational objectives ought to be seriously probed on a routine basis, given how easily misalignment arises.

Ongoing pursuit of this question needs to be led and supported by the highest levels.

Increased concern with social and/or environmental performance as criteria for individual, departmental and organizational performance. Making the world a better place, or at least not making it worse, is an increasingly standard expectation.

Which were the recent achievements in generating value from performance management in your organization?

During my long experience with Performance Management, I must note that it has successfully allowed the transition first and transformation second of the ICT Managed Services for outsourcing big deals. The outsourcing project was closely monitored through Performance Measurement.

Greater use of Big Data, often gleaned through tracking devices, to enable more real-time and comprehensive performance data tracking and analysis.

The production of KPI Control Models has ensured the achievement of the business’ needs, respecting contractual details and the requirements of stakeholders. Performance Management supported the re-engineering of both organization and processes related to customers and suppliers.

Striving to make performance management more about performance facilitation, rather than annual appraisals as a basis for rewarding or punishing people – based on what they have achieved. This involves not only clarifying objectives, but also enabling and investing resources

26 APRIL 2016

for performance, removing the host of factors that can impede it, and ensuring that employees are always aware of the big picture regarding their work.

Emerging reflection on the potential costs and downsides, financial and otherwise, of continuous performance data tracking and analysis. People often resent and react negatively to feeling excessively monitored.

Which will be the major changes in managing performance, in the future?

At this stage I foresee further developments along the lines I have identified in my response to the first question, so those would be greater use of Big Data, greater awareness of the costs of performance data tracking, increased social/environmental awareness and enhanced facilitation of performancerelated efforts.

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

Research might fruitfully explore questions such as: What factors affect the optimal number of KPIs to be tracked? While the answer will surely be contingent on an array of contextual and individual factors, in many instances I suspect that reducing the number that is established and tracked would facilitate high performance in the most important areas.

INTERVIEWS

[...] sharing the burden of settling on and discerning how to implement imperfect solutions to fraught performance management issues is something that the upper echelons should not shirk.

How can managers be supported in creating time and a safe space for systematically working through the classic action learning processes that are typically skipped to the detriment of real learning and thus performance improvement?

Relatedly, how can managers be continually cued to have the growth mindset that focuses more on developing and inspiring, rather than measuring and evaluating employees?

Finally, how might Agile software development methods (i.e., daily scum meetings, burndown charts and holacracy), be deployed in other work contexts to facilitate making work visible, the swift and painless surfacing of performance impediments, and initiatives to enable continuous learning and performance improvement.

Which organizations would you recommend to be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results?

Which organizations would you recommend to be looked at, due to their particular approach to managing performance, and their subsequent results?

What Performance Management question would you like to have answered by researchers?

Those identified in my response to the fourth question, so those would be what factors affecting the optimal number of KPIs should be tracked, how can managers be offered better support when it comes to creating safe spaces for classic action learning processes and related to this, how can they maintain a constant growth mindset. Lastly,

as I mentioned, I would like to found out further methods of integrating Agile software into the workplace, to make work more streamlined and visible.

Which are main challenges of Performance Management in practice, today?

I think the main challenges are the perennial ones: precisely defining performance, setting appropriate goals (realizing that stretch goals often do more harm than good), creating a vivid and compelling picture of why performance matters, and providing the right people with the time, guidance and reliable supply of the real-time informational, technical and social-emotional resources they need to do great work.

What should be improved in the use of Performance Management tools and processes?

The answer depends massively on the context, though basically anything that impedes the processes identified in my response to the immediately prior question ought to be improved – or tossed out altogether!

Laborious annual appraisal processes are a prime candidate, as illustrated by the companies mentioned above.

What would you consider as a best practice in Performance Management?

Three best practices I would suggest are: Mastering the challenges outlined in my previous responses, such as those I’ve mentioned at the seventh question.

Recognizing and resisting the foolish trend to be perpetually “raising the bar” or “trimming the fat” – performance seeking initiatives often dressed up with euphemisms such as striving for excellence

or financial sustainability. While these things are imperative up to a certain point, beyond that they can foster resentment of a system that feels geared to endlessly squeeze more out of them! Knowledge workers especially do their best work when they are at least occasionally granted time and space to breath.

Realizing that performance can be greatly facilitated by removing frustrating distractions, such as unnecessary meetings, form filling, and other menial admin tasks that can be eliminated or carried out more efficiently by dedicated support staff.

Performance is much more likely to be optimized when the focus is on enabling rather than managing it.

Which aspects of Performance Management should be emphasized during educational programs?

Developing the leadership skills involved in effectively enacting the performance facilitation tasks outlined above. These include inspirational leadership, process facilitation, fostering growth mindsets, goal setting, action learning (e.g., planning & engaging in experiments, considering counterfactuals and conducting after action reviews), listening, coaching and integrative negotiation.

Which are the limits in order to achieve higher levels of proficiency in Performance Management, among practitioners?

Senior managers who hide behind the concept of delegation in refusing to help address conflicting performance demands. These are painful to work through, though even harder when your authority is limited. It’s fine to ask for suggested solutions, rather than just problems, though sharing the burden of settling on and discerning how to implement imperfect APRIL 2016 27

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Measuring performance outside working hours can be a positive thing if it supports the attainment of personal goals, such as meeting new people, improving one’s romantic relationship or enhancing one’s health and well-being.

solutions to fraught performance management issues is something that the upper echelons should not shirk.

though I also typically track my heart-rate, average heart-rate, speed and average speed.

That’s plenty of data for me!

What is your opinion on the emerging trend of measuring performance outside working hours?

Presuming you are referring to individuals measuring their own performance in nonwork domains, this can be a positive thing if it supports the attainment of personal goals, such as meeting new people, improving one’s romantic relationship or enhancing one’s health and well-being. Traditional goal setting can be supplemented by apps and data from wearable devices, for instance, though I think it’s really important to acknowledge that there might be costs involved that for some people could be far greater than the benefits.

We are developing a database of subjects/ degrees in Performance Management. What are your suggestions relevant to the database (i.e. subjects/degrees such as the Masters in Managing Organizational Performance)?

I recommend taking high quality management and leadership courses focused on developing the skills I mentioned in responses to the ninth and tenth question, regarding what skills are useful to be mastered and what practices are worthwhile to take up.

Being successful in Performance Management means mastering the following challenges

The spectre of being bombarded with too-much information (TMI) is growing fast: I’m not sure why anyone needs or would want to know their heartrate every time they look at their wrist!

Especially for those inclined to be a bit neurotic, obsessive-compulsive or hypochondriac, nonstop biofeedback can become dysfunctional and will most likely become counter-productive.

Indeed, I suspect we are all well served to reflect upon the likely personal pros and cons of different devices and methods of personal performance measurement, before joining the latest personal performance measurement bandwagon. Even once we have made the plunge, I think it’s really important to be ready and willing to set aside any approach or device that seems to be negatively affecting us.

Realizing that performance can be greatly facilitated by removing frustrating distractions

What personal performance measurement tools do you use?

I use a Garmin computer on my bike. That measures many more things that I am interested in. I particularly value the cadence indicator as it provides information that I act on immediately,

Start enabling performance, not merely managing it

28 APRIL 2016

Recognizing and resisting the foolish trend to be perpetually “raising the bar” or “trimming the fat”

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Explore the extensive Top KPIs series dedicated to analyzing the most popular KPIs by visiting: http://store.kpiinstitute.org/publications.html

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APRIL 2016 29

PORTRAIT EVENTS

ADRIAN BRUDAN From passion, to education, to success.

DIANA ZARNESCU

A discipline of Performance Management while he drian Brudan has manifested his interest for the

was still within the international learning environment of the Aarhus School of Business in Denmark. Further on, he dedicated the following years to intense research, KPI documentation and implementation of multiple Performance Management initiatives, within The KPI Institute. Presently, Adrian is the General Manager of The KPI Institute EMEA. As an educator, Adrian contributed to the design of The KPI Institute’s core educational programs, which he has been successfully delivering for several years now, in multiple international settings across the globe.

Altogether, Adrian Brudan is a man driven both by the power of education and by the passion for a noble discipline such as Performance Management.

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“Performance management system implementation is all about achieving an interrelated triangulation of clarity-focusimprovement supported through engagementcommunication-learning.”

PORTRAIT

Performance management system implementation is all about achieving an interrelated triangulation of clarityfocus-improvement supported through engagementcommunication-learning.

The present and the past: a story of professional development Adrian Brudan set course upon an upward professional trajectory from the moment he had joined the efforts of building and developing The KPI Institute, to what it is today, a global research institute specialized in business performance. Driven by the critical importance of knowledge creation and sharing as a main pillar for improvement, Adrian strives to give an educational touch to every business endeavor he enlists in. He may not have chosen his activities at first, but he is definitely forging his own path, and modelling himself to become a relevant subject matter expert and knowledge sharer in the field of performance management.

Seven years into his activity, and we see Adrian delivering up to 40-50 courses, workshops and presentations annually, having already collected and developed a portfolio of over 150 professional programs in the Performance Management field.

development of the smartKPIs.com database, encompassing over 20,000 KPIs. And as with big roles come big responsibilities, Adrian has earned his position as General Manager of The KPI Institute EMEA through research, motivation, and passion. Along with that, he took the responsibility to coordinate its fellow colleagues and see to it that together they would deliver The Institute’s core educational programs, ensuring the understanding, clarity and functionality of the Performance Management Systems, in the areas most vital to their success.

Education: taking the first steps onto the performance path

Adrian is a man of many countries, as his professional journey often carries him through a diverse variety of nations and cultures. He has come to meet, so far, over 40 different nationalities, as he assisted more than 2000 professionals from over 300 organizations in their performance endeavors.

Looking back at the milestones of his professional development, Adrian considers the education received in Denmark, while following the European Business and Law MSC, corroborated with the intensive MBA summer programs at Aarhus School of Business as one of the most powerful influencers and enablers for his professional career. During this period, the practicebased educational experience had brought Adrian in the path of multiple highly prepared and dedicated academics and practitioners, within the international business environment.

But looking back at The KPI Institute’s early beginnings, it all started with the documentation of his first KPI. In time, Adrian came to document over 3,500 KPIs as a Junior Research Analyst and afterwards, as the Head of Research, he overviewed the

Concluding his education, Adrian Brudan immediately started to dive head-on into the Performance Management field, by working closely with the CEO and founder of The KPI Institute, to create what is now known today as the smartKPIs.com platform. His contribution

to the development and implementation of this unique business platform, supported by his hands-on educational background, proved to pave the way for future performance endeavors that were yet to come.

The moment Adrian remembers as the true propeller for his Performance Management career was when, at the age of 27, he delivered his first international training program in the Sultanate of Oman. From that moment onwards, Adrian dedicated himself to providing professional education and advisory services, travelling high and wide to teach the development and implementation of Performance Management strategies and frameworks, and in return, be taught how to improve, based on practice and experience.

People: the real performance drivers Above education, theory and practice, stand the people who take a concept and apply it in real life. People are the true destiny shapers and they are also stimulators. We call them role models, or those people whose actions, behaviors and mindsets impact the way we think and how we aim to act in our lives We all have them. For Adrian, the people he looks up to are also the ones who sit closer to his heart. He often talks with admiration about his parents, who recognized in education a gateway to success, to job satisfaction and to mental maturity. In this sense, they ensured that Adrian not only gets access to the best education, but also that he sees the importance of studying and the benefits it would lay out for him, later in his life.

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PORTRAIT

Adrian also mentions that he learns the ways of leading a balanced life from his wife, whose youth does not represent an impediment to wisdom, patience and kindness.

Ultimately and business-wise, he looks up at Aurel Brudan, the CEO and founder of The KPI Institute, who has continuously shown the business environment that his perspective and practical advancements in the field of Performance Management reflect the true nature of an innovator and a visionary, whose presence models your steps in this chosen career, profession and lifestyle.

Early beginnings: what burning the midnight oil was led to As stated before, Adrian sees the beginning of his professional path as overlapping with the beginning of his educational journey in Denmark, at the Aarhus School of Business.

Nearing the completion of his studies, Adrian sought to find an intriguing, innovative subject for his Master’s thesis. So he reached out for the advice of Aurel Brudan, who was then amidst his PHD studies, himself.

Together they commenced the development of a KPI database, represented by a thoroughly documented online platform.

And so Aurel became his external thesis coordinator, and Adrian became the first research analyst to document those early KPIs of what was to become the smartkpis. com platform.

Upon the completion of his thesis, they prolonged their collaboration and, over the next few years, they worked shoulder to shoulder to document, develop and manage the smartKPIs.com platform. This was the first role Adrian played within The KPI Institute.

In his own words, Adrian Brudan came to regard performance management as “leading one given entity towards continuous improvement, while demonstrating a structured, simple but still not simplistic approach to management and strategy execution. When I refer to an entity I mean any given administrative structure such as the organization itself, a functional department, a team or an individual,” he adds to the definition.

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Performance Management.

A personal perspective.

There is no use in mentioning the extent to which the Performance Management theory and practices have spread worldwide, within the last decade. Therefore, its importance and, above all, the importance of pinning down the essentials of Performance Management, remain focal points for any professional, academic or consultant dealing with business improvement.

Adrian recognizes the transition that the Performance Management discipline took, as it slowly but surely began migrating from business environments into our houses, families and personal lives. One indubitable proof that stands as testimony is that various everyday gadgets, such as wristwatches, music players, alarm clocks and even lamps now rely on an internet connection to function, they are more focused and responsive to our individual needs and because of this, they have improved from their traditional counterparts.

The benefits of Performance Management, when seen from the aforementioned perspective, are countless and they may not be even worth mentioning here, as they are widely known even to those who are not subject matter experts in this discipline.

Ultimately, as Adrian suggests, each organization, department or individual need to point out and define what are the benefits of Performance Management, for them, according to their “unique combination of reasons”.

Benefits of a Performance Management Framework

Alignment

Integration

Communication

Transparency

Decision making

Motivation

Engagement

Among the benefits mentioned by Adrian, one can mention the following: Better strategy alignment; Integration across different organizational levels; Improved communication with key stakeholders; Higher levels of transparency in terms of performance results; Streamlined decision-making processes based on data and facts; Increased motivation and engagement across the workplace; A performance-based environment, focused on continuous improvement.

Performance-based enviroment

Continous improvement

Most of the times, these benefits are a reflection of specific needs for improvement and are “all about achieving an interrelated triangulation of clarity-focus-improvement supported through engagement - communication - learning,” as Adrian explains.

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Even if not necessary noted on paper many of us are measuring all sorts of KPIs and asses them against desired targets, such as level of earnings, spending, savings.

Challenges to overcome Switching to the more challenging aspects of performance management, Adrian discerns between a number of rather popular challenges, which are recognized by many as being the most challenging obstacles when working with such systems. Most of these are linked to the organizational level of maturity and staff expertise.

Speaking from his own experience, since he has spent his last years travelling and engaging professionals within different educational and consultancy programs designed to improve performance, Adrian acknowledges he is often approached by professionals from different seniority levels, all posing questions regarding obstacles and challenges they have encountered in their professions.

The ones that stand out are the lack of clarity, especially when it is related to the KPI selection process, and how it should be performed. Oftentimes, this process lacks a structured approach, stakeholder involvement and clear techniques.

Additionally, on more than one occasion, there is just one individual assigned to the entire KPI selection process, despite the fact that such an operation, which concerns an extensive range of individuals, “should definitely consolidate the involvement and efforts of as many stakeholders as possible,” as Adrian highlights.

The next challenge derives from the misuse of performance management concepts and terminology, especially those which are related to measurement. This is a direct result of either poor understanding, lack of standardization or lack of professional expertise. Adrian shares one memory regarding the term “goal.” The term is more than often misinterpreted for other concepts such as objective or even target, when its meaning should be strictly linked to a strategic direction or theme.

Moreover, another confusion is born out of the tools naming process. The result may end up being an organization that has initiatives instead of objectives in their Strategy Map. Such contentions between names come from an obvious lack of standardization.

For example, initiative names begin with a noun, while objective names begin with a verb, out of very precise and grounded reasons: to avoid mass confusion and to offer consistency.

As the Performance Management System matures, so do these problems disappear, or become somewhat muffled, at least.

However, problems continue to have a way of finding new paths to put obstacles in our ways and each type of organization faces its own personalized range of troubles.

Adrian admits that even bigger, more stable organizations with functional Performance Management Systems face their own range of issues. These are often linked to communication because, as it is natural, the bigger the organization, the more difficult it is to communicate. Obtaining the buy-in of stakeholders is also a challenge, as people are naturally reluctant to change.

Easy to follow solutions Adrian mentioned multiple and various improvement strategies. Among these, he highlighted three of them as being the most critical for organizations: 1. Standardization; 2. Awareness; 3. Integration of Performance Management System.

Regarding the first improvement solution: standardization, Adrian’s recommendations include the following: Objectives should start with an action verb: Improve, Expand, Manage; Initiatives should start with a noun or adjective in front of the noun, or basically with the name of the project: Fleet modernization, CRM system establishment; KPIs should start with symbols: $ Operational cost, # Turnaround time, % Downtime.

Relating to awareness, people need to acknowledge the need for a Performance Management System. Adrian stresses out that too many organizations erroneously prolong the time sequence that starts with designing a Performance Management System, up until announcing this to the entire organization. This leads to an immediate reluctance to change on behalf of the stakeholders, and even resistance, despite such initiatives being well-intentioned. To avoid this scenario, Adrian highlights the importance of communication: “Communication […] needs to be done in a consistent way before, during and continuously after the implementation project.

There is a saying “communicate seven times in seven different ways.”

Regarding integration, another solution is to improve the cases in which operations are done in isolation of one another. This can happen even though the organization uses Performance Management tools and processes, since they are not part of an integrated system. Thus, the steps needed to review and adjust dysfunctional Performance Management Systems require a top-down integration process, which should start from the organizational levels, going down to the departmental and even individual entities.

Adrian’s advice refers primarily to the necessity of securing the required resources, namely consistency of tools, standardization and higher levels of transparency and communication.

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Following a personal example of best practices When it came to choosing from a widespread range of best practices, Adrian acknowledges that the issue starts to become sensitive since organizations cannot simply implement the solution chosen by a peer, without reflecting on its appropriateness beforehand.

Still, the focus should fall on cascading the organizational strategy top-down, a process that must be simultaneous with the integration of Performance Management across all organizational entities.

When referring to the more technical details, a combination between Performance Scorecards, which has a strategic focus, and Performance Dashboards, which are operational in focus, is one best practice in performance measurement.

As for processes, Adrian considers that all KPIs should be well-documented.

This process can be easily supported by workshops, the ideal contexts in which the KPI selection process can take place. A workshop satisfies communication needs, transparency, engagement and ultimately, obtains the stakeholders’ buy-in.

We’ve asked Adrian what he considers to be an achievement in Performance Management. As he confesses: “Quantifying the achievements in generating value, as a result of Performance Management is, many times, one of the most difficult things to do.”

Why? Because it is a complex, multi-purpose mechanism, with its greatest achievement in the details and smaller wins.

When a Performance Management System starts doing what it was built to do, and that is to “provide a reality check of the current status based on actual data and facts”, then that is the moment when real achievements have been reached.

Managing individual performance, a step-by-step approach In regards to individual performance management, Adrian strongly believes that no measure should be taken in isolation, but that it should be part of a broader initiative to incorporate the performance system on all 34 APRIL 2016

levels, following a top-down cascading process.

Individual performance is based, from Adrian’s perspective, on 3 major components: On KPIs that reflect the job description, alongside organizational KPIs; On behavior frameworks, and; On competency frameworks.

Obtaining stakeholders’ buy-in

How to obtain the employees’ buy-in for a Performance Management System? Since people are naturally reluctant to change, obtaining their acceptance, in order to implement major organizational changes reflect the management’s capacity to deal with sensitive situations.

Adrian offers the following scheme, designed to be followed as a step-by-step approach to obtaining the employees’ buy-in:

PORTRAIT

What motivates and make us happy it is for each and every one of us to decide for himself. The work-life balance should be driven by this simple equation.

Dealing with performance at home Although not a major fan of gadgets designed to measure performance, Adrian remains a firm believer that performance transits all life contexts, from the moment we get to work, until the time we come home and beyond. If you are driven by performance at work, there is no doubt you will seek to measure and improve performance at home. We all measure at least one KPI and compare it to set targets. Even if we may not be aware of this, we measure our spending and compare it against our savings and earnings, for example.

Adrian also takes into consideration nonfinancial measurements, such as health, education and social contributions.

Ultimately, you measure what you believe is important to help you become a better performer and, inherently when talking about personal performance, a better person.

As for obtaining a desired state of balance between work and personal life, Adrian suffers from the same problem that every dedicated professional encounters: when you work out of passion and dedication, you forget sometimes where to draw the line and, as a consequence, your career inevitably intermingles with your private life. However, spending quality time with your family is always the best solution to counteract the many a times spent burning the midnight oil.

Final considerations to take into consideration

and experience is in most of the cases the key to success.

To finalize and add the final touches to his portrait we asked Adrian if he would like to offer some thoughts to the Performance Magazine readership. His answer is selfrevealing and needs no further explanations:

Do not try to adapt all the concepts learned in theory in practice by the book. The trend nowadays is towards customization. Shape the performance management tools according to the DNA and needs of the entity that you are addressing.

Self-pace yourself and be a proactive learner.

Try to get insights and opinions from different relevant sources. Do not stick with only one approach or perspective.

Be open-minded and inquisitive when you read and learn about performance management best practices – not everything that you find in books or in general on the internet is anchored in reality. Most of the times it is not.

Try to practice the use of performance management tools as much and in as many occasions as you can. Repetition

The field of performance management is just shaping up as a discipline. Changes and novelties are due to emerge with high frequency in the upcoming years. Try to stay updated and relevant.

So what do you need to build a true Performance Management professional?

In Adrian’s case, it takes passion: passion for education, first and foremost, followed by passion for the practice and theory of the discipline and for continuous improvement. Ultimately, what is born out of passion tends to hold for a lifetime.

APRIL 2016 35

AROUND THE WORLD

THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA The better practice in performance reporting MARCELA PRESECAN

T

he National Library of Australia operates under the Australian Department of Communications and Arts, while being subject to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, which provides the reporting and accountability framework for the Australian Public Sector. Referenced in the Australian National Audit Office’s “Better Practices in Annual Performance Reporting”, the National Library of Australia is one of the governmental entities in the Australian territory that values its performance measurement and reporting frameworks.

Having successfully integrated the more modern concepts of technological facilitation and content digitization, the strategic framework of the National Library of Australia formally states its single most important outcome: “Enhanced learning, knowledge creation, enjoyment and understanding of Australian life and society by providing access to a national collection of library material.”

As per a better performance reporting framework, the National Library of Australia reveals the following: Strategic directions that lead to the desired outcome; Major initiatives that enable each of the Library’s strategic directions; Key Performance Indicators to reflect on performance; Deliverables to emphasize end results and achievements.

36 APRIL 2016

It is rather hard to provide a robust outline of performance through reporting, but the National Library of Australia manages to stick to the essentials: a concise presentation of the Library’s governance and accountability framework, a precise specification of strategic directions, a SMART set of Key Performance Indicators to measure performance, a clear mention of deliverables and initiatives for improvement.

Scorecards and Dashboards are used to enhance the data and provide a clear picture on the performance of the organization.

Although not standardized, performance management terminology with the National Library of Australia is well understood and coherent: Strategic directions start with verbs Initiatives start with nouns KPIs are clearly formulated Measurement units are available for each KPI KPI Targets are specified Actual KPI results are presented in relationship to the set target However, there are always recommendations that may be welcomed in improving the way performance is reported on.

In the case of the National Library of Australia, we stopped at the following:

An input – process – output – outcome approach would better benefit the emphasis of deliverables; Quantitative and qualitative data, efficiency and effectiveness criteria, leading and lagging KPIs, objective and subjective measurements, should be identified and balanced in order for the performance report to provide a comprehensive, levelheaded view on performance; All of the strategic directions should be supported by KPIs and underpinned by initiatives; beyond incorporating a strategic direction, “Organizational excellence”, must be defined and then measured; Financial and Customer-related KPIs are revealed in a separate Scorecard entitled: “Cross-cultural Agency Key Performance Indicators”, that would be better consolidated with the aid of internal process KPIs, selected for the strategic directions; although mentioned, the Balanced Scorecard approach provides more of a background support framework for an integrated approach towards performance reporting; Perspectives within the “Cross-cultural Agency Key Performance Indicators” Scorecard would be better replaced with objectives that further support the implementation of the organizational strategic directions; Forward estimates are more reliable when they also mention the analytical technique used for prediction, as well as the margin for error taken into consideration.

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The most important strength of performance reporting within the Public Sector is that it provides insight into the execution of governmental plans and budgets. It encourages public entities to take on the responsibility of efficiently and effectively managing their resources.

Table 3.1: Develop, Store and Maintain the National Collection-Deliverables and Key Performance Indicators, 2014-15 Performance Measure Name

Target

Achieved

Collection items stored and maintained (no.)

6,640,000

6,732,555

Items catalogues or indexed (no.)

52,000

49,023

National collection-percentage of collection processing standards met (%)

95

90

National colletion-percentage of specified storage standards met (%)

95

97

Deliverables

Key Performance Indicators

Figure 3.1: Number of Collection Items Stored and Maintained 8,250,000

Target

Achieved

7,000,000

5,250,000

3,500,000

1,750,000 2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

Performance reporting makes governmental entities accountable for the results delivered.

In a prospering economy, governmental entities, such as The National Library of Australia, embrace the need for performance reporting and the public’s demand for transparency.

A coherent and structured reporting framework, based on the accurate measurement of performance, efficient data management and masterful data visualization, ultimately strengthens the role of government in facilitating a healthy exchange of information between the state and its people. Straightforward information, presented in a streamlined fashion is just what’s needed to ensure transparency.

Table 3.8: Cross-cultural Agency Key Performance Indicators, 2014-15 Strategic Directions

Collect and preserve Australia’s documentary heritage

Initiatives

KPIs

Deliverables

Digital library infrastructure replacement project

National collection-percentage of collection processing standars met (%)

Collection items stored and maintained (no.)

Legal deposit for electronic publications Collection development policy

Make the library’s collections and services accessible to all Australians

Digitization Reading room integration project

National collection-percentage of specified storage standards met (%)

Items catalogued or indexed (no.)

Collection access-percentage of specified Service Charter standards met (%)

Physical collection items delivered to users (no.)

Collaborative services standards and time frames (%)

Agencies subscribing to key collaborative services (no.)

n/a

n/a

Libraries Australia Deliver national leadership

National and state libraries Austalasia International Relations

Achieve organizational excellence

n/a

Key Performance Indicators

2013-14 Actual

Actual

Target

2015-16 fwd est

2016-17 fwd est

2017-18 fwd est

Participation in public and school programs Number of people participating in public programs Number of students participating in school programs

528

517

400

380

370

360

48,997

56,588

46,400

46,400

46,400

46,400

236

180

225

225

225

225

4

7

6

8

10

12

184

143

200

200

200

200

98

97

90

90

90

90

Quantity of school learning programs delivered Number of organised programs delivered onsite Number of program packages available online Number of edu. inst. participating in organised school learning programs Visitor satisfaction % of visitors that were satisfied or very satisfied with their visit

APRIL 2016 37

AROUND THE WORLD

CANADA’S BUSINESS CASE FOR WOMEN ON BOARDS ANDREI COSTEA

C of how a country can combine diversity,

anada is one of today’s leading examples

gender equality and innovation through public sector programs, which can then be further adapted to fit the profile of private sector companies.

The Business Case for Women on Boards is a report issued by The Conference Board of Canada, offering valuable insight on how the integration of women in executive boards can bring tremendously positive results. Although the report contains decisions and strategies used by Canadian companies in their efforts to promote diversity, the information covered here can be easily acclimated to any company’s profile, regardless of geographic positioning or financial standings.

This is an important aspect to take into consideration, given that companies and organizations nowadays are always on the lookout for new ways of surpassing their competitors and offering even more satisfactory services to their customers. As such, bringing more women to the board room equates to a heightened degree of diversity in both theory and practice, since there are varying mindsets at work.

Moreover, executive female leaders have the ability to attract and retain top talent, whilst improving innovation and the overall financial performance of their company. Furthermore, women tend to have enhanced client insight, strong 38 APRIL 2016

performance on non-financial indicators and improved board effectiveness.

All these aspects have been taken into consideration and, as a result, nearly 60% of Financial Post 500 (FP500) companies, and approximately half of the publicly traded ones, have women on their boards.

Additionally, despite not being among the most heartwarming of statistics, women make up for approximately 14.5% of the directors of FP500 companies. A gaze back over the last decade’s gender statistics isolate this aspect as a considerable improvement.

A more detailed perspective of Canada informs that it is ranked as the ninth globally, among other majorly industrialized nations, which although lower than its previous sixth place, is still not a number to be ashamed of.

By taking each of the aforementioned benefits brought by having women on the chairman board in part and submitting them to scrutiny, even more intricate details ascend to surface.

For example, by having female executives, companies tend to perform better from a financial standpoint, particularly on the following financial measures: return on equity, return on sales, on capital, share performance and stock price growth.

According to the leading nonprofit organization for expanding opportunities for women and business, Catalyst, most Fortune 500 companies that had women on board, during the fiscal period of 2004

– 2008, had had a 26% higher return on invested capital and 16% higher return on sales. Credit Suisse - a leading global financial services company, in their 2012 study, found a positive correlation between having female leaders and increased financial benefits, especially after the post2008 stock market crash.

Coming back to Canada, we can add to these numbers the fact that nearly one quarter of senior managers in Canada, and one third of Canadian MBA graduates are women; thus, hiring women in top positions will only net an increase in a company’s talent pool.

Another particularly beneficial factor brought by female executives is the ability to enhance and build upon innovation. In professors Miller and del Carmen Triana’s research study from 2011, women are considered great innovators, due to the fact that ”they introduce new concepts and practices to their industries, establish organizational structures that facilitate innovation, adopt progressive management practices, provide training and development for employees and invest greatly in the R&D departments”.

Innovation spurs more accurate market and client insight, which leads to better product development, marketing, more active client and shareholder communication and improved customer service. Credit Suisse’s study highlights the fact that consumer-facing organizations and companies consider having women on the board a mandatory requirement,

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due to the fact that a female perspective is imperative to their financial and social success.

Engaging a professional search organization, using public or private lists, such as the Canadian “board-ready” women’s list developed by organizations like Catalyst or the Canadian Board Diversity Council or ensuring the presence of women on the nominating committee are just a few of the useful methods for improving female presence in boardrooms.

Moreover, in connection to this last aspect, women tend to perform better than men, so having a mix of both genders yields the greatest results on non-financial indicators, which have become increasingly crucial to a company’s survival on the market.

Better employee relations, ethical product sourcing and support for local communities, environmental and human rights causes are just a few of the advantages of having a mixed group of executives.

In addition, having a mixed group results in enhanced board effectiveness. Some of the key practices of boards boasting female directors are as follows: identifying clear criteria for measuring corporate strategy, monitoring implementation of corporate strategy, using outside search companies to select new board members, or providing board orientation programs for new directors.

Having all these in mind, the studies highlighted in this article show time and time again how having women in the executive room only yields benefits with no downsides. Greater opinion diversity, a multitude of research and development ideas, enhanced business acumen and improved financial and social sector profit are just a few of the gains brought by female executives.

What’s more so, these studies have concluded that the following decisions and ideas represent some of the strategies used by worldwide leading companies to attract and retain valuable female employees.

As the need for increased abilities regarding audit, HR and management procedures rises, companies need to target both genders.

Increase the Number of Women in the Leadership Pipeline Mentoring high-potential women and removing barriers barring women from rising to leadership positions are two of the recommended decisions to be undertaken.

Ensure Leadership Commitment CEO and board members must be committed to increasing the presence of women’s numbers on their boards in order to ensure that their companies go through sustainable and meaningful change.

Adopt Formal Board Policies Diversifying executive membership must be a guiding criterion for embedding women’s representation in the boardroom.

Companies must set explicit goals for hiring women and regularly evaluate their performance against certain targets like setting term limits, committing to reserving future openings for women or simply seeking out qualified female personnel for executive positions.

Recruit Outside the “C-Suite” Bearing in mind that there are quite many FP500 companies which do not have women on their boards, current executives should consider hiring directors of NGOs, academics or public sector senior managers, which are the job positions typically occupied by women.

Recruit Beyond Traditional Networks In order to garner a greater degree of diversity, recruitment efforts should be directed outside of traditional or wellestablished social and business networks.

Sponsor High-Potential Women Provide high-performing women with opportunities to develop the necessary skills for becoming directors, introduce them the already established networks and support their inclusion on boards.

Focus on Competencies and Ensure Nominating Committee Impartiality As the need for increased abilities regarding audit, HR and management procedures rises, companies need to target both genders in order to ensure they have the best possible candidates for the job; as an added effect, this also safeguards against any individual bias, since companies will hire potential talent from a broader spectrum and encourage a skill-oriented recruitment process.

Enfin, it is worthwhile to mention that any company wishing to bolster its chairman room’s diversity can always seek out professional companies and organizations specializing in consultation, management and administration of such tasks.

In regards to Canada, some noteworthy institutions are the Association of Quebec Women in Finance, Catalyst, Canadian Board Diversity Council, Canadian Women in Communications, Women in Capital Markets, Women’s Executive Network and many more. If we take into consideration the great strides achieved in equalizing workplace presence of both genders, it is most certain that nowadays such institutions exist in both industrialized and in developing countries.

APRIL 2016 39

AROUND THE WORLD

MEET CHINA’S BAIDU My organisational growth superhero CATALIN STOIA

A

663% year-on-year increase in net income. 397% year-over-year increase for one business segment. 189% YoY increase for another. 429% YoY increase in revenues from other services. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, it’s Baidu. The Google of China has recently announced its unaudited financial results corresponding to the fourth quarter and those of the entire fiscal year that ended on December 31st, 2015 and I am telling you, this super company is growing at a monumental pace.

‘Sorry, I don’t live in China… What is Baidu?’

Judging by the latest Chinese Internet search provider numbers, many would say that this company is a startup. Well, not quite. Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) was founded in the early 2000s, with the mission of helping people find information in the most effective way possible and connect them with services of all kinds. And what a connection they have indeed! Baidu has been growing rapidly and today, it is China’s largest search engine company. And that’s not all. Whenever I think, talk or write about (something made in) China, I feel that I have to use the phrase ”world’s largest” at some point. Per se, world’s largest Chinese-language interactive knowledgesharing platform, world’s first and largest Chinese-language query-based searchable online community platform and the world’s largest user40 APRIL 2016

generated Chinese-language encyclopedia, are all Baidu products. It’s quite understandable to have Chinese companies owning all these Chinese-language-based products, but what’s truly impressive is to have a single owner for all of them.

2015 in numbers I won’t write about Baidu’s milestones, there is enough information available on the Internet and trust me, it is worth the effort of reading more on this success story. Instead, let’s take a look at Baidu’s quarterly earnings reports.

You know, that quarterly billion dollar paper, in which all public companies report on their performance. Most companies file these reports in January, April, July and October. Talking about 2015, it started as handy as a pocket in a shirt, with the first quarterly report displaying a 47.5% growth in revenues, compared with the numbers issued in October, 2014. This growth was mainly driven by the mobile apps division, which showed that Baidu was finally ready to fight for this highly disputed market segment.

Baidu’s revenues made another great leap in Q1, being 34% higher compared with the previous quarter. The Chinese giant reported total revenues of CNY 15.56 bln in second quarter, 38% greater than in the first three months of the year. In the third quarter, the company showed increased strength especially in the mobile products market, comprising 54% of its total revenues, up 17% compared with the corresponding period in 2014.

For the 4th quarter, the results were even more significant: total revenues accounted for CNY 18.7 bln, a 33.1% increase from

2014’s last quarter. Net income attributable to Baidu in Q4 was CNY 24.7 bln, 663% higher than the corresponding time period in the year before. Some other shocking numbers relate to gross merchandise values (397% year-over-year increase), monthly mobile search active users (657 million, up 21% YoY), and Baidu Wallet activated accounts (53 million, after a 189% increase YoY). Below you will find a brief summary of Baidu’s income report for 2015.

Baidu has been growing rapidly and today it is China’s largest search engine company.

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Baidu, Inc. - Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (in RMB thousands except for share, per share (or ADS) information)

Three Months Ended

Twelve Months Ended

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

September 30, 2015

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2014

Unaudited

Unaudited

Unaudited

Unaudited

Audited

Online marketing services

17,610,379

13,844,607

17,680,374

64,037,006

48,495,215

Other services

1,088,415

205,622

702,707

2,344,723

557,103

Total revenues

1,088,415

205,622

702,707

2,344,723

557,103

Cost of revenues (note 1, 2)

(8,149,327)

(5,438,351)

(7,479,580)

(27,458,030)

(18,885,450)

Selling, general and administrative (note 2)

(4,527,813)

(3,524,371)

(5,701,859)

(17,076,383)

(10,382,142)

Research and development (note 2)

(2,486,778)

(2,135,506)

(2,689,970)

(10,175,762)

(6,980,962)

Total operating costs and expenses

(15,163,918)

(11,098,228)

(15,871,409)

(54,710,175)

(36,248,554)

3,534,876

2,952,001

2,511,672

11,671,554

12,803,764

Interest income

572,725

573,154

616,171

2,362,632

1,992,818

Interest expense

(299,372)

(183,575)

(329,372)

(1,041,394)

(628,571)

Foreign exchange income, net

106,007

22,873

61,407

181,802

75,780

Gain (loss) from equity method investments

23,119

1,142

(8,856)

3,867

(19,943)

Other income, net

24,294,280

96,054

200,625

24,728,162

260,558

Total other income

24,696,759

509,648

539,975

26,235,069

1,680,642

Income before income taxes

28,231,635

3,461,649

3,051,647

37,906,623

14,484,406

Income taxes

(3,679,909)

(538,493)

(590,517)

(5,474,377)

(2,231,271)

Net income

24,651,726

2,923,156

2,461,130

32,432,246

12,253,234

(60,085)

(315,776)

(379,939)

(1,231,927)

(943,698)

24,711,811

3,238,932

2,841,069

33,664,173

(943,698)

Revenues

Operating costs and expenses

Operating profit

Other income

Less: net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests Net income attributable to Baidu, Inc.

2015 predictions Baidu’s executives are extremely satisfied with last year’s results, which is more than understandable. And the forecasts for this year are encouraging, especially because of that one thing we all care about: it starts with a “c” and ends in “ash”. Yep, you got it.

Baidu has one of China’s largest on-demand cash reserves at the moment, compared with all other industry competitors, cash that will definitely be used to acquire new ventures or invest in businesses that are à la mode. Besides its well-known undertakings in e-commerce, financial and local services, healthcare and education, Baidu has developed special programmes for monitoring a wide array of variables, from

train and flight travel during the Spring Festival, certain severe diseases, to movie box offices successes, natural hazards and even competitive sports results.

In terms of total revenue, Baidu expects a YoY increase between 21.1% and 25.5% in the first quarter of 2016, mainly due to its focus on expanding their online marketing segment and transactions services platform. This is wholly justified, given the recent boom felt in service and domestic consumption, even though China’s overall growth came to a stand.

The free MP3 search and download service provided by Baidu, along with the fact that

Google servers are being blocked in China, will make it easier for the company to build the Next Baidu, focusing on maximizing its development, given China’s current economic and social trends.

In the end, I wish to leave you with a thought: keep an eye out on how Baidu will be performing this year. I think it will be pretty hard not to observe shocking figures, hear big news, feel the sweet smell of success - Baidu’s success, especially in April, July, October and January. But you have to wait until then, for the reports to come out. And if you won’t be sure whether you saw a bird or a plane, believe me, you will know by then.

APRIL 2016 41

AROUND THE WORLD

NOTTINGHAM’S FOCUS ON CHILDREN’S EDUCATION TUDOR MODRUZ

T

he Nottingham City Council has a number of mandatory duties for ensuring that outcomes for all children and students are positive in any type of educational facility they attend, inside or outside city boundaries. Even if schools have their own improvement plan, the City Council still plays a vital role by providing guidance and leadership. Their role is very important in a context where:

a child’ overall school and community experience. The 2020 Nottingham Plan aims to increase young people’s life aspirations and job accessibility in the local economy.

The Children and Young People’s Plan, agreed by upon by the Children’s Partnership Board, highlights the counties’ top priorities for education development, in which engagement, attendance and attainment are emerging as key improvement areas.

The proportion of children under the age of 16 years, living in poverty (i.e. living in households where no one is working), stands at over 35% and equates to over 19,500 children.

Education, learning and skills are important areas from Nottingham’s City Growth Plan, in which businesses, schools and colleges are cooperating to increase the chances of young people’s professional development, wishing to bring the best of both worlds, skills and attitude, in offering them a proper education.

Over 27% of pupils (including those in academies) have English as an additional language.

Over 21% of pupils (including those in academies) have a certain level of Special Educational Needs.

The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of the UK government, which rated primary schools from Nottingham city as being ”good or better in general”. But the city council, alongside all the schools involved are determined to achieve the “outstanding” rating for all their education facilities in the following years.

Education is a top priority in the Nottinghamshire county and as such, there are many plans which aim to improve 42 APRIL 2016

The ”Statutory guidance for local authorities”, released by the United Kingdom’s Department for Education, recognizes the importance of local authorities in the process of supporting educational excellence in learning facilities. It stated that local authorities should consider some of the following aspects in order to improve local children’s education: Evaluate the performance of schools, by using data to identify young individuals in need of educational assistance Take swift and efficient actions when standard failures appear in schools Build a strong bond with educational leaders in the area

Encourage schools to initiate their own improvement strategies Enable schools to buy resources from a wide range of providers, in order to diversify their learning approach In order to coordinate sustainable and effective partnerships between individual schools, businesses and academies, the city council deve`loped the Nottingham City Education Improvement Board (EIB), which will ensure strong partnership actions on six priority actions: 1. Leadership and Management 2. Governance 3. Recruitment 4. Attainment and Progress 5. Quality of Teaching & Learning 6. Behaviors and Attendance, including safety Educational partnerships are strong and can really increase education standards by strengthening communication, collaboration and expertise sharing among all the involved parties.

Nottingham City Council developed an action plan for every school year, in which they focus on several priority areas. In every developed priority area, they also agreed on taking some corrective actions if needed, in order to keep the development process flawless.

Simply noticing an issue and not suggesting a solution is quite unhelpful, especially when it comes to matters such as education. Since Nottingham wishes to see their young ones aptly prepared for life’s challenges, ensuring a proper educational level is a must.

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Nottingham City Council Action Plan for school year 2014 – 2015 Priority Area

Action agreed

Quality of teaching and learning

1) Clarify Nottingham City Council’s Core School Improvement Offer, ensuring that schools are aware of what local authority support is available to them.

2) Review the resource and capacity available within Nottingham City Council to deliver the core school improvement offer.

3) Identify support available from partners to enable Nottingham City Council to effectively broker and sign-post schools to progammes of school improvement activity.

Quality of leadership, management and governance

1) Externally review the current Governor training offer to ensure it reflects best practice.

2) Establish a City Governance Academy, offering an accredited training programme for City Governors.

3) Continue programme of Governance Reviews where leadership and governance is identified as an area of weakness.

4) Work with business leaders to recruit 50 additional, high quality school Governors.

Attainment and progress of pupils

1) Develop an information sharing protocol with schools and academies to enable live data sharing on key measures.

2) Establish a clear intervention policy which describes how we will use data and intelligence to inform an early intervention approach to supporting school which are causing concern.

3) Consider City-wide performance information to identify cohorts of children or common issues where City-wide action would deliver improvements for pupils, schools and for the City.

Behaviour, safety and attendance of pupils

1) Contribute to a programme of Behaviour Reviews in Secondary schools, judged to require special measures or have serious weaknesses.

2) Deliver the City-wide attendance campaign 3) Introduce ‘check and challenge’ for Council colleagues and partners when they see children out of school.

4) Work with Nottingham City Secondary Education Partnership to develop a vision for secondary alternative provision in the City.

Key Performance Measures Measure

Baseline (year)

Statistical Neighbour* Group Avg

Benchmarking LA Rank (of 11)

2014/15 Target**

% of pupils in good or outstanding schools (Primary)

75% (Summer 2014)

Not Available

Not Available

75%

% of pupils in good or outstanding schools (Secondary)

56% (Summer 2014)

Not Available

Not Available

70%

% of schools that are good or outstanding

71% (Summer 2014)

78% (Ofsted June14)

10th (Ofsted June 2014)

75%

EYFSP GLD in Prime, Literacy and Mathematics areas

47% (Prov. 2014)

48% (SFR 2013)

11th (SFR 2013)

Increase

Key Stage 1 L2+ Reading, Writing and Mathematics (R,W & M)

R 84%, W 79%, M 87% (Pro. SFR 2014)

R 88%, W 93%, M 90% (Pro SFR 2014)

R 11th, W 11th, M 11th (Pro. SFR 2014)

R 85%, W 81%, M88%

Key Stage 2 L4+ Reading, Writing and Mathematics

73% (Pro. SFR 2014)

76% (Pro. SFR 2014)

11th (Pro. SFR 2014)

76%

Key Stage 2 L4+ RWM FSM Attainment

63% (Pro. SFR 2014)

60% (SFR 2013)

5th (SFR 2013)

65%

Key Stage 2 making the expected progress in R, W & M

Combined 83% (Prov. 2014) R 90%, W 92%, M90% (Pro. SFR 2014)

R 90%, W 93%, M90% (Pro. SFR 2014)

R 6th, W 8th, M 4th (Pro. SFR 2014)

85%

Key Stage 2 exceeding expected progress in R, W & M

11% (Prov. 2014)

Not Available

Not Available

12%

GCSE (Key Stage 4) 5+ A*-C (inc. English and Maths)

43.3% (Prov. 2014 Nat. Avg 52.6%)

49.6% (Pro. SFR 2014)

11th (Pro. SFR 2014)

48.9%

GCSE (Key Stage 4) 5+ A*-C (inc. English and Maths) Gap to National

9.3% (Prov. 2014)

3% (Pro. SFR 2014)

11th (Pro. SFR 2014)

Close

Following the United Kingdom’s Department for Education guidance, Nottingham City Council developed a standardized framework, in order to efficiently measure if their initiatives, plans and partnerships are going in the right direction and if education levels are improving.

Therefore, the framework analyses the results from the baseline year of 2014, balanced with

the Statistical Neighbor Group Average and a local authorities benchmarking threshold.

The framework also contains a target area, where each measure has its desired results for the scholar year of 2014/2015.

Local authorities from every part of the world should be actively involved in the educational development processes in their geographical areas. Education should

not be underestimated, because it has a significant impact on young people’s start in life, by honing their skills and potential.

Ensuring that children will receive the best learning experience they can get must be a commitment that all local authorities share. A modern and reliable education system offers children the foundational development on which they can and will build their future.

APRIL 2016 43

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44 APRIL 2016

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APRIL 2016 45

EVENTS CUSTOMER SERVICE PERFORMANCE

7 TIPS ON HOW TO HANDLE ANGRY CUSTOMERS WITHOUT LOSING YOUR COOL MADALINA GABOR

W easy

orking in customer service can be and rewarding when someone calls with a simple problem or complaint to solve. However, some customers make it tough to keep your composure. When you are talking to rude or angry customers, it is a natural reaction for you to want to get angry in return — but you are at work and you cannot let that happen. Summarized below are seven tips on how to handle angry customers without flipping the switch, whether it be on the phone, on live chat or help sessions or any other service.

1 . Don’t Take It Personally

Although angry customers take their frustrations out on you, they understand that you did not cause their problem. Allow them to vent their anger, but do not take it personally. Listen to their story without interrupting and then find a way to help them.

2 . Never Argue Back

It is natural for customers that are upset to express their anger, but some customers can take things too far and your reaction may be to defend yourself. However, as a professional customer service specialist, you should never argue back. Maintain your integrity and be the better person.

If customers begin to verbally abuse you, let them know that you understand their frustration and that being rude will not solve their problem. Let the customer know that you are there to help, but you cannot do so until they calm down.

46 APRIL 2016

3 . Kill Them with Kindness

If your angry customer refuses to calm down, then kill them with kindness. Be sincere, respectful and understanding. Be sympathetic towards their situation and channel your inner empathy when dealing with their frustration. By keeping calm and controlling your anger, you may find that your customer will ease up a little too. Try to make a joke to lighten the mood or share a story to show that you can relate.

4 . Be Patient

Each person and situation is different, so be patient and understand that it may take a little longer for some angry customers to relax — and some may get angrier as the call or live chat continues. Stay in control and try to direct the conversation to a happy resolution. Do not rush the phone call or live chat, but keep in mind that you have other customers to help.

5 . Know How to Apologize

When the time is right, apologize to your customer. I know how difficult it is to be sincere when you are trying not to lose your cool, but for the sake of calming down your customer, try your hardest to give a genuine apology. Depending on the customer’s complaint and the direction of the conversation, there are a few different ways you can apologize.

“I’m sorry you are unhappy with your purchase. Let’s work together to turn things around.”

“I’m sorry you didn’t receive your purchase on time. Let me find out what I can do to make it up to you.”

“I’m sorry you are so frustrated. I understand where you are coming from and I will do my best to help you.”

6 . Solve the Problem

Once your angry customer has finally exhausted his or herself, ask questions to gather facts on the problem. Work with your customer to find a resolution that satisfies you both or else you will go right back to where your conversation began.

However, keep in mind that you are running a business and do not dilly-dally over a single complaint. The solution should be fair, efficient and justifiable for both parties.

7 . Relieve Your Stress

End the phone call or live chat on a happy note and find a way to relieve your stress.

Let your anger go away with your customer.

Whether you take a walk around the office, drink a cup of coffee, eat a piece of candy or vent to a coworker, do not keep stress cooped up inside you. If you do not relieve stress, you will be a ticking time bomb, waiting to lose your cool on the next angry customer — or even worse, your boss.

It is simply not worth it to store up anger, hoping that it will go away on its own. It rarely does. So again, do not hesitate to find a way of venting when the going gets tough.

CUSTOMER SERVICE PERFORMANCE

TRENDS IN CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE CASANDRA COVALEOV

H with your company and brand over

ow do customers feel, as they engage

time? How well do your interactions with them meet their expectations and fulfill their wants and needs?

Putting this in other words, if your customers like you and enjoy doing business with you, they’ll continue to do so. If they don’t, they won’t. Customer Experience has always been about creating predictions and trends by yourself, about trying to know your clients first and foremost.

If Customer Experience (CE) isn’t your priority, you’ll lose.

This is a simple rule that will make or break a business, on any given day. As commodities across industries become easier to get hold of, the importance of differentiated instances of Customer Experience continues to increase, as evidenced by the fact that 89% of companies expect to compete mostly on the basis of Customer Experience in 2016, versus 36% just five years ago, according to the research and advisory firm, Gartner.

Offering an integrated and personalized Customer Experience, across digital channels, is key to both understanding and meeting customers’ preferences. What’s even more so, customers expect it, therefore personalization and customization are staples of Customer Experience. Engaged customers, on average, buy 50% more frequently, spend 200% more each year and are five times more likely to indicate that your brand is the only one they would purchase in the future. As you can see, engaged customers are valuable customers.

Engagement may be hard to measure and difficult to generate, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. You need to understand that if your customers don’t like what you are offering or how you are doing it, they’ll

leave. Dramatically shorten your time to resolution and create happier, more loyal customers who can’t help but evangelize your company’s support. The faster an issue is solved, the less of a negative impression it will leave on your clients.

There are many studies supporting the notion that 80 to 90% of customers that have had a bad experience will simply dismiss your company as a viable option when it comes to satisfying their needs, with little chance of going back on that thought. One don’t need research to understand the logic behind this.

As Gulfstream president, Mark Burns said, “people have been amazed by technology”.

Hardly surprising, as most business leaders worldwide said technology had changed customer expectations in the past 5 to 10 years. Non-human digital assistants (artificial intelligence) will increase in number, providing seamless two-way engagement with customers that mimic human conversations via text or phone, listening and speaking. This is already happening in many places.

As gloomy as all this may sound, automated customer service has a bad reputation, as people tend to prefer live chat and not a cold, automated response. Therefore, to ensure that human-provided customer support is superior to its automated counterpart, your customer experience should be mobile. This means anytime, anywhere, for anyone.

This also means that CE needs to have dedicated and capable individuals delivering such services. As a result, Customer Experience leaders started focusing on their employees’ workplace experience, as there is a strong correlation between happier, more productive employees and a better

Customer Experience service.

This is one of the reasons for which employee experience and workplace experience are among the fastest growing areas of experience design.

It’s high time that Customer Experience took its place among the key factors for achieving market success. Such departments have access to rich data and powerful tools that can reveal much about existing and potential customers. Nowadays, brands have more opportunities than ever to attract potential customers through content which supports an inbound sales process. Good customer service isn’t always about knowing the right answer.

Oftentimes, it’s about finding the right answer so that your customer doesn’t have to. And smartly using your Social Media as a platform for your Customer Experience efforts will become the lifeblood of your business.

APRIL 2016 47

EVENTS BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT

THE IMPORTANCE OF CORE VALUES IN BUILDING A POWERFUL BUSINESS RAMONA GLIGOREA

A

s worldwide companies continue to develop within current economies, there is nothing more important in growing and maintaining successful businesses than identifying your core guiding values.

Companies should regard them as basic foundational elements for establishing meaningful mission, vision and strategic goals.

They all define the culture of an organization, which is the main source of its competitive advantage and brand differentiation two important aspects that enable an organization to thrive.

Defining core values According to U.S. Community Health Care Center, values are the principles and ideals that bind an organization together, including the customers, employees, vendors and all stakeholders. They are developed to form an ethical context for the organization and to many, they are the foundation for decision-making within the organization.

Core values stand at the core of human decisionmaking, they form our attitudes and

guide our behavior in different circumstances.

If we work in a company guided by values aligned with our personal values, then we are able not only to contribute with our expertise, creativity or enthusiasm, but we are also bringing our commitment to the success of the organization.

Core values stand at the core of human decision-making, they form our attitudes and guide our behavior Importance of core values Values at work are important for several reasons, as they: Provide the company with a framework of how employees should treat each other and the company’s customers; Give us guidelines for our behavior in different stressful situations; Help enable people and organizations be successful in competitive markets; Provide stability through change – when implementing changes they should be in line with the company’s values;

48 APRIL 2016

BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT

TEAMWORK

HONESTY

Outline how the company is different from other providers to clients and potential new employees in comparison to other employers. People usually chose one organization over another because of their values; Give a sense of trust and pride among employees and help them understand what the organization position on people and work is; Can provide a measurement of success for individuals, as some organizations include them in employee performance reviews. Here we can mention as an example the ten core values of the Zappos company, which are taken into account in performance reviews and recruitment processes; Are the essence of a company culture that accurately outlines what is fair and foul play within the working environment, making sure to convey the message that what really matters is to have your actions governed by these values.

Overcoming challenges It is widely known among management teams that bringing individuals together in a working environment and getting them to collaborate as an effective team is a real challenge.

Identifying core values, defining them and just posting them throughout the organization is not the way it works. They should be readily available and shared on

RECOGNITION

any company social media channels, but they have to be reviewed and discussed in business meetings with all employees. When presenting them, an emotional connection should be made between each core value and all employees. They have to understand what needs to be accomplished.

Bringing individuals together and getting them to collaborate as an effective team is a real challenge This way, employees will develop a deep understanding of these core values and internalize them. However, in order to ensure a higher level of employee commitment in embracing the aforementioned values, all employees have to be aware that violating a core value will result in disciplinary action.

One more important aspect is that top management and team leaders should be the main supporters of the core values. When leaders become the living embodiment of such traits, subordinates will follow suit.

In fact, this is where most challenges come from – getting leaders to act consistently, according to the embraced core values.

Core values in practice and meaning Values differ from one company to another.

However, there should not be more than ten core values established at a time, which should be symbolized by one word followed

DEVELOPMENT

by a brief definition and exemplified behaviors.

Here are some are a few illustrations: Teamwork Can refer to listening and respecting each other, while working together to achieve common goals; Honesty Refers to being open and honest in everything you do, maintaining a high level of integrity, no matter what situation you find yourself in; Recognition Is about outlining the idea that everybody’s efforts and contribution are rewarded and celebrated within the team environment; Personal development Refers to the fact that the company is focused on constantly developing personnel abilities, through learning and mentoring capabilities, which will be reflected in the way the company’s customer needs are met.

To conclude, identifying and establishing core values embraced by all employees, leaders and top management is definitely one of the toughest, but still most rewarding things to be done in management. After all, first off we want to work for companies that are guided by firm principles, supported by their top management executives, which constantly work to enhance these principles’ effectiveness and secondly, be surrounded by co-workers who are led by the same principles.

APRIL 2016 49

EVENTS PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

BUILDING LEARNING ORGANIZATIONS: STEPS AND KEY SUCCESS FACTORS ROXANA BARB

O

rganizations should be aware that old methods and strategies may not apply in a fast changing environment, and in which an increasing number of companies are more innovative in their businesses.

Managers should take into account that external factors are continuously changing and because of them, their companies need to constantly learn. If these businesses cannot do this, then they risk professional obsolescence.

A learning organization is a company which can create, acquire and transfer knowledge and can alter its behavior to showcase any new knowledge and insight. Companies should plan their learning process gradually and periodically, because managers and employees should be kept up-to-date with the latest advancements in the field.

5 success factors have been linked to creating a learning organization: Knowing that corporate learning is “informal”.

Employees which have the opportunity to follow informal programs (e.g. coaching, mentoring, on-demand trainings, different support tools) in their companies become more performant. These practices are more efficient and they allow employees to rapidly embrace and better understand new changes.

Promoting and rewarding expertise.

Today’s workforce is getting more and more specialized and organizations should develop programs to promote and reward them. Companies should recognize the efforts of its employees and they should give them career progression opportunities, ways for improvement and of getting public recognition for their work.

50 APRIL 2016

Release the experts’ power.

In a company, experts should have the chance to share their knowledge with their peers and other employees. In a work environment where this aspect is promoted, people become more and more willing to grow and develop their skills and abilities.

Value of formal training.

Managers need to offer their employees formal training opportunities, such as conferences or training courses, even if it means that their staff members will be out of the office for some days.

Allowing employees to make mistakes.

It is a known fact that people learn more from their own mistakes than by others telling them what is wrong or not.

It is a known fact that people learn more from their own mistakes than by others telling them what is wrong or not.

For an efficient implementation of these key factors, three important aspects need to be solved. First of all is meaning. There should be an accurate definition of learning organizations, which should be easy enough to grasp so that companies quickly adopt it.

The second issue is management. Every organization needs clear, practical guidelines

which consist of operational advices. The last point is about measurement. In order to analyze and measure the rate and level of learning, organizations need proper tools and systems.

After accounting for all three aspects, learning organizations are qualified to undertake five activities: Systematic problem solving Training programs established by the company should include techniques on how to solve problems and should focus more on practical exercises and examples. Employees should develop their analytical skills and frequently ask “Is it true/correct?”. They must push themselves into analyzing problems and paying more attention to details.

Xerox is an example of creating a problemsolving process, which includes identifying problems and coming up with solutions for them. This way, the focus is not only on the problem, but also on its solution.

Experimenting with new approaches Companies need to search and test new knowledge systematically. It is essential to test new information before it is put in practice.

Experimentation has two sides: ongoing programs and one-time demonstration projects. The first category includes smallsize tests, which are created to get high profit and improve daily programs. As for the demonstration projects, they‘re comprised of complex and bigger experiments. They are used when a company wants to develop new organizational capabilities.

Learning from past experiences Every organization must analyze its mistakes, successes and failures step by

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

EXPERTISE Releasing the experts’ power

RECOGNITION

TRAINING

Promoting and rewarding expertise

Understanding the innate value of training

- SUCCESS FACTORS -

NON-FORMALITY

FREEDOM

Corporate, yet informal learning

Allowing room for error

step and it should make them available to all employees so that they learn from past experiences. If a manager cannot do this, then his/her organization may not advance and cannot be performant in a fast-paced environment.

Learning from others An organization should be capable to reflect on why companies from other fields of expertise are successful and find those high growth factors which have made them performant. A company’s business environment has several good lessons which can help a company learn and thrive.

Transferring knowledge A company should not only be able to analyze failures and successes in both the internal and external business environment, but it should also be capable of rapidly and efficiently conveying solutions and any

gained knowledge, to all the organization’s employees. For this purpose, managers use various methods: written, oral and visual reports, training programs, site tours and standardization programs.

Creating a learning organization has several benefits, since it increases productivity and profit and it decreases employee turnover due to the employees’ growing levels of satisfaction and loyalty. Other important outputs are developing leaders and enhancing the ability for each employee to accept and easily adapt to changes.

I believe that organizations need to learn in order for them to be relevant on the market and more easily adapt to whatever environmental changes and innovations this century brings forth. Companies should be aware that they cannot survive on the market if they do not keep up with the latest developments.

APRIL 2016 51

INNOVATION PERFORMANCE

60

DIGITAL ANALYTICS: REDEFINING BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

50 40 30 20 10

90%

RALUCA BOGHIAN

80% 40

30

50%

I actions has generated the apparition of a new concept: analytics. n the digital world, the need to better understand marketing

20

Two years after Forbes proclaimed 2014 the year of the analytics, the importance of the discipline has not dropped one bit: with the ever increasing role of the digital element in our lives, marketers continue to require insights into what the impact of their campaigns is, how users respond to marketing messages, or how often websites are visited, and so on.

10

2011

2013

2014

2016

A good indicator of how the concept of analytics has grown in importance is revealed by simply looking at Google Trends: after first appearing in search queries in 2011, the volume of searches surged in 2013, and continued to grow sharply after that.

70 60

80 20

50 40 30

60

52 APRIL 2016

20 10

So, what is digital analytics?

The concept was defined in a comprehensive manner by Avinash Kaushik, author of Web Analytics 2.0 and Google Analytics evangelist: “Digital analytics is the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from your business and the competition to drive a continual improvement of the online experience that your customers and potential customers have which translates to your desired outcomes (both online and offline).”

The definition stresses the fact that, for a business to reach its desired outcomes, it needs to continually improve the online experience of its customers and potential customers. The best way to do this is to look at what is already happening both within the own business and within the competition’s business and analyze the data to reach conclusions that would guide managers in their decision making.

INNOVATION PERFORMANCE

Business owners need to be aware of the importance of

Who visits the business site

analytics and understand that their business needs to focus

What are those people doing once they get there;

on the user.

Although used interchangeably, digital analytics and marketing analytics have slightly different meanings. HubSpot reveals what marketing analytics refers to: “Marketing analytics go beyond measuring strictly online performance, favoring a more holistic approach to the measurement of marketing efforts.

By connecting all areas of marketing, including offline efforts, with sales and lead generation results, marketing analytics reveal the direct impact marketing has on pipeline generation and revenue growth.”

The challenges of diving into analytics Although the importance of analytics surged in the past years, there are plenty of business owners who can’t grasp what the impact of not looking into data really translates into.

Websites and campaigns are no longer about the brand, they are about the client.

Approaches which fail to dive deep into the numbers that show how a user behaves on a website, or in relation to a certain campaign are soon to be forgotten.

Additionally, marketers who have just started using analytics have the tendency to look more into what are called vanity metrics: visits to the site, page views, number of newsletter subscribers, followers on social media, bounce rate, or time spent on your site. While this may be useful for giving a broad idea on what is happening, these numbers alone fail to deliver a comprehensive image of how the business performs. Neil Patel suggests looking at other metrics too:

What channels are driving buying customers;

Who is converting;

What conversions are deepening relationships;

What conversions are driving revenue;

Who is buying multiple times;

What’s a lifetime customer’s value.

Another challenge is related to the existing tools that aren’t always real analytics tools, but rather they are automation tools with a little tracking, as mentioned by Hausman in her article, “An Insider’s Guide to Digital Marketing Analytics.” To make the right choice, a marketer needs to test the functionalities of different tools to see if the insights they provide are satisfactory. But a great fallback, in case there are too many options to choose from, is Google Analytics. The complexity of this tool goes beyond the simple measurement of website traffic and bounce rate, allowing marketers to measure how their campaigns are performing. And what channels are the ones the audience better responds to by driving more traffic to the website.

Addressing challenges When it comes to solutions for the challenges of diving into analytics, a straightforward approach consists of raising awareness and developing skills.

First of all, business owners need to be aware of the importance of analytics and understand that their business needs to focus on the user. Naturally, the best way to do this is gaining actionable insights from the business and from competition, through data analysis.

Secondly,nothingcanbedonewithouttheexpertise of the analytics savvy marketers. Fortunately, the analytics tools, like Google Analytics, as well as marketing automation software like HubSpot, all provide educational support for understanding and using them. Take, for example, the invaluable training offered through the Google Analytics online course. To take full advantage of it, one first needs to learn about all the ways in which it can be used, how to properly implement it, and only then link their websites to the tool.

Last but not least, deriving from the awareness of business owners and skills acquisition of marketers, the most effective and actually, the only reasonable way of implementing analytics is by building a plan that takes the business model into account. The next step is to develop a set of metrics that best reflect the business model in discussion: look at the business strategy and derive KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) from it. The indicator selection should include metrics that are placed at the initial stages of interaction with the client, such as reach, engagement, but also the later stages of interaction, such as conversion rate, or ROI. After proper implementation is completed, it is good to keep in mind that this was only the beginning, thee first part of the journey.

From here on, more challenges will come.

APRIL 2016 53

STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

HOW TO MEASURE THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT CRISTINA TARĂ‚TA

M

any companies are facing difficulties in measuring performance of support functions within the organization, such as Human Resources, Information Technology, or the Finance and Accounting Department.

What sets apart these functional areas from sales or production, is the difficulty in capturing the outputs, or the impact of their work on the organization. It is a common mistake for companies to focus on measuring what is easy to measure such as $ Sales, % Sales quota attainment, % Market share, # Production cycle time or # Production output.

However, in order to produce the best results for the organization, a performance management system should be aligned across the organization, and not isolated around the key functional areas.

Common KPIs to monitor the performance of the Accounting Department are:

Timeliness # Days to close the books and sign off the month # Days to close the books and sign off the year # Time to process invoices # Time to process transaction /payment # Time spent correcting documents or input data per week # Payroll processing time % Financial reports submitted on time % Travel expense accounts processed in three days # Days in accounts receivable Quality % Input errors detected % Invoices accuracy % Accuracy of transactions /payments # Factual errors identified in reports # Errors reported by outside auditors % Audit recommendations implemented % Transaction items requiring reconciliation % Collection rate of outstanding amounts Generic KPIs # Internal complaints received # Internal customer satisfaction index with accounting services % Tasks finalized on time % Internal procedures updated % Processes optimized # Accounting employees to FTEs ratio # Improvement ideas coming from accounting employees # Accounting employees engagement index

Based on the departmental strategy and the objectives formulated, suitable KPIs can be selected to monitor performance.

In the case of larger companies, the accounting department can consist of different teams which manage specific activities: accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll. In this context, a dashboard can be used to monitor all the key activities, in conjunction with a scorecard, that will comprise the strategic objectives and the KPIs. Some of the KPIs presented above under the clusters Timeliness and Quality, can also be measured at individual level. For example, # Payroll processing time can be different from one accountant to another and an internal SLA (Service Level Agreement) can be established for this activity, while also taking into account the qualitative aspect of work, such as # Payroll errors.

By clarifying the role of the accounting function and establishing a strategy, it becomes more easily to identify its overall contribution to the organization. Objectives help managers to map this contribution, while KPIs keep them focused on what matters the most for the department.

As such, ensuring that you are measuring proper targets and objectives is of paramount importance. Having a clear vision for your department, as specified earlier, will only aid you in this endeavor.

Remember – efficiency and performance require coherence, precision and a streamlined thought process.

ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE

IS YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED? CRISTINA TARÂTA

C

ulture is an intriguing component of the organizational system. 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. There have been indeed various tools to get the pulse of the organizational culture, even by using KPIs. 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

Performance is a concept usually associated with processes that are more technical than culture. 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 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 performanceoriented 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; APRIL 2016 55

ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Transparency regarding decisions and performance levels establishes greater levels of credibility.

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 performance-driven perspective can become quite the leverage for companies wishing to get ahead of their competition.

To 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 56 APRIL 2016

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.

ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE

ORGANISATIONAL MEETINGS: FOSTERING DIALOGUE BETWEEN EXECUTIVES AND EMPLOYEES MARCELA PRESECAN

T

he average senior manager spends up to 23 hours per week preparing, 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. Wikis are web applications that provide an ideal environment for distributing work-related tasks and managing documents. They keep track of changes and assign individuals for each editing activity. Project Management applications such as “Wrike” or “Basecamp” enable file sharing, information exchange and task assigning.

There are, indeed, a number of visionaries who indulge in 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 meeting with the boss? Formal purpose aside, meetings have a networking and even a team-building purpose for employees.

Meetings foster team cohesiveness, and as such 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.

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:

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.

Directing the meeting Conversations intended to influence the content and process of the meeting;

A steady agenda tracking Maintain focus on the key topics of the agenda by minimizing distractions.

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

Creativity and innovation encouragement for an overall contribution 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-to-one 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 enhance traditional meetings.

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 undergo a study on the use of IM during organizational meetings.

They have identified an “invisible whispering”,

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; Providing social support Conversations that encouraged uncontributing 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 decisionmaking processes, organized separate 10-20 minute 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.

APRIL 2016 57

ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE

TRANSPARENCY AND OPENNESS CHALLENGES IN 2015’S ORGANIZATIONS DIANA ZARNESCU

16%

92%

of 1,700 CEOs used social media

of CEOs switched their minds

to interact with customers

by 2016 and now interact

in 2012

via social media

O forced, partly willing, to make drastic rganizations today have been partly

changes within their operational strategies and general management processes.

Companies face the highest degree of public exposure ever known in history. Technically, every little bit of information, whether disclosed or not, can, and will, eventually, find its way to a public. The sole savior solution for a company is to purposely expose itself or, simply put, to lay the cards on the table.

However, being completely exposed in front of the general public is now regarded as one of the best management practices, with studies revealing that companies employing this strategy outperform their more secretive competitors by as much as 30%.

If transparency within governments is completely understandable, why has it become intrinsic within private companies likewise? In this case, the new generation of workers were drivers of the disclosure process.

If, during the early 2000s and earlier on, the employee was the one who had to adapt and comply with an organization’s 58 APRIL 2016

imposed conditions, nowadays the situation may have turned as much as 180 degrees around. The bottom line is that, today, when an employee feels he no longer fits with the company he works for, there is no force capable of retaining that person from leaving. Therefore, an employee will change jobs as many times as it is necessary until he finds a working environment with which he can relate.

Another characteristic specific only to the younger generation within the workforce is that every single individual is a “knowledge worker,” meaning that they’re education is not restricted to one field. They are complex thinkers and problem solvers. Above all, they desire to be included in the managerial vision and want to clearly see the impact their work has on the organization. Because of these specific employee traits, any company that willfully isolates personnel from its managerial processes will eventually be rendered dysfunctional. Those employees that will not quit will be completely disengaged.

In addition to workers’ ambition to be employees of a company they relate to, come the multiple demands of internationallybased customers, not only for purchases, but

also for feedback. Social media is the tool that made this aspect happen. To ignore, as a company, customer engagement processes means taking the straight path towards a new crisis. Ignoring a situation does not mean it will fade away but rather that it will increase to the point it is out of control. Customers will talk and spread rumors, worsening a possibly inexistent situation. This situation could be easily avoided through timely feedback by use of social media platforms.

No business decision should rely on the saying that “bad publicity is better than no publicity.”

The reaction from the managerial side was very quick-paced. If, in 2012, when an IBM CEO study revealed that only 16% out of 1,700 CEOs employed social media platforms to interact with their customers, three years later we find a different, but not surprising, reality. The 2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report pointed out that as much as 92% of marketers place social media interaction as a highly-valuable driver for business growth.

Now, although this situation comes as no surprise, the question is to what extent does a company share information to customers

ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE

and employees? When can the openness and transparency strategies become harmful to business? The most frank way to answer is: never. Although this may leave many disappointed it, nonetheless, represents the best strategy. It can be viewed as choosing the lesser of two evils.

Namely, due to the high degree of employed technology within the business environments today but, at the same time, the small degree of security this provides, there is no safe way to ensure that a piece of information will remain hidden from public eyes. If such an information takes the public by surprise, in a negative sense, then whatever trust they had with the company may be lost forever. Additionally, the following crisis management measures may prove to be without results on the same basis.

However, by disclosing information willingly, whether good or bad, a relationship of trust is created among both employees and clients. Moreover, the organization appears, to them, more humane and, thus, they can relate to it. If an

organization appears humane, whether it is in its customers’ eyes, or in the employees’, then a feeling of empathy is triggered and the process of forgiveness is more than likely to occur. This prevents employees from leaving in high numbers and clients from switching turning to the competition for products/services.

the time safety issues) information. What surprised most analysts was, that through this sincere response, even if it came later than it should have, Toyota still bounced back and regained the public’s trust.

A recent, revealing, example in this case is the Toyota recalling fiasco. In 2010, the car maker recalled over 8.8 million vehicles due to safety defects which were, for a long period, unclear even for Toyota itself. However, even though Toyota’s initial response was to partly ignore the gravity of the situation, it soon reconsidered its strategy and started going public with both good (future safety initiatives) and bad (at

Being publicly exposed may be a difficult, overwhelming process and it may seem to place the organization in a particularly vulnerable position. However, even if this is, indeed, the case, in today’s complex business environment being vulnerable does not, necessarily, mean being weak. In fact, truly transparent and open companies come out stronger and more trustworthy out of unavoidable challenges and obstacles.

APRIL 2016 59

RISK MANAGEMENT

NATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT UPGRADED DIANA ZARNESCU

W arise, what is often brought to light is

hen events such as terrorist attacks

the vulnerability of targets, together with the ineffectiveness of governmental authorities, both of these contributing to the large number of victims and to alienating entire nations and governments.

There are many aspects under which terrorist actions are similar to natural disasters.

Firstly, they are actions committed under a specific purpose, meaning that life and rescue operations must interfere as little as possible with ongoing investigations and, secondly, terrorist attacks involve large numbers of responders led by law officers and army forces.

However, what many fail to understand is that, the same way a war cannot be won without allies, a terrorist attack cannot be prevented if it lacks the engagement of corporations, communities and individuals.

Following the 9/11 attack on New York, a massive wave of public insecurity and disbelief in the government’s security policies hit the US. This, in turn, mobilized the largest reorganization process within the US federal government.

Despite a massive amount of work on detecting threats within or outside the US, the first draft of plans, released in 2004, focused mainly on the aftermath of eventual disasters, but completely ignored the preparedness and prevention aspects.

For example, out of the 15 drafted plans, as explained by William L. Waugh in “The Disaster Handbook”, 12 involved terrorist attacks. The dimensions of disaster with greater focus were: 60 APRIL 2016

Number of expected casualties (deaths, injured, hospitalized); Damage to infrastructure; Economic impact; Time of recovery.

What these point out to is the unfortunate reality that the government was preparing to react to an event that had already occurred, rather than trying to prevent it from ever happening again.

A decade later, in 2014, the new Homeland Security’s Quadrennial Review focused mostly on proactive measures, rather than reactive ones. The five main missions, identified by the department were as follows: Prevent terrorism and enhance security; Secure and manage our borders; Enforce and administer our immigration laws; Safeguard and secure cyberspace; Strengthen national preparedness and resilience.

“National risk management” is what the Homeland Security Department is calling its mission today, as they strive to “emphasize on those actions and interventions that reduce the greatest amount of strategic risk to the nation,” as stated in the report.

The first mission, prevent terrorism and enhance security, is considered to be a top priority for national security. From authorities to local, territorial, non-governmental, privatesector partners, in addition to families and communities, everyone is trying to help.

By working on such a massive cooperative basis, the expected results are to:

Expand risk-based security Points out to the importance of moving away from a standardized security approach, a “onesize-fits-all”, towards a more informed and intelligence driven approach.

Focus on countering violent extremism and helping to prevent complex mass casualty attacks Under these aspects, the HSD focuses on training and equipping local communities, citizens and institutions to become “frontline law enforcement partners”.

Reduce vulnerabilities by denying resources and targets Preventive measures that protect vulnerable locations such as rails or market places, have extended to such a length that they now include restrictions imposed on chemicals manufacturers, for example.

Uncover patterns and faint signals through enhanced data integration and analysis Also referred to as “the Big Data challenge,” this measure is split in half: on the one side, it aims to efficiently filter potential threats out of the massive amount of information existent in today’s networks. On the other hand, the initiative relies on these same networks to connect citizens and communities, with local and state-level authorities.

What these national risk management plans point to, basically, is that fighting for a country’s, or even the world’s security is not a single government’s responsibility anymore. Quickly escalating conflicts worldwide and the events which have damaged the image of what we regarded as security, heighten the need to reevaluate the way we perform risk management.

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE

RETAIL BANKING: REINVENTING A PROFESSION MARCELA PRESECAN

I and

t is time we talked about the future everything that comes with the next generation, including retail banking.

However, before we swiftly cast our gaze over past and present times, we mustn’t forget the following notion: it has always been known that a career in the banking industry earns you big bucks.

But where does the average retail banker stand at nowadays? Furthermore, what is so special about retail banking?

As the legitimate child of medieval money lending activities, it is a little bit more “human-based”. And because it deals with people directly, it requires a little bit more… feeling. And maybe it’s heart that sets retail bankers apart, because the true retail bankers of today actually choose to stand behind their customers, big bonuses in place or no bonuses at all.

People are claiming that the classic banker has turned into a mythical figure throughout time. But what if the classical retail banker made a comeback? Sure, he may not be fit the archaic role of olden times, as the retail banker of today would have to take ownership of modern age instruments and tools to further perform his/her job.

Whether hypothetical or not, this promise of re-invention, as far as retail banking goes, is promising. Maybe it’s time that the next generation of retail bankers was given his/her individual judgement back, while automated credit scoring technologies would be re-designed, so as to ultimately assist and not actually decide. In view of recent trends, a suppositional change in retail banking professions would have to consider the following:

Digital multilingualism The modern age science of attracting and retaining customers is based on a variety of digital channels that use and synthesize data. This data custodian role would enable newly-defined retail bankers to effectively collect customer data and fuse together a tailored mix of banking products, to best suit the customer’s needs.

Real-time counseling The modern retail banker will have to capitalize on his/her abilities to communicate his professional advice, by spicing up his customer engagement approaches, so as to deliver real-time guidance and assistance.

Advisory craftsmanship The newly defined retail banker will have to perfect his speech, in such a way that it takes the form of personal advice once again, instead of the sales pitch that it is today.

Modern age performance metrics Targets have always prejudiced a retail banker’s identity and pride. Replacing these targets with performance metrics that monitor the quality of client built relationships, might just be the right motivators for modern retail bankers to start loving their jobs again.

Virtual customer consoles Customer relationship management solutions that synthesize big data and digital customer behaviors, in order to provide the modern retail banker with the CRM tool he needs to best understand and relate to the customer’s needs.

We can only but imagine a reinvention of the retail banker profession, as we have yet to rediscover the retail banker’s role of old. Once upon a time, it was all about working together, to be the financial advisers that future generations actually need and trust with their money.

E-commerce artistry Electronic commerce is at its peak. That is why the new age retail banker will have to own the basic knowledge that comes with technologies such as online transaction processing, electronic funds transfers and automated data collection systems.

Interpreting basic e-commerce data will assist retail bankers with designing their customer-centric strategies, as well as, developing custom-designed baskets of products for their clients.

Advanced analytics The modern age retail banker has to return to his roots. He has to re-establish himself as the expert and judicious figure of the bank that he represents, as the financial adviser he once was, as the friend and financial guardian that the customer needs.

APRIL 2016 61

ASK THE EXPERTS

ASK THE EXPERTS

THE ULTIMATE ENERGY BOOST KPIS USED IN THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY ANDREEA VECERDEA

T and demanding fields, where besides technological he nuclear industry is one of the most sensitive

advancements, a high focus is also placed on safety and reliability. Therefore, monitoring performance in this area can prove to be a requirement, more than a choice.

According to the US Nuclear Energy Institute, the US nuclear power plants have been monitoring a certain number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for more than 10 years, with consistent results. These KPIs are anchored in the frameworks used by the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) and the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators (INPO), which monitor the annual performance of the US nuclear industry.

The WANO KPIs used by the US nuclear industry include: % Unit capability factor (UCF) Measures the percentage of energy generation that a plant is capable of supplying to the electrical grid. The 2015 target was 92% and the result for 2014 reached 91.7, with an increasing trend from 2013 (91.0); % Forced loss rate (FLR) Measures the percentage of energy generation during non-outage periods that a plant is not capable of supplying to the electrical grid because of unplanned energy losses, such as unplanned shutdown or load reductions. The target for 2015 was set at 1.0, and the 2014 result was 1.3, in a steady decrease from the 2013 result, which was at 1.7. % Safety system performance Measures the availability of three standby safety systems used to respond to unusual situations at each plant; # Collective radiation exposure BWR and # Collective radiation exposure – PWR – measure the effectiveness of the practices that reduce radiation exposure at boiling water reactors (BWRs) and at pressurized water reactors (PWRs). 2015 targets were surpassed in both cases.

62 APRIL 2016

The INPO KPIs used are: # Chemistry Effectiveness Indicator – BWR # Chemistry Effectiveness Indicator – PWR Measure the overall chemistry performance, related to long-term material degradation. The industry achieved in 2014 great levels of performance for both boiling water and pressurized water reactors.

The 2015 goal is attained for both reactor types; % Fuel performance Measures the percentage of units with no failures in the metal barrier surrounding fuel. 95% of U.S. facilities achieved zero fuel failures in 2014, this being the highest level ever recorded. The objective for 2015 - 2016 is to operate all units without fuel failures. # Total Industrial Safety Accident Rate Measures the number of industrial accidents per 200,000 worker hours, that result in lost work time, restricted work or fatalities. The nuclear industry proved once again, in 2014, that it is one of the safest working places in the US, with a level of accident rate of 0.02, which also represents the lowest level achieved since this KPIs is being monitored.

Moreover, this is below the 2015 goal of 0.1 accidents per 200,000 worker-hours, and data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that, nowadays, it is safer to work at a nuclear power plant than in other sectors, including manufacturing, financial services, leisure and hospitality.

This may seem a little bit surprising, as intuitively, the nuclear industry is more dangerous and inclined to work incidents and even fatalities than other industries. This is another example of difference between perception and reality, just like in the case of low-cost airlines which, again, are intuitively seen as less performing than the network carriers. However, results show that the flights arrive on time and luggage is not lost as often as perceived.

This is why using KPIs and monitoring performance is important.

KPIs communicate performance results, they support the organizations in focusing on what matters and in identifying areas that need improvement. The nuclear industry is not the only sector where using KPIs has proved to be efficient. Wherever used, KPIs are helpful, not only in the organizational context, but even in the personal life!

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Understand strategy planning & execution techniques along with the Balanced Scorecard Management System.

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Read more about the Conference by accessing: http://kpiinstitute.org/events/strategy-and-balanced-scorecard-conference-2016/ FEBRUARY 2016

63

LIFESTYLE

LIFESTYLE

BIG IDEAS AND THE WANDERING MIND ANDRADA MÎIA

W end to our possibilities, when it comes

e often ask ourselves if there is an actual

to differentiation in today’s competitive markets. In the past few years, we can say that a lot of organizations reached performance, whether we refer to technological strides, new designs or supply chain optimization.

I am sure that we can all acknowledge how this mechanism has been working and who is actually paying the price when we purchase a 1-dollar radio device. It is certainly not a very satisfying outcome from a moral perspective, but let’s say we all understand the issue, and we want to make a change that would mean altering the way we used to perceive performance. What I tried to accomplish in this short introduction was simply to encourage you to identify a need, in this case the need for change.

If we go back to the place where everything started, I think we can agree on the fact that our economy actually formed on the concept of needs, which only later turned into cravings. We needed the economy to evolve and what powered our success were ideas, not money or social status, but ideas.

And what is the source of ideas? It might be your creative mind.

As time passes, we go through a tremendous amount of ideas, some of which we put in practice, but you might have noticed that it becomes increasingly more difficult to express an authentic concept, one that did not already travel on someone else’s train of thought. Unique ideas are rare, most of us rehash what we already know.

In this context, it seems like the best bet we could make is on creativity. The downside is that this particular process is not a simple 64 APRIL 2016

LIFESTYLE

When our minds wander, our trains of thought do not have a clear itinerary, they are unpredictable.

equation. We often mistake it for a trait that we either possess or not, but in fact it should be considered an outcome that we can all achieve. You may have heard about the “Aha!” moment, the “Eureka” effect, the big ideas that we all expect at some point.

All these sparks of creativity are wonderful outcomes, but outcomes of what?

Psychologist Eric Kandel has an interesting approach. He was the one to identify an interesting connection between the wonderful creativity flashes experienced

by Isaac Newton, Archimedes or Albert Einstein. What they all had in common was that they experienced these flashes of inspiration while doing other things, cruising in a relaxed state, not working. As Kandel explains, relaxation is “characterized by ready access to unconscious mental processes; in that sense it is somewhat analogous to dreaming.”

At first glance, it seems simple. But how can we apply this in today’s business context, given that most employees would never use the word “relaxing” to describe their workplace and perhaps that should not necessarily even be the case.

I assume every organization wishes to reach higher levels employee performance; this way, they have more chances to discover those big ideas that drive development and by allocating more focus to this topic, companies experienced much better results when they started actually paying attention to what their employees needed, such as fair pay, benefits or job security. These were just a few of the proposed adjustments.

You may already be thinking that there is a significant number of companies that

monitor the stress levels of their employees and try to reduce them. Stress is the opposite of relaxation, relaxation equals creativity and creativity will give you big ideas. Pretty simple.

Now, if I were to give my 2 cents on this, I would think things through differently.

Would it be productive for your employees to be in a relaxed state at work, “incubate” ideas or would you need them to be focused, “in a preparation state”? Do you solely need

Do you solely need creative outcomes, or do you need someone that can make it happen?

creative outcomes, or do you need someone that can make it happen? We already agreed that you only need a spark to light up an idea.

That does not take time, but it takes context and what could be more important for you as an employer than how your employees perceive you.

When our minds wander, our trains of thought do not have a clear itinerary, they are unpredictable. At a subconscious level, past our rational reasoning that concerns itself with elements like considering fair pay, learning opportunities or even a higher position, lies something far more important – human nature.

Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, was the one to explain that we as humans, place belonging needs like affiliation or acceptance before esteem needs like the feeling of accomplishment or status and reputation. Now, this slight difference marks the line that usually puts the work environment in a box.

However, what I am trying to say is that employers could have the opportunity to access a wandering mind, outside work and it might be the case that this has already happened. It is not a question of whether it is actually developing, but a question of whether your employee wants to share it with you.

This is a place where loyalty comes from and is one of the reasons why creators are not that easily persuaded to relinquish their ideas. They need validation, trust and loyalty, otherwise they might sail solo.

Going back now, we talked about creativity and identified relaxation as a key driver. Then we explained that big ideas need context and are not limited by time. However, the wandering mind is involuntarily selective, and making efforts to change that might not be your best choice as an employer.

The best way to look at this is by answering these simple questions: Are your employees able to think about you in a positive manner?

What feelings do they associate with you? Is there a mutually beneficial work relationship between you and your employees?

Building together a collaboration based on positive human interaction, trust, support and loyalty might be the answer that can give you a spark of creativity and ensure higher levels of performance at work.

APRIL 2016 65

LIFESTYLE

SLEEP AND LEADERSHIP THE UNCANNY RELATIONSHIP IRINA PALESCIUC

E

mployees in OECD countries, such as Mexico and South-Korea, work an annual average of 2,237 hours and 2,079 hours respectively. Eventually, this translates into a decrease in actual hours slept. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that approximately 30% of adults get an average of 6 hours or less of sleep in a 24-hour period. The National Institute of Health recommends that adults get 7-8 hours of sleep.

Sleeping less, apart from the alreadyknown health problems, can dramatically impair performance. The Association for Psychological Science states that 5 hours of sleep in four consecutive nights affects one’s cognitive performance to the same degree as having a blood alcohol level of 0.06%, which for example, is way over the legal limit to drive in many countries.

Now that we’ve cleared this out of the way, let us see what all this has to do with leadership and leaders in general. First and foremost, how about we define what the key expected behavior from a leader is and how it is affected by one’s lack of sleep.

The prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that deals with cognitive actions, such as planning, organizing, problem solving or reasoning and the ensuing leadership behavior that relies on these actions, is highly affected by sleep or lack thereof. At one point in time, we all came across an executive that gave the impression of being disengaged, impatient with others, forgetful, uninspired or having difficulties with problem-solving.

High performance and top notch executive teams typically share four key traits: 66 APRIL 2016

A strong orientation towards results. This behavior is highly affected by the person’s attention and concentration levels, and sleep deprivation reduces the ability to focus and see the bigger picture.

Effective problem solving. A study has shown that a good night’s sleep increases creativity and innovative ideas, which help us solve problems more effectively. In addition to a good night’s sleep, taking a short nap of 30 minutes promotes creative problem solving and problems are twice as likely to be solved in comparison to not taking a nap.

Seeking out different perspectives.

Sleep impacts the ability to encode new information, form new connections about it and more easily retrieve this new information from your memory. This process is crucial in a leader’s capability to seek out different perspectives, accurately weigh in their significance and prevent tunnel vision or cognitive bias.

Supporting others. In order to support others, a leader needs to first understand what their behavior suggests, by interpreting body language or facial expressions. However, in a sleep deprived state, the brain is most likely to misinterpret these subtle hints and the person will overreact to events and express feelings in a negative way or tone, and be less trustful of someone. This is probably mostly known as the boss who acts like in a very mean fashion, is abusive or creates problems in the workplace.

The role of the organization Most organizations pay insufficient attention to promoting healthy rest schedules for their employees, despite the fact that research has shown us that employees lacking sleep engage in highly unethical behavior, exhibit low work engagement, are more prone to mistakes and unaware when they are making said mistakes, are less creative and have difficulties performing adequately. Organizations play an important role in turning this around through organizational policies, such as: Sleep management training programs, which emphasize the importance of sleep; Creating a system that enables an employee to easily transfer his work to an employee in a different time zone, i.e. the case of a multinational organization; Set black-out periods for incoming and outgoing e-mails; Provide spaces where employees can take a nap; Provide tips on applications that can assist in sleep management; Offering training and information on how to improve sleep quality.

By supporting the idea of sufficient sleep, organizations improve leadership performance and consequently, the overall health of the organization. More sleep enables leaders to make strategic decisions which lead the organization in the right direction and reduce the incidence of mistakes that cause profit losses.

LIFESTYLE

ENHANCE PERSONAL PERFORMANCE

BY IMPROVING WILLPOWER CEZARINA BARBIERU

O positive impact that willpower provides

ver time, psychologists have shown the

in day to day activities, from enhancing selfcontrol, to becoming more and more efficient at the workplace. The American Psychological Association has entitled willpower, “the Psychological Science of Self-Control,” by stating that “at its essence, willpower is the ability to resist short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals.” Willpower is usually built in terms of deploying the right motivation, belief systems, and perseverance.

Joe Robinson, in his article entitled How to Build Up Your Willpower Muscle, speaks about the “effortful control”, the function that requires the brain to concentrate on a specific effort. The ability to resist various temptations by improving self-control is called willpower. It represents an essential ability both at work and outside it. More often, this ability gives the idea of how serious a person’s character is.

Psychologist Frank Martela, in his work, Willpower: The Owner’s Manual: 12 Tools for Doing the Right Thing, identified 12 essential willpower tools that develop strong will: “Mind your blood sugar: Eat well and rest enough.” Your ability to stay focused and your self-control depends on your blood sugar.

“Invest in effective resting.” Usually it’s not the time that has to be managed, but your energy. 15 minutes of rest equals in large productivity investment.

“Train your mind by tackling challenges of appropriate size.” The key to surpass overwhelming challenges is to concentrate on one single task at a time.

“Do or do not, there is no try.” Stay focused by clearly organizing your tasks: do not decide only what to do, but also when, and how. A precise scheduling is the key to getting things done.

“Forgive yourself to learn from your mistakes”. The act of blaming oneself shifts the focus away from the essential.

You have to identify the causes that have led to the problem and learn how to avoid them in the future.

“Don’t fight–or-flee, instead pause-andplan.” Willpower decreases when you undergo anger and stress. To be once again in control with yourself, you have to calm yourself down.

“You get what you measure.” Motivation increases by measuring the necessary steps for achieving a target. Progress is more tangible when it comes to measurement.

Nowadays, in order to succeed, people need enjoyable motivational tools. Technology has created gadgets such as smartphones, tablets, or monitoring devices in order to help people increase their willpower and motivation.

Examples here would be the ReMind, Forget Me Not Reading and the Chocolate Machine tools.

Willpower represents a very important ability in enhancing personal performance. It not only improves day to day activities and performance, but it also increases productivity at the organizational level, especially when it comes to the organizational culture of a company.

“Small steps, big rewards.” Often enough, distant goals overwhelm by complexity.

They have to be sliced into appropriate pieces in order to be accomplished.

“Decide on clear limits.” Plan precise targets in advance in order to have a clear and complete perspective on your work.

“Use the 20–Second Rule.” In an ideal work environment, the good things have to be easy at hand, while the bad ones require an effort. With a 20-second limit established between you and temptation, your self-control improves.

“Equip your willpower with the latest technological weapons.” You may use gadgets such as your smartphone, computer or tablet in order to set your willpower in motion.

“Shared goal is a stronger goal.” And maybe this is the most important step, because humans were designed to work together. Similar people, with the same goal, will always fight stronger to achieve that particular goal.

APRIL 2016 67

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68 FEBRUARY 2016

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2013 - 2015 TOP KPIS REPORTS Reports by Functional Area Top 25 Accounting KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Accounts Payable and Receivable KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Administration / Office Support KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Advertising KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Application Development KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Asset Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Compensation and Benefits KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Compliance and Audit Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Contract Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Corporate Travel KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 CSR KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Customer Service KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Data Center KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 eCommerce KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Efficiency and Effectiveness KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Email Marketing KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Enterprise Architecture KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Environmental Care KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Facilities Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Finance KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Forecasts & Valuation KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Governance KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 HSSE KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Human Resources KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Information Technology KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Innovation KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Inventory Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 IT Security KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Knowledge Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Legal Services KPIs of 2013-2015

Top 25 Liquidity KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Logistics / Distribution KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Maintenance KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Marketing KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Network Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Online Advertising KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Online Publishing - Weblogs KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Portfolio Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Procurement / Purchasing KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Production KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Profitability KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Project Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Public Relations KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Quality Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 R&D KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Recruitment KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Retention KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Risk Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Sales KPIs of 2013-2015* Top 25 Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Service Delivery KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Service Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Supply Chain Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Supply Chain*, Procurement, Distribution KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Talent Development KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Web Analytics KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Workforce KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Working Environment KPIs of 2013-2015

Reports by Industry Top 25 Academic Education KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Accounting Services KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Airlines KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Airports KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Banking and Credit KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Broadcasting (TV and Radio) KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Business Consulting KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Call Center KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Civil Engineering KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Coaching / Training KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Coal and Minerals Mining KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Colleges and Universities KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Construction of Buildings KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Crops KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Customs KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Electricity KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Emergency Response / Ambulance Services KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Engineering KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Event Production and Promotion KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Film and Music KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Forestry and Logging KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Healthcare KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Hospitals KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Hotel KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Insurance KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Investments KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Land Transport (Road & Rail) KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Legal Practice KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Libraries and Archives KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Livestock, Hunting and Fishing KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Local Government KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Local Public Transport KPIs of 2013-2015

Top 25 Medical Laboratory KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Medical Practice KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Mortgages KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Museums KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Natural Gas KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 NGO KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Oil and Gas KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Pension Funds KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Ports KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Postal and Courier Services KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Preventive Healthcare KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Primary and Secondary Schools / K-12 KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Property Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Publishing KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Railways KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Real Estate Development KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Real Estate Transactions KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Recruitment / Employment Activities KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Restaurant KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Retail KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Roads KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Shipping KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Social Media KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Sport Club Management KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Sport Event Organisation KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 State Government KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Sustainability KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Telecommunications KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Tour Operator KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Training and Other Education KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Travel Agency KPIs of 2013-2015 Top 25 Water and Sewage KPIs of 2013-2015

APRIL 2016 69

HARDWARE REVIEW

HARDWARE

accelerometer and other devices embedded in the ID card that the employees wear. The data received is then instantly sent to the central server, where managers and CEOs are able to analyze individual information.

Hitachi Business Microscope uses the advantages of technology and innovation to understand an employee’s style in collaborating, interacting with one another and their network of close colleagues. In an article from the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, we find that Hitachi’s main goal is to “efficiently evaluate the effectiveness of management policies and workplace environments in a company.”

Hitachi Wearables

A shortcut in understanding employees For many, understanding an employee in terms of interaction is a difficult task, especially in a large community-based environment. However, the Japanese company Hitachi invented a product to help managers and leaders understand how their employees interact with one another in the office.

The Hitachi Business Microscope is a device worn on the person’s neck in order to recognise body behavior, face time, voice tone and even how far the employee’s distance is to the listener when communicating. It uses microphones, an

Nokia OZO

A futuristic way of capturing videos Ever played a video game where the visualization was 360-degrees? Would you like to? Well now, with the Nokia OZO, that type of visualization from a video game becomes reality. The OZO, shaped like an over-the-top hair dryer, has 8 built-in cameras, able to synchronize with 3D video captures, through a virtual headset. Sound is also recorded from all 8 angles, making it a multidirectional device.

This new advancement in virtual visualization has been put to the test in a NASA training mission. It captured every moment of the astronauts’ immersion pool test, in breathtaking detail.

Moreover, the launching event of this innovative product also captured a band, performing on top of a skyscraper. An increasingly high number of people are starting to see just how easily this device can capture multidirectional video and audio, creating a new video-making experience.

However, the Nokia OZO is not targeted for regular customers, as it is estimated at a hefty price-tag of $60.000. The Finnish company is targeting production professionals, selling the OZO as an innovative way of creating movies.

70 APRIL 2016

In some sense, the product’s goal has been achieved, as Hitachi’s found a connection between longer periods of physical movement and elevated levels of happiness, along correlating the latter with an increased productivity in the sales department. However, others believe that the product only gathers quantitative data and foregoes the qualitative side of things, which is a major loss for those wishing to create a better collaborative environment.

Regardless, the Hitachi Business Microscope gives companies the necessary utility to understand their employees on a much larger scale, rather than with the old traditional one-on-one personal approach. It gives companies a convenient and effective way of gathering data that will help cultivate a better work environment.

With the ability to capture 45 minutes at a 360-degrees angle, into its storage and creating 30 frames per second, rest assured that media-makers will be interested in this device, enabling us, regular folks, to watch movies with virtual visualization.

The next question is, can Nokia OZO be able to compete with other similar devices from Nikon and GoPro? Both companies have announced their own products, but these are estimated to be much cheaper than the OZO. As an answer to this, Nokia has stated that their product is not revolutionizing 360-degree visualization, but emphasized that the OZO can be used easily and effortlessly. This puts Nokia’s product at the forefront of the market.

HARDWARE

effective with people of all age groups. He then explains that the product uses dry air diffusion, to spread a concentrated scent. These can vary, from the smell of peppermint, chocolate, espresso, ocean, flowers and yes, even money. John Phillips, editor-in-chief of Techhive, says his favorite scents are Espresso and Chocolate.

Sensorwake

However, many believe that our nose shuts down when we sleep. That’s why we have fire alarms, since we cannot detect smoke. This generates a wave of skepticism towards Sensorwake’s actual utility. People might even question how it will work when they have a stuffy nose. Rest assured, Sensorwake also offers an emergency alarm clock to users who have a hard time waking-up or a stuffy nose. This invention is as failproof as they get, designed to make customers wake up no matter what.

Have you ever smelled the aroma of coffee in the morning and woke up, thinking what a brilliant day this will be? Well, the same aroma will be used to power an alarm clock, called Sensorwake. It is based on the idea that people wake up in a good mood, if they sense familiar scents in the morning. The inventor, Guillaume Rolland, explains that Sensorwake is

This innovative product has been creating a buzz in recent years. Even Google agrees, as Sensorwake was chosen in the top 15 inventions “that can change the world” in 2014. The product will be available for order in June, with a price tag of $109, with up to 30 scent capsules offered at $10, for 2 types of scents.

LaCie Rugged RAID

How about security?

Starting off happy with your favorite scents

Windows and Mac, all in one Did you ever want a mobile phone, which was more than just a phone, but not as large as a laptop or tablet? Something that can easily fit your backpack, without having to worry that it’ll break in a hundred pieces if something heavier suddenly lands on it? And of course, this something special ought to have great connectivity and reliability. Well, search no longer, for LaCie Rugged RAID is here to satisfy all your on-the-go needs.

Designed by LaCie, the premium brand of Seagate technology – a world-class storage solutions designer for customers on-the-go, it brings the best of both worlds – Windows and Mac, in terms of compatibility, speed, mobility and reliability. Professional value, performance and complete data security, all in one tight and trusty package.

All this data cannot simply lay around. and the LaCie Rugged includes a backup software suite, compatible with Time Machine and Windows Backup, the LaCie Private-Public Software, which gives you the possibility of encrypting either portions or your entire drive with a password and a three-year limited warranty, which includes replacement coverage, in case you lose your device or it becomes damaged.

This last point, on it becoming damaged, is somewhat moot, as the device was ran through a real-life simulation of what would happen if a 1-ton car would drive over it. Safe to say, despite aesthetic damage, the device continued to function properly throughout continued use.

As we can see, the LaCie Rugged RAID has everything a professional on-the-go needs: reliability, strength, seamless connectivity, almost endless storage capacity and an user-friendly and intuitive interface.

But let’s break it down, shall we?

Boasting the Thunderbolt interface, the fastest one on the market, and a USB 3.0 port with two internal hard drives that are preconfigured for sustained performance of up to 240 MB/s, transfering and storing data can now be achieved faster than ever.

Ensure that your data is always safe, by choosing the RAID 1 option, which sets the device in a mirrored mode, duplicating data across two drives. If one fails, the other is there for you. Or, if you value speed over safety, choose RAID 0, striped mode, where the two drives are united, allowing for maximized speed and capacity.

Now, all this storage and speed wouldn’t be possible for your average mobile device, but RAID has 4 terabytes of available space, the equivalent of thirty 128 GB memory cards. No wiring, no fuss.

APRIL 2016

71

SOFTWARE REVIEW

SOFTWARE

in order to understand which aspects are positive and what needs to be improved once the company implements it.

IActionable

Gamification Software, but better!

In any organization, it is important to motivate and drive employees, so that they reach their highest performance levels. This, in turn, generates better ideas and overall results.

A software program, IActionable, offers just that, with a new perspective on stimulating an engaging workplace.

Developed in 2010, IActionable creates a gamification platform that renders a great working environment in the office. It has four core goals: clear objective, expectations, real-time feedback and measuring & motivating. To meet these goals, the software follows four major steps. They first define performance by building a system that fits the company and establish every role’s responsibility. Next, they connect the existing data in order to be as efficient and on point as possible. After that, every employee will receive direct and “real-time” daily feedback. Lastly, the software works round the clock and receives constant updates,

Confluence

One spot for everything needed in a project

72 APRIL 2016

IActionable gives customers real results in no time. Although it differs from one company to another, in numerous situations, changes could be felt in the workplace as soon as two months had passed from its first use. Companies in the Fortune 100 Manufacturing industry have already tried IActionable and their results exceed their expectations.

The information managers of such companies believe the software gave visibility to each employee, making them understand their current progress and their future targets.

Naturally, by laying out the data in front of them, a good competitive atmosphere will be created. Overall, the software fulfills all four of its intended aspects.

Other companies also believe that IActionable is a great piece of software, because it sets individual and team targets for the employee. Steve Medina stated that positive results were seen after using the app for just one month of the. He states, “[IActionable] is responsive, sharp, and very accessible.”

On the downside, it seems that IActionable is geneerally implemented in Sales teams. Companies did not state how it worked in other departments, but we may expect to see similar results.

Overall, the IActionable, available on Android, Windows and iOS devices, is a great tool to engage employees in a positive and more competitive environment, inside a company. With many saying it quickly offers good results, there would be nothing to lose in trying out IActionable’s free trial offer. aspect are the easy-to-use platforms and high security checks of Confluence, which generates trust in using this product.

In an era where everything is mobile, including team meetings and collaborations, an app like Confluence should be quite useful. The software, created by the Australian company Atlassian, is an organizational tool that gathers a team’s resources, goals and other important information to get the job done. It has four major tasks: create, discuss, centralize and organize. It is basically designed to get the team’s work done for them – faster and more effective.

However, some believe the product is a bit high-priced, especially if we talk about small-to-medium businesses.

Confluence offers limited support services during its 30day trial and a team of 10 has to pay a fee of $10, but this increases with the number of network users working with the licenced product. Jack Benny, a user of the product, states that the software can sometimes lag out and feel slower than usual. He also states that the mobile version is limited, when compared to the desktop one.

Many believe that Confluence helps with organizing the data of big groups. Brian Scholar, a reviewer on TrustRadius, for example, believes that partnered businesses can benefit immensely from this software. Their members are able to work on not only data or documents, but also individual-related information found in the materials provided by this software.

They can also easily label said data, for their colleagues to quickly find the much needed information. Another positive

With all things considered, Confluence has to be praised for the fact that it brings a whole new level of efficiency when it comes to meetings and collaborations. It helps gather all the needed information and organizes a team’s schedule, in order to get the project finished. It is effective and convenient to those users who are always going from one place to another. An innovative software that’s worth a try in any company.

SOFTWARE

prominent features is The You Index™. It shows users performance metrics of their stock portfolio, which in the end, shows their overall performance. Not only that, but given its simple instructions and easy-to-use service, users are able to grasp the general idea about their personal assets and investments in mere seconds, with the help of some very attractive graphs.

It is also compatible with Android, Apple and Windows smartphone devices, desktops and even Apple watches – making this software one of the most accessible platforms on the market.

Personal Capital

Things it doesn’t Although Personal Capital offers all of these services, users are unable to classify their asset allocation models and categories. They can only use the predetermined ones, which leaves users unable to explore various other parts of the app.

Effortless software for retirement planning and investment

Another negative point rears its ugly head when we compare the mobile and desktop versions. Currently, their spending feature is only available on the former.

In today’s era, people are looking for strategies to create long-term investment, but they often want this in a good quality, low-cost product.

A software that fulfills those criteria is Personal Capital. Founded by former CEO of Intuit and Paypal, Personal Capital is a software that offers users personal finance assistance regarding budgeting and money management. This free online software assists users by understanding their financial status-quo, such as investment accounts and mortgages.

Then, by examining the general outlook of the user’s financial situation, it offers basic investment advice.

Personal Capital gives users the option of having on-hand investment advice, albeit more accessible and cheaper compared to having a financial advisor. However, when we look at similar apps, Personal Capital is a bit high-priced. For users who invest anything from 0$ to $1.000.000, all are equally expected to pay a 0.89% yearly tax, out of its total price, for their services. But in the end, its services cover a wider area of interests than others, which brands Personal Capital as a high quality product, giving you the bang for the buck you put in it.

Things it has going for it Personal Capital’s basic options are not only free, but also quite diverse.

It has 7 features, including budgeting, retirement planner, 401(k) Fee Analyzer, investment checkup and asset allocations. One of its most

Halogen TalentSpace

Performance in the HR Department When it comes to recruiting the best and brigthest, even the HR department can use a helping hand in deciding which individual is best for a certain role. Here is where Halogen TalentSpace, from Halogen Software, comes into play.

Overall, Personal Capital is a great software tool, not only when it comes to investments, but also retirement planning. It gives users an easier access to all their assets and even goes as far as offering advice on how to create bigger and better investments. This app basically does all the hard work, for you! for your succession plans, set compensation strategies that reward effort and recruit only top notch individuals. All these and more with automated workflows, configurable form builder, flexible rating styles, real-time feedback and built-in content and tools for helping professionals asses and develop their workforce.

An entire talent management suite, fully integrated and streamlined, offering HR professionals a seamless, consistent and intuitive experience. Everything you ever needed, from appraisals, goal-setting, ongoing check-ins, to a variety of best practices examples, Halogen TalentSpace has all the tools for all scenarios, whether it’s ensuring your staff ’s needs are met or hiring a golden candidate.

Establish a culture of high performers, develop an impactful learning environment and a competency-based talent pool APRIL 2016 73

RECOMMENDED

RECOMMENDATIONS

Must-haves for your 2016 reading list 1

3

2

4

6

1. An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization

2. Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual

What if a company did everything in its power to create a culture in which everyone—not just select “high potentials”—could overcome their own internal barriers? Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey (and their collaborators) have found and studied such companies — Deliberately Developmental Organizations and the ensuing result of their study is the present book, which dives deep into the worlds of three leading companies that embody this breakthrough approach.

These days, the best companies are breaking the old rules. At some companies, e-mail is now restricted to certain hours, so that employees can work without distraction. Netflix instructs employees to take time off when they feel they need it. Join Dr. David Burkus, a highly regarded and increasingly influential business school professor, in his journey of challenging many of the established principles of business management.

3. The Art of Authenticity: Tools to Become an Authentic Leader and Your Best Self

4. Digital Strategy: A Guide to Digital Business Transformation

Authenticity is the best way to lead and the only way to maintain sustainable success as an organization. Dr. Karissa Thacker, a management psychologist called on by over two hundred Fortune 500 companies to work with high potential leaders, will provide you validated psychological research and an artful application of psychological principles to actual business situations, to help you become an authentic leader.

If you’re in business today, you probably use digital technology to run your day-to-day operations. But if you don’t have a digital strategy, you’re at risk of losing out to your competitors by either failing to recognize the potential tools available or wasting resources while trying to prepare for digital disruption. This accessible book guides you through the steps of understanding what a digital strategy is.

5. Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business

6. How to Drive Operational Excellence: An Integrated and Practical Approach

At the core of this publication are eight key concepts that explain why some people and companies get so much done. From findings in neuroscience, psychology, and behavioral economics—as well as the experiences of CEOs, educational reformers, four-star generals and many more—Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charles Duhigg explains why most productive people and organizations don’t merely act differently, they view the world differently.

When it comes to achieving operational excellence, you’ve got to have the right people operating in the right culture, doing the right things the right way. Dominick Morizio Jr, a senior executive that has over twenty-five years of international operations experience, lays out an integrated approach to establish and drive operational excellence. From tools and processes, to examples and insights, this book explains the secrets behind operational success.

By Robert Kegan

By Karissa Thacker

By Charles Duhigg

74 APRIL 2016

5

By David Burkus

By Alexander Rauser

By Dominick Morizio Jr.

RECOMMENDATIONS

THE COMPANY MEN I the effects of the economic recession of

move out with his wife’s parents and tries his hand at unfamiliar jobs, such as carpentry.

The Company Men explores the lives of three representatives of the upper class in the United States of America. Bobby Walker, high-flyer, always on the up and up, going from one executive position to another, now ends up rock bottom. GTX giveth – big house in the suburbs, silver Porsche in the garage and a welloff status, GTX taketh.

Phil Woodward has a shorter appearance in the overall plot of the movie, most of the times he’s in another office, for another interview, going up against candidates that are much, much younger than him. He spirals down a path of sadness and sorrow, as employer after employer either tells him he’s too old for a certain position or other younger candidates can do the job faster, thus better.

Mounting bills and his daughter’s college tuition fees only make matters worse.

t’s 2010. Companies are still reeling from

2008 – 2009. GTX Corporation is one of them.

Phil Woodward, the living, breathing embodiment of the saying ”started from the bottom, now we’re here (at the top)”. Another of GTX’s execs, a man that started from the factory floor, when the company was still maturing and who made to the corporate offices level.

Last, but not least, Gene McClary, the secondin-command at GTX and a firm disbeliever in the layoffs, cannot but stand and watch as all his friends have to empty their offices.

Each of these individuals will have to take head on some of life’s most difficult challenges, for someone in their position.

Bobby Walker is fully aware of the potential value that he can bring to any company willing to hire him and will not accept any proposal of payment less than that. But given that he was released from GTX, quite a big name in its industry, most employers require to see upfront, existing value. And since his company decided to part ways and it was not Walker’s decision, they fail to see it. Excessively stubborn, Walker refuses offer by offer until no one wants to hire him anymore. The car and the house have to go, as no one can pay for the bills. He has to

Although Gene McClary only has various interlude moments, in which he is either discussing with top officials from GTX, protesting the layoffs, or briefly meeting or talking over the phone with his two friends, trying to help them out, he ends up being an important pillar of the plot.

Given the massive downsizing, GTX’s value increased substantially, making McClary exponentially wealthier. But this is no boon for him, as he had to watch his friends suffer a devastating downfall.

As a result, he decides to leave the company and start up his own business, in which the first employee will be Bobby Walker, followed afterwards by numerous other former GTX employees.

The Company Men show us a different side of performance: the ability to balance out things when the going gets tough. It is not an easy feat to manage your life and your work, when the latter crumbles down all over the former. Internal struggles are met with external hardships, as one ends up grasping to straws, only to make ends meet and ensuring everyone’s needs are covered.

APRIL 2016 75

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Performance Magazine, Printed Edition. Fourth issue, April, 2016. Content: News. The 2016 Environmental Performance Index: the good and the bad. The ASEAN Economic Community: Staggering or Lacking Progress. Reinventing giants – GM’s new ride-sharing service. Innovative solutions for diabetes management. Masquerade teams up with Facebook and takes on Snapchat. Extreme marketing stunts that went viral. The Jakarta HR Performance Forum. Recent oversupplies overturn the agriculture industry. Robots Replacing 5 Million Workers by 2020. Events. Performance Improvement and KPI Conference Dubai. Cover story: KPIs. How many types are there? Expert Interviews: Jennifer Martin Johnson, Senior Program Manager at Prince George’s County Public Schools, USA. Ken Han, CEO/Co-founder of Metaplan, China. Mark Jaszczak, Business Improvement Manager at WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff, United Kingdom. Nigel Penny, Owner and Managing Director at NSP Consulting, Australia. Paolo Panza, ICT Performance Manager at Ericsson, Italy. Peter A. Heslin, Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Portrait. Adrian Brudan, General Manager of the KPI Institute, EMEA division, Romania. From passion, to education, to success. Around the World: The National Library of Australia. Innovation through diversity. Meet Baidu, my growth superhero. Nottingham’s focus on children’s education. Customer Service Performance.

7 tips on how to handle angry customers. Trends in Customer Experience. Business Improvement. The importance of core values in building a powerful business. Performance Improvement. Building learning organizations. Innovation Performance. Digital Analytics redefining business performance. Strategy and Performance Management. How to measure the performance of your Accounting Department. Organizational Performance. Is your organizational culture performanceoriented? Organizational meetings – fostering dialogue between executives and employees. Transparency and openness challenges in 2015’s organizations. Risk Management. National risk management, upgraded. Individual Performance.

Reinventing Retail Banking. Ask the Experts. The ultimate energy boost: KPIs used in the nuclear industry. Lifestyle.

Big Ideas and The Wandering Mind. Sleep and leadership – the uncanny relationship. Enhance personal performance by improving willpower. Hardware Review. Sensorwake: starting off happy with your favorite scents. Nokia OZO: a futuristic way of capturing videos. Hitachi Wearables: A shortcut in understanding employees. Software Review. Personal Capital: effortless software for retirement planning and investment. IActionable: Gamification Software, but better! Confluence: One spot for everything needed in a project. Recommended. Titles to include in your 2016 reading list. An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization, By Robert Kegan. Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual, By David Burkus. The Art of Authenticity: Tools to Become an Authentic Leader and Your Best Self, By Karissa Thacker. Digital Strategy: A Guide to Digital Business Transformation, By Alexander Rauser. Building Family Business Champions, By Eric Flamholtz and Yvonne Randle. How to Drive Operational Excellence: An Integrated and Practical Approach, By Dominick Morizio Jr. The Company Men. Keywords: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Balanced Scorecard. Performance Management. Performance Measurement. Performance Improvement. Strategy and Business Planning. Employee Performance Management. Supplier Performance Management. Personal Performance Management. Data Analysis. Data Visualization. Benchmarking. Customer Service Performance. Innovation Performance.

Balanced Scorecard Management System Performance. Measurement. Evolution. Accuracy. Big Data. Management.

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