A performance consultant can establish new, more full boundaries of thinking, planning, evaluation, and continuous improvement in the client organization. The ability to bring this unique operational point of view in the operations in an organization and establish a modern planning tactic that allows organizations to achieve all their targets coupled with a well-defined monitoring and evaluation mechanism portrays success in the performance improvement project. This dynamic can be utilized to measure the success of a performance consultant in charge of a performance improvement project. The measurement of success is an essential element for the growth as well as the success of the business.
Performance measures help identify strengths and weaknesses in the organization. they may highlight areas where quality is threatened and contribute to the subsequent attribution of responsibility. They may also indirectly enhance productivity by ensuring more effective use of resources and organizational capacities, as well as helping managers prioritize activities and target resources more effectively. Performance measurement allows greater comparability over time and between units; it helps to identify best practice and facilitate new learning. The top five factors to measure success for the client are planning strategy, alignment, develop objectives, client organizations, and quality of life.
The ability of a performance consultant to differentiate between the ends and means. A credible performance consultant can identify the desired goals and objectives of the performance improvement project. Once the performance improvement goals and objectives are defined, a plan is developed to realize them. Such a performance consultant is also able to highlight all the challenges that the performance project is set to face and device ways of overcoming the challenges. Maleka, (2014) explains that it is essential for a performance consultant to develop a planning strategy that is result driven rather than focusing on the means of achieving the results.
The ability of a performance consultant to use, link, and align all the three levels of a performance improvement project with the results can also be used as a dynamic of measuring the success of a performance consultant. The performance consultant should have the ability to link the three levels of planning and the outcomes, outputs, and products in the client organization. This ensures strategic alignment of the client organization’s activities and the quality of services that the customers receive (Pershing, 2006).
Performance consultant uses the ability to develop objectives for the performance improvement project and develop effective monitoring criteria to identify if the objectives have been realized. According to Pershing, (2006) for a performance consultant to be termed successful, all activities in a performance improvement project should be focused on clear and precise goals. The plan should also encompass a continuous monitoring and evaluation system.
Performance consultant utilizes the client organization’s vision as the basis for planning and implementing performance improvement initiatives. Pershing (2006) stated that for the performance consult to be fruitful, the performance improvement project needs to integrate the client organization’s vision in all activities.
In the client organization setting the need to measure the level of success after a performance improvement project is essential to justify the amount of investment in the project. Ivanov & Avasilcai, (2014) point out to the engagement rate of new customers seeking the organization’s services as a tool that can be utilized to measure the success of the performance improvement project by the client organization. An increase in the engagement rates of new customers after a performance improvement exercise demonstrates its level of success. Customer attendance rate is also an indicator that the client organization can use to evaluate the level of success of a performance improvement project (Ivanov & Avasilcai, 2014). An increase in the number of customers attended per unit time after a performance improvement project indicates its level of success.
Ivanov & Avasilcai, (2014) suggests that the customer retention rate is also a parameter for measuring the success of a performance improvement project. An increase in the number of new customers retained after a performance improvement project indicates the level of success. The level of customer satisfaction is also a measure that can be used by the client organization to indicate the level of success of a performance improvement project (Ivanov & Avasilcai, 2014). An improvement in the level of customer satisfaction recorded in all the departments in an organization after a performance improvement program reflects the level of success in the project.
Quality of life indicators experienced in the client’s organization can also be used as a parameter to measure the success of a performance improvement project. Quality of life refers to the positive influence on all the aspects of customers’ lives after acquiring the client’s organizations services. An increase in the quality of life indicators after a performance improvement project indicates the success of the project.
In conclusion to ensure success for a performance consultant, the performance improvement activities ought to be event-driven but based on integrating sustained behavior change and continuous monitoring of results. The top five factors to measure success for the client are planning strategy, alignment, develop objectives, client organizations, and quality of life. These attributes will ensure the success of the performance improvement exercise. For instance, the ability of a performance consultant to use, link, and align all the three levels of a performance improvement project with the results can also be used as a dynamic of measuring the success of a performance consultant.
The level of customer satisfaction is also a measure that can be used by the client organization to indicate the level of success of a performance improvement project (Ivanov & Avasilcai, 2014). An improvement in the level of customer satisfaction recorded in all the departments in an organization after a performance improvement program reflects the level of success in the project.
References
- Ivanov, C. I., & Avasilcăi, S. (2014). Performance measurement models: an analysis for measuring innovation processes performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 124, 397-404.
- Maleka, S. (2014). Strategic Management and Strategic Planning Process. DTPS Planning and Monitoring. Volume 1.
- Pershing, J. (2006) Handbook of Human Performance Theory: Principles, Practice and Potential. Third Edition. Pfeiffer A. Wiley Imprint. 989 Market Street, San Francisco. United States. www.pfeiffer.com.
