Performance Management

Description
Rosly Bhardwaj
Department of Management of Business Administration
Institute of Management Studies, Bhaddal

‘Global Economy & Commerce:

National Seminar

on

Challenges & Opportunities 2012
Rosly Bhardwaj Department of Management of Business Administration Institute of Management Studies, Bhaddal

Performance Management Introduction to Performance Management
Industry analysts forecast that 2009 and 2010 are going to be tough years for trucking companies as lower freight levels and excess capacity continues through most, if not all, of the next two years. In response, most truckers have already cut costs, reduced capital spending and captured all the technology efficiencies possible; but for many that will not be enough. This presentation provides an overview of Performance Management – a program that uses goals, training and financial incentives to improve the performance of your employees - and thereby improve the performance of your bottom line. Most truckers do not have in place an effective Performance Management Program. Many do not even have assigned performance Goals for their employees. That is a huge opportunity lost. Providing employees direction, training and financial reward for improved performance is the most effective action truckers can take to reduce costs, improve profitability and survive a difficult economy.

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Performance Management Presentation Overview
Presentation Overview:
Outline the 4 basic steps of developing an effective Performance Management Program that will improve bottom line results.

Presentation Scope:
Discussion and examples deal primarily with Performance Management of Terminal Operations Management Personnel – Terminal Managers and Driver Managers – those employees that Most influence and control Driver and Fleet Performance.

Presentation Significance:
As you review this presentation, imagine the impact on your bottom line if every employee in your organization improved performance by just ½ to 1 percent. What would happen to profitability if laden Mile, Driver Productivity, Maintenance Cost per Mile, etc… all improved by ½ to 1 percent? That’s the mission of Performance Management – to elevate the performance of your employees in those areas that most impact profitability.

Performance Management Definition of Performance Management
Begin training… Performance Management Definition of Performance Management Performance Management is a program that improves Profitability through the establishing of goals and a plan for achieving them. This training presentation wills overview the four basic steps required to develop an effective Performance Management Program: 1. Establishing KPIs (Performance Goals) 2. Defining the Activities required making those Goals 3. Monitoring Reports & Mentoring 4. Providing Financial Incentives for Goal Achievement

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Performance Management 1. Establishing KPIs (Performance Goals) Performance Management – Step 1
Establishing KPIs “A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder.” - Thomas Carlyle Performance Management 1. Establishing KPIs (Performance Goals) The first step in developing your Performance Management Program is to define your KPIs (Performance Goals). KPI is an acronym for Key Performance Indicators. KPIs are the performance areas most critical to your organizations financial success. In trucking, examples of Operations KPIs include: 1. Driver Productivity 2. Laden Mile Performance 3. Injury Frequency 4. Accident Frequency 5. Maintenance Cost per Mile 6. Fleet Utilization 7. Idling Time 8. Driver Turnover 9. on Time Delivery

1. Establishing KPIs (Performance Goals):KPIs need to be established for each employee type, with a focus on the areas of performance those employees control. KPI Examples by Employee Type – Field Operations Driver KPIs : Miles Driven / Hours Worked / On Time Deliveries / Accident Frequency / Damages / Idling Time Driver Manager KPIs: (For assigned Driver Group) Laden Miles / Driver Retention / Average Miles Driven / On Time Performance / Average Hours Worked / Idling Time Terminal Manager KPIs: (For assigned Terminal) Driver Manager Goal Performance / Laden Mile / Accident Frequency / Injury Frequency / Maintenance Cost per

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Mile / Driver Retention / Profitability

Performance Management 1. Establishing KPIs (Performance Goals) DISCUSSION : Establishing KPIs
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are those performance areas that is most critical to your company’s financial success. The first step in establishing a Performance Management Program is to select the 3 - 5 most appropriate KPIs for each employee group, keeping in mind that employee within those groups must be able to influence (improve) their assigned KPIs. Assigning performance goals to each KPI involves adding an ‘improvement multiplier’ to each KPI baseline. Therefore, upon making their goals, employees deliver a higher level of performance and increased profitability to the organization. Once KPIs are selected and calculated (baseline plus), the second step in development of your Performance Management Program is to define the Activities required to make each goal.

Performance Management 2. Defining Activities to Make Goals Performance Management – Step 2 Defining the Activities Required to Make Your Goals
“Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.” - Tom Landry

2. Defining Activities to Make Goals
For each KPI, you should define the most effective Activities that will help employees from each group make their goals. Often the best way to define these activities for field management employees is to brainstorm with each employee group, list all activities that might influence (improve) a particular KPI 4

and then select the most effective ones. When conducting the brainstorming session, use the following 3 step approach:1. List all Activities currently used to manage each KPI and then have the group select the most effective Activities 2. Add to your list New Activities that could improve performance but currently lack supporting reports or technology 3. Select the best Activities and make Notes on needed approvals, reports and resources 2. Defining Activities to Make Goals At the end of the brainstorming session, select and summarize the Activities to be used and include notes of supporting issues and resources that need to be resolved. 2. Defining Activities to Make Goals The next step is to Resolve the issues identified in the Notes from your brainstorming session. Finally, summarize the Activities into a Standard Operations Procedures (SOPs) Manual for current and new hire Terminal Operations Employees. Keep the SOP Manual Simple. Use outline format with at most one page per procedure.

REVIEW: Defining Activities
1. Brainstorm Activities and Resource Needs with individual Employee Groups 2. Assign Responsibility & Resolve Resource xxNeeds (Corporate Oversight required) 3. Outline Activities into a SOP Manual for xxExisting and New Employees

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Performance Management 2. Defining Activities to Make Goals DISCUSSION : Defining Activities to Make Goals
Once your employees know where they are going (Performance Goals) they need to know the best way to get there (Activities). Define Activities for every KPI within each employee group. For example, Driver Managers might need activities defined that improve Driver Productivity while Terminal Managers might need activities that improve Terminal Laden Mile Performance. Corporate must be involved in every step of developing the Performance Management Program. Regarding Activity Development, Corporate role is to ensure that the most effective Activities for each KPI are captured and published in the SOP Manual, and that all supporting resources are provided. Your Field management team runs your daily operations and manages a significant amount of your costs. You want to provide them with the best possible processes and reports to support their efforts to improve their KPIs and your bottom line. Performance

Performance Management 3. Monitoring & Mentoring Performance Management – Step 3 Monitoring and Mentoring

“Where performance is measured, performance improves. Where performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates. “ - Thomas S Munson

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Progress towards meeting KPIs must be constantly monitored and Mentored. The ability to quickly identify who in the organization is having problems making goals so that you can provide support and coaching is critical to program success. Each level of management needs to monitor the performance of both the employees they manage and their own individual progress towards meeting goals. Monitoring reports should have the following characteristics:1. Frequently Updated – at least once per month 2. Displays goals and progress towards goals 3. Compares individual performance to other employees from the same employee group 4. Compares ‘roll-up’ terminal performance to all other terminals in the company

3. Monitoring & Mentoring
1. Monitoring Reports need to be designed to allow employees to monitor the performance of the employees they supervise. 2. Monitoring Reports also should allow employees to see how they are performing relative to others in the same group and how their terminal and companies are performing.

Performance Management 3. Monitoring & Mentoring REVIEW: Monitoring & Mentoring
1. Monitoring Reports allow employees to monitor the performance of the people they manage 2. Monitoring Reports allow employees to xxmonitor their own performance 3. Each level in the organization Monitors xxand Mentors their assigned areas

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Performance Management 3. Monitoring & Mentoring Discussion: Monitoring & Mentoring
Diligence and consistency in Monitoring and Mentoring are critical to improving the performance of your employees. React quickly to help under performing employees. Their immediate manager should visit with them to observe their techniques, identify their obstacles, review SOPs and provide the necessary coaching and training. Conversely, recognition plays a large part in the Mentoring process. Corporate should recognize outstanding performance frequently and publicly so that employees understand that outstanding performance is monitored and appreciated at the highest levels. Finally, providing Monitoring Reports that rank employee performance to others in his/her group is an effective way to use competition to further encourage increased performance.

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4. Providing Financial Incentives Performance Management – Step 4 Providing Financial Incentives … when you think about motivation, you need to think about money first. - Jack Welch Performance Management 4. Providing Financial Incentive
Providing Financial Incentive for employee goal achievement is an important part of your Performance Management Program. Employees with the opportunity to earn a significant bonus when obtaining their goals are much more motivated. Your Financial Incentive Program should have the following characteristics: 1. Financial Incentives are funded by Savings realized from Goal Obtainment 2. Payout Opportunities are Significant – at least 10% of Salary • Incentives are Paid out regardless of Profitability 3. Incentives are Paid at least Quarterly to Reinforce desired Performance.

Financial Incentives are funded by Savings from Goal Obtainment.
Why pay employees when profitability is down? If employees make their goals and are not rewarded due to poor company financial performance, they will lose their motivation for increased performance anytime they feel volumes or revenue is down. Keep in mind, the employees that made their goals did improve bottom line performance. Without their efforts, results would have been worse.

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Performance Management 4. Providing Financial Incentive
1. Incentives are paid at least Quarterly to Reinforce Desired Behavior. 2.Employees need to be able to view progress to goals at least monthly and receive payments at least quarterly.

Performance Management 4. Providing Financial Incentive
REVIEW: Providing Financial Incentive 1. Financial Incentives are funded by Savings from Goal Obtainment. 2. Payout Opportunities are X Significant – at least 10%of Salary. 3. Incentives are paid at least quarterly to reinforce desired Behavior.

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Performance Management 4. Providing Financial Incentives Discussion: Providing Financial Incentives
Goal obtainment means an employee exceeded prior period baseline performance, thereby improving your bottom line. That is the mission of Performance Management – to elevate the performance of your employees in those areas that most impact company profitability. KPI financial incentives are funded from a small portion of the increased profits generated by employees making their goals. Therefore, it is critical that they receive significant and frequent incentive payouts to reinforce continued high levels of performance and profitability. Pay for Performance is a universally recognized motivator, however providing bonuses simply as a result of having a ‘good year’ does not encourage the specific activities from individual employees that consistently drives increased profitability. Financial incentives for goal obtainment does.

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Performance Management Closing Remarks
The success of linking financial reward to goal obtainment to increase profitability has long been recognized and embraced by the business community. These same companies usually integrate a Performance Management Program into their Business Plan by defining employee KPIs and making assumptions about what percentages of those goals will be met? Surprisingly, most trucking companies have not established a Performance Management Program. I say surprisingly because as an industry we are quick to embrace technology and provide driver training to increase performance and reduce costs but somehow have failed to recognize the huge bottom line potential of providing field management employees pay for performance opportunities. Our day-to-day operations are run by Terminal Managers and Driver Managers. Each one of them makes literally hundreds of decisions every week that impacts the cost and profitability of our organization. Doesn’t it make sense to provide the employees that actually manage our business the goals, direction, resource support and financial incentive to help and encourage them to excel? Developing a Performance Management Program is not difficult or expensive. If you would like professional help developing your program, there is no better choice than Cost Down Consulting. Our Terminal Boost Program was developed exclusively for Trucking and is the most comprehensive Performance Management program available in our Industry. To learn more or to request a free consultation, our contact information is on the next slide.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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Talent & capabilities are of course necessary but opportunities & right guidance are two very important back up without which no any person can climb the ladder to success. National conference is indeed an important aspect of MBA programs & it is very great privilege to have this opportunity in such an esteemed IMS Bhaddal.

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