CASE STUDY #1:

Generating High Level Performance and Accountability

The Challenge: The client was the "applied" IS department of a large organization. Morale was low. A significant percent of staff were under-supervised, inadequately trained for their assignments, or - if they were star performers - overcommitted to projects. Leadership was conspicuously absent in promoting consistent accountability among employees.

The solution: Kagan Associates began by helping the organization acknowledge the leadership vacuum in the department; a new department head was named and a new leadership team was formed, comprised of the department's key managers. Over the course of 2 months, we worked with this team to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for the department. One of the team's primary areas of focus was to address the performance and accountability issues plaguing the department. We did so in the following ways:

We guided the team in evaluating the performance of each individual in the department, noting chronic underperformers, individuals whose talents suggested they should be given a chance to succeed in a different capacity in the department, and those who needed further supervision in order to determine their value to the organization. We also identified solid performers to make sure they were receiving support as well. Working with central Human Resources, we developed a plan to "right-size" the department, including identifying positions that needed to be filled from the outside.
We created a Performance Management Task Force, which defined as its objective: to develop a culture of performance management within the department, making sure the right tools are in place, and promoting performance management throughout the department through education and communication. The task force met regularly over the course of a year and was successful in accomplishing this objective.
To support this new "performance" culture, the leadership team implemented a series of morale-building activities, including an all-department harbor cruise and dinner, a Valentine's Day celebration, and monthly all-staff meetings to highlight individual and team accomplishments.

The Results: There's a new energy in the department today. Each employee prepares his or her own 90-day work plan that ties in to team and departmental goals and highlights professional development objectives. Good performers are more systematically identified and rewarded. Indeed, the performance management program is now showcased as a model for the larger organization. The department is "right-sized" and, in the words of one of the senior managers, "We can now take on new projects with confidence that we have what it takes as a team to complete them successfully."