Organizations need to build a high performance culture beyond typical performance management systems to improve productivity by 5-35%. This requires organizational, managerial, and employee principles such as clear performance standards, feedback from multiple sources, coaching-style management, matching employees' strengths with opportunities, and prioritizing performance improvement. Leaders must champion these principles by holding managers accountable for staff performance and including it in manager performance goals.

1. Workforce performance management
Building a High Performance Workforce
Research from the Corporate Leadership Council concludes that to build a high
performance workforce - organizations need to think beyond the typical performance
management system. A high performance culture is much more than filling in appraisal
forms and following a performance management process. It is not a quick fix and it
requires commitment to creating a sustainable approach to performance improvement. It
is a culture that goes beyond short term metrics and one that must include a range of
organizational, managerial and employee principles.
Research predicts a minimum of 5% productivity improvement all the way up to 35%. As
a way of visualizing this - the minimum 5% improvement is equivalent to your people
having an extra 2 hours productivity per week.
1. Organizational Principles:
1a. The Performance Management Approach. Be clear on the expected standards of
performance. This ensures that all employees understand what is expected of them in
their role and how their role contributes to the success of the organization. Any system
for providing feedback should allow for multiple sources of feedback - not just the direct
line manager.
1b. A High Performance Culture. Ensure there is a regular and open communication of
business performance data. Managers and leaders should make a clear distinction
between employees making good and poor contributions. They should encourage
employees to take suitable risks and remove the fear of failure.
2. Managerial Principles:
2a. Interaction with employees. Managers should set clear and consistent expectations
and try not to constantly change plans and priorities. Using a coaching style of
management helps your people find solutions to business problems. Managers should
provide the resources needed by their people to allow them to be successful.
2b. Formal Reviews. The emphasis should be on the positive aspects of performance.
Performance weaknesses should only be discussed when the manager has also thought of
specific suggestions for improving performance. Formal reviews should also include a
discussion and agreed actions relating to your employees' medium- to long-term career
aspirations.

2. 2c. Informal Feedback. Informal feedback should be provided on a regular basis. The
most powerful driver of high performance is feedback which is specific, timely, accurate
and balanced and comes from a knowledgeable source.
3. Employee Principles:
3a. Day to day work. Take some time to provide the big picture for your people. Help
them understand how their roles and current assignments contribute to organizational
success. People who understand and enjoy their work deliver greater contributions - so
take time to carefully match people to their roles.
3b. Opportunities. Understand your people's strengths and then look to provide them
with opportunities to utilize those strengths. Timely training and on-the-job coaching
provides the most effective learning. Any learning and development provided should be
relevant to people's assignments and their role.
Implementing a High Performance Workforce
The good news is that these principles are simple to understand and both managers and
employees can intuitively understand the connection to improved performance. Done
effectively - the benefits of high performance workforce can be achieved without the
need for huge capital expenditures, high-profile change programmes and major
upheavals.
However simple should not be confused with easy. To execute successfully - the
organisation's leaders must position high performance as a key priority. They have to
insist that line managers (not Human Resources) become the champions of high
performance activities.
The first step is for the managers of other line managers to hold those line managers
accountable for performance improvement in their staff. This starts by including
performance management-related goals into managers' own performance expectations.
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