How do you balance quality, efficiency, and innovation in your performance improvement strategies?

A strategic approach is needed to balance quality, efficiency, and innovation in performance improvement. Establish definite goals that are in line with the aims of the organization first. Set priorities for projects according to their significance and viability, and apply lean concepts to optimize workflows. Encourage innovation by utilizing technology and fostering imagination. Pay attention to what customers require, and evaluate efficacy with measurements. Promote interdepartmental cooperation and provide training investments for staff members. Organizations can improve performance while balancing quality, efficiency, and innovation by being flexible and iterative.

Crafting strategy metrics that effectively bolster KPIs demands a nuanced approach rooted in data-driven insights. By integrating a balanced mix of leading and lagging metrics through data analysis, organizations can gain a holistic understanding of their performance landscape. The following steps could serve as a roadmap towards achieving synergy: - Identify Key Performance Areas; - Review Historical Data; - Perform Exploratory Data Analysis; - Identify Correlations and Predictive Patterns; - Select Leading Indicators; - Establish Baselines and Thresholds; - Implement Monitoring and Alerting Systems; - Iterate and Improve. Certainly, active communication and collaboration with business owners play a pivotal role throughout all these steps.

Scope and criteria are important, but they can converge / limit / constrain thinking prematurely. I suggest it is best to start with exploring vision / ambition / objectives, and stay in the space of divergent thinking initially. Once there's senior agreement on the destination, then turn your attention to the rules of the game in getting there (i.e. scope, limits, timeframes, budgets, resources, standards, measures, etc.).

Balancing quality, efficiency and innovation in performance improvement strategies can be achieved by considering the effectiveness of different approaches, prioritizing continuous improvement, and finding the right balance between immediate and long-term goals. Collaborative and cross-functional teams can also help to enhance innovative practices and improve overall performance. Additionally, incorporating feedback mechanisms and utilizing data analytics can also help to identify opportunities for improvement and optimize performance. Foster a culture of improvement: Encourage continuous improvement and learning. Diversify innovation projects and allocate resources based on potential impact and uncertainty. Diversity in workplace helps.

Nailing performance improvement is a bit like conducting a symphony. Start with crystal-clear goals, foster a culture of constant improvement, and let data be your guide for decisions. Bring in agile methods, set up teams for innovation, and invest in training to nurture essential skills.

Data never lies. Look at your data with objectivity. If the numbers are not the one expected, challenge your product. Use your PMS data, feedbacks, intended user interview, naive user interview, to identify the needs and possible improvements. Let go of assumptions and get info from your target audiance direclty.

A great tool to use is feedback on individuals from other managers with whom an individual has worked with. This provides a detailed performance overview and diverse view points and insights.

Improvement starts with measurement, so that you first know how you are performing. But don't get lost in the maze of pursuing the perfect data set. Instead, look for those lagging and leading 'indicators' which are going to demonstrate you're heading in the right direction, whilst constantly asking 'WHY?'

As a management consultant for TCLD, I transformed a state audit team's performance marred by inefficiencies. I gathered comprehensive data through surveys, interviews, and observations, then collaborated with IT to create real-time KPI dashboards. These tools provided clear insights and identified areas for improvement. After training the team on using the dashboards, they significantly improved efficiency and accuracy within months. This experience highlighted that data-driven approaches truly elevate organizational?performance.

The PDCA cycle is a great way to balance quality, efficiency, and innovation in performance improvement. Here's how - PLAN: What are your goals? Identify areas for improvement and potential solutions. Prioritize initiatives and establish success metrics (using data!!) DO: Implement initiatives on a pilot scale. Communicate and train any involved stakeholders. CHECK: Use the defined metrics from the PLAN stage to monitor the impact of your actions. Identify successes and areas for improvement. ACT: Based on your data, either adjust your approach or implement the successful solutions more broadly. Document what you learned to inform future strategies. Don't just implement changes. Actively measure and refine them for optimal impact.

Continually Reevaluate What Could Work Better Productive people are always working to become better and to find better ways of doing things. The place where today and tomorrow meet is where you can create positive change.

PDCA should be the mantra for everything we do. However, in many organisations, it rarely is! The 'Check' and 'Act' steps get skipped, and the efforts on 'Plan' vary significantly. But we all seem to love to just get on and 'Do' ... often without a good understanding of why!?

As a management consultant at TCLD, I trained a CSPH's audit team to enhance performance management. Our challenge was to address inconsistencies in performance metrics. Plan: We defined our problem and set goals to standardize metrics, centralize data, train the team, and develop a feedback loop. Do: We implemented the data system, conducted workshops, and collected data. Check: We analyzed the data, revealing improvements and areas needing adjustment. Act: We adapted training, provided support, and repeated the PDCA cycle. Over time, the audit team improved their data management, leading to consistent performance enhancements. The cycle turned a complex issue into a continuous sustainable perofrmance improvement process.

Active engagement with stakeholders is a crucial key to the success of any project. Gathering their feedback is equally essential, fostering trust and contributing significantly to the overall success of the project.

Someone once told me that "unowned perfection is far more valuable than owned perfection". Improvement efforts that don't have effective change and communications running through the core of them will produce just pretty looking charts and unsustainable benefits.

During my tenure at the fourth division of the Audit Bench of the Supreme Court, we faced numerous challenges with the tedious manual review of accounts. Determined to enhance our efficiency and accuracy, my team and I brainstormed and developed an innovative Excel tool. This tool automated the review process, significantly reducing errors and making our workflow seamless. This initiative not only boosted our performance quality, saving countless hours, but also showcased the power of innovation and experimentation in solving complex problems. It was a pivotal moment that underscored the importance of continuous improvement in?our?work.

You can also undertake relevant learning and development opportunities for instance certification programmes to demonstrate your constant drive to improve quality within your projects and engagements

Improvement practitioners must be prepared to take their own medicine. If improvements aren't being sustained and/or the pace is too slow, then look at the approach being used ... be honest at what is and what isn't working. Don't just keep on pushing! Continual improvement must be applied to the approach to improvement itself.

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small, manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." - Mark Twain While this quote by Mark Twain is not explicitly about continuous improvement, it underscores the idea that continuous improvement often begins with taking small steps and making consistent progress.

Response time is how long does it take to create the answer to the request that was asked. Latency is a distance influenced item and also a factor of how many ‘round trips’ it takes to deliver the request or send the answer. A bigger cpu does not change that result. All cpus wait at the same speed! Bandwidth size can help but can not reduce the number of round trips. We call those round trips a ‘chatty application’. Learn where the bottle neck is before suggesting changes. Long response time at the first consumer of service may be hidden by that service calling other services to complete the work request. You need to follow the complete flow of completing the request. (Completing in the next post)

Many organizations see it as ‘what have you done for me lately’. Keeping a log or history of the success stories shows the continual impacts your group or individuals have done to ‘improve’ the process of getting business completed. One of the current views is end user score cards on how well they are able to get their work completed. Very generic and does not ask the question should they be doing it that way at all. Latency for each interaction, but also response time of a request. Those are two different things. Latency is more a factor of distance and how many small interactions it takes to get the request or the answer back to the end user. Response time (in the next post)

In the grand scheme of things, everything comes with its own price tag, costs, and a sweet reward. Remember, 'The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.' So, let's appreciate and cheer for every achievement, no matter how small. In the wise words of Eleanor Roosevelt, 'You must do the thing you think you cannot do.' Celebrate those victories, big or small. And as we journey through continuous improvement, responding to accomplishments with praise and acknowledgment is like giving a high-five to progress. It's these little moments that build trust among our team, laying the foundation for the success of our project."

Balancing quality, efficiency, and innovation involves continuous improvement, streamlined processes, and embracing new technologies. For example, in battery storage systems, integrating advanced materials enhances both quality and efficiency, while fostering innovation. Similarly, in offshore wind projects, leveraging innovative installation techniques improves efficiency without compromising quality and safety standards, driving overall performance improvement strategies forward.

? Create an environment where experimenting and learning are encouraged. Empower employees to identify performance gaps and suggest solutions. ? Invest in training and development to equip your workforce with the skills and knowledge to implement performance improvement strategies effectively. ? Strive for innovation, but don't neglect the importance of core processes and quality control. Maintain a balance. ? Recognize and reward achievements in performance improvement to motivate employees and reinforce the value of their efforts.

Ne pensez pas uniquement 'données' , pensez aussi 'Humain' ! Vous avez déjà entendu parler des mécanismes d'auto-handicap ? Ce sont des comportements qui nous poussent à créer, en avance, des obstacles dans une situation mena?ante. Par exemple, en ne communiquent pas à nos équipes toutes les informations dont elles auraient besoin, ou en pratiquant l'auto-isolation. De la sorte, on se prépare des excuses en cas d'échec, ou des raisons de rendre notre réussite plus impressionnante. Dans les faits, il en résulte surtout des freins à la performance. Pensez donc humain, travaillez à déceler les mécanismes d'auto handicap pour y faire face. Vous pouvez par exemple mettre en place une ambiance bienveillante et offrir le droit à l'erreur.