The project team has left the building and so has your performance improvement.

Success! The project team has delivered, your business is producing more/higher quality output, and your performance indicators look good.

There have been pats on the back, a celebratory dinner, articles in newsletters, and congratulatory speeches. It’s time to celebrate!

Then the project team walks away, the changes become unwound, everything goes back to the way it was before, and the performance improvement is gone.

Does this sound familiar? You’re not alone!

On 50% of completed projects the associated improvements in performance will have vanished within 3 months. The root cause of unsustainable performance improvement can be attributed to three key issues:

Competition for Focus:

Project teams have a very clear goal – “increase Widget production by 20% by increasing the uptime of Machine X by Y hours per day”.

The focus the team brings to the goal means that it’s constantly in the view of the organisation. There are clear accountabilities for performance, performance targets, daily performance reports, and issues are highlighted and resolved quickly.

Management teams have a whole business that’s full of issues and spot fires. The competition for focus is intense. Once the project team walks away there tends to be far less focus on this specific goal. Reduced focus leads to reduced performance.

Behavioural Change Challenges:

Behavioural changes are notoriously difficult to make sustainable because they are not easily controlled.

The project team redefines the maintenance prioritisation process for the Widget machine. They refine the spare parts system to ensure all parts are held in the warehouse.

These are positive process & system changes…but they are reliant on behavioural change to have any effect on performance. The maintenance team must follow the new prioritisation process, and the warehouse must hold more spare parts which has a negative impact on their KPIs.

Whilst the project team is in place people tend to tow the line and modify their behaviour to support the achievement of performance improvement.

Once the project team walks away and the focus disappears, people revert to the old, easy way of doing things and put the kibosh on performance improvement.

Poor Handover Requirements:

Widget production is up 20%, a close out report is presented to management and the project is closed.

Unfortunately the machine had only demonstrated that performance for 3 days, it’s had a team of people crawling over it, and it’s chewed through a heap of spare parts.

This support is hardly sustainable and neither is the associated improvement in performance.

The definition of success for project teams is either too loosely defined or not defined at all. This results in the project team walking away before the results are truly sustainable.

So what are the keys to sustainable performance improvement?

Performance Reporting & Accountability:

Accountability for maintaining improved performance must be in place, and there must be consistent & accurate measurement of performance. Do not let the project team walk away without delivering the required reporting functionality.

The person who is accountable for maintaining the improved performance must understand their commitments and follow through. Observe this behaviour consistently before closing the project.

Process Definition & Auditing:

When the project team leaves, the knowledge leaves with them. Take that knowledge out of their heads and put it on paper.

Process mapping & manuals ensure that everyone has a reference guide on how to execute their work the correct way. This is fundamental for long term behavioural change.

Process mapping and manuals are not enough. You must validate that the desired processes and behaviours are being followed and demonstrated. Set up and conduct audits until you’re satisfied that processes and behaviours are sustainable.

Define Success Upfront:

Invest time upfront establishing success and handover requirements. You cannot be too articulate on what you want before you deem the project a “success” & closed.

Make sure the project team delivers against your requirements. Do not be pressured into closing a project that does not meet your success requirements.  

About 3 Ps in Profit

We are passionate about partnering with small and medium businesses to improve performance, increase profits, and deliver sustainable business growth.

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We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your performance improvement objectives and how we can help you achieve them.

Scott Hastie

Director

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