Performance Accountability
“When a man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself.”
– Louis Nizer
From when we are little kids, we are taught that rewards are given for good behaviour. If you finish everything on your plate, you can have an ice-cream after dinner; finish your homework, and we’ll take a trip to the park. Good behaviour equals reward.
If we look at it, the workforce is not too different. If we achieve our sales targets we get the end of year bonus, if we deliver projects on time and within budget we may get a promotion. But it’s not quite as simple as when we were kids is it? Businesses operate in complex, ever changing environments, where what was once ‘good’ behaviour is no longer considered as such; where last year’s performance target has doubled to meet growing economic pressures.
Within the context of increasing environmental complexity, we often see performance measures and reward systems that are not actually aligned to what the organisation is trying to achieve. This is most commonly seen in the project and program space, where the outputs and outcomes being delivered often don’t align with the wider business performance measures. Even where there is alignment between portfolio outcomes and corporate performance indicators, the accountability for their achievement is rarely assigned and tracked. Linking portfolio performance targets to corporate performance measures and making sure there is accountability for achievement of set targets is the key to avoiding any internal conflicts or competition over roles and responsibilities and drives everyone toward the same goals.
Gaining agreement to align portfolio strategic targets to corporate performance measures and assigning accountability for their achievement can be tricky business. Benefit Management has experience in this area across a range of organisations.
Challenges We Find
- Targets are set with no responsible group/ individual
- Strategic targets of the portfolio don’t align to corporate performance indicators
- Performance indicators are not tracked or reported on
- There is no performance management framework
- Internal competition between projects and for resources
Examples of how we can help
- Assisting in aligning portfolio targets to that of the wider organisation/ department
- Mapping performance accountability roles and responsibilities with consideration of dependencies and risks
- Assisting organisations in measuring strategic performance
- Developing an agreed framework for performance management
- Balancing projects and programs across a portfolio
- Managing strategic and business as usual projects