Evaluation and Control Program – Essential Organizational Behaviors

Effective evaluation and control programs rely on a set of underlying behaviors promoting continuous performance improvement. While positionally dependent, these behaviors foster the continuous identification and resolution of performance improvement opportunities and shortfalls.[wcm_restrict plans=”25541, 25542, 25653″]

Individual performance improvement behaviors vary across a spectrum based on organizational position. Executives and senior managers promote a culture of continuous improvement while individual contributors challenge underlying assumptions and practices and resist complacency. The following lists provide illustrative examples of the continuous performance improvement behaviors exhibited by individuals at all organizational levels supporting effective evaluation and control programs.

Executives and Senior Managers (Directors, Vice Presidents, and Above)

• Challenge managers, supervisors, and staff to continually improve performance relative to the organization’s vision, mission, values, and goals
• Align evaluation and control programs with the organization’s vision, mission, values, and goals
• Establish goals, define and reinforce standards, make decisions, and communicate support for ongoing improvement opportunity / problem identification and implementation / resolution
• Reinforce with managers the need for and value of continuous learning through routine, critical self-assessments and the systematic incorporation of internal and external lessons learned
• Welcome performance improvement input from all levels of the organization including a demonstration of respect for differing opinions
• Create an environment within which employees readily identify and report performance issues that are subsequently resolved in a timely manner commensurate with their organizational significance
• Ensure employees feel free to raise performance improvement opportunities and shortfalls without the fear of retribution
• Hold themselves and their subordinates accountable for using evaluation and control programs to identify and close performance gaps
• Emphasize the importance of resolving problems the first time and demonstrate a low tolerance for problem recurrence
• Coach managers to identify the connectivity of seemingly unrelated performance issues and resolving their underlying common causes

Operations and Functional Area Managers (Second-line managers)

• Reward self-critical behaviors and the absence of defensiveness to improving performance
• Support and promote participation in self-assessments and the corrective action program
• Assign personnel with the knowledge, skills, and experiences to effectively execution the evaluation and control programs under their purview
• Challenge evaluation and control program / activity participants to identify objective, critical, and insightful improvement opportunities
• Drive the analysis of performance improvement opportunities / problems to a depth commensurate with the issue’s significance
• Routinely communicate evaluation and control program findings to subordinates
• Demonstrate ownership for the timely closure of performance gaps by prioritizing, staffing/funding, and directing activities to effectively improve performance
• Embed performance improvement identification features within organizational processes, procedures, and technologies

Superintendents and Supervisors (First-line managers)

• Recognize self-critical behaviors and the absence of defensiveness to improving performance
• Participate in self-assessment activities to identify performance improvement opportunities and shortfalls
• Own corrective actions to resolve performance gaps
• Involve subordinates in performance improvement activities

Individual Contributors (Workforce and Staff)

• Proactively observe operations, continually challenge underlying assumptions and practices, and resist complacency
• Readily identify and promptly report performance issues
• Participate in self-assessment activities to identify performance improvement opportunities and shortfalls
• Propose actions to improve performance, close gaps, and resolve shortfalls
• Assist in the implementation of corrective actions to resolve performance gaps

[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember plans=”25541, 25542, 25653″]

Hi there! Gain access to this article with a FREE StrategyDriven Insights Library – Sample Subscription. It’s FREE Forever with No Credit Card Required.

[/wcm_nonmember]

About the Author

Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.