Management practices: Untapped resources for constantly improving performance
By Sid Chadwick

Management practices, or “systems,” as I experience and introduce them in organizations, are worth studying, and applying as they usually represent untapped and available opportunities from human resources for improving bottom-line performance.

If we’re paying attention, top-performing organizations tend to project a grace and harmony that’s nearly impossible to overlook. There’s little clanging and banging. People are quietly orchestrating and coordinating with each other, and customers, and suppliers — like a symphony. Yet grace and harmony for top-performance almost always represent an intended design and “management system” that are relentlessly and purposefully reinforced. That reinforcement tends to emanate not only from top management, but also, over time, from supervisors, front-line employees, and even suppliers.

As an overview, most of these management systems are purposefully coupled or connected to multiple performance areas of the organization. What appears on the surface as one performance issue or contribution is usually only a part of the system for how other departments, individuals, suppliers, and customers are also impacted, and elevated.

Top performance organizations are relentlessly looking for and seizing opportunities to improve performance. Average or poor performing organizations on the other hand tend to “talk an opportunity to death,” before moving on to the next management fad.

The following represent improved management and performance opportunities that most organizations I believe do not engage, but which highly successful ones do, to varying degrees.

Challenging opportunities
Monthly performance reviews: Organizations tend to not communicate how they’re performing, where they are going, what they expect to achieve for customers, or opportunities for how each customer can make a greater contribution (than what they spend with the supplier). Yet, my consistent experience is that every employee, practically without exception, has ideas and opinions, if tapped, can improve the department’s or the company’s overall performance. I sometimes ask for sustained 2 percent improvement each month from individuals and departments I have the honor to work with. This requires improved communications, relentless follow-up, and constant measurement of results. Predictably, new understandings and improvements evolve over time — often beyond what was initially envisioned. What’s required? Commitment.

Succession planning: Someone should be tracking the potential cost, and how poorly prepared private companies are for inevitable changes in ownership, and senior management. Anecdotally speaking, owners are avoiding the issue, and inevitably face disappointment (bordering on clinical depression) for what happens to the organization and assets that represent much of their life’s work, and personal net worth. Generally speaking, three to five years are required to effectively position and develop a succession plan that elevates and insures the value (and continuation) of an organization to its owners, employees, customers, and suppliers.

Supplier development: With few exceptions, most suppliers are looking for opportunities to improve their contribution to their graphic communications customers. Yet most graphic communication organizations do not create a systematic review for improving suppliers’ contributions. Most suppliers do not understand what their customers are trying to achieve, their “sources of pain,” or what they wish their supplier would change. A semi-annual review of performance issues that can be improved can have a profound effect on employee morale, accomplishments, and total value received. What’s required to accomplish these performance improvements? Commitment, and willingness to engage change in how we manage our resources.

Education and training: One of my many biases is that “systematic and relentless education and training” have become a “cost of doing business” for successful organizations. For example, we currently have three clients who are committed to weekly or biweekly education and training sessions for all customer contact personnel. When entered into as a commitment to improve individual and department performance, there’s a predictably subtle but profound change in department and individual morale, and performance — that inevitably contributes to the entire organization. Such an ongoing commitment improves the value of the organization to employees, customers, and suppliers. Issues tend to be addressed more constructively, and morale, trust, and performance are improved. (Note: Most organizations are already paying the price for ongoing education and training of their employees — they just don’t experience the benefits.)

Employee performance reviews: If we’re listening closely, conversations and frustrations frequently engage opportunities to improve an employee’s or department’s performance. However, there are too often supporting structural resources that are lacking. Examples include, but are not limited to semi-annual performance reviews by the president of his direct reports — for setting an example; written supervisor and employee guidelines and instructions for conducting performance reviews; updated position descriptions; and clarity of where the organization is going, and what it’s trying to achieve. Performance reviews do not mandate a pay increase. But all pay increases should require a preceding written performance review.

Periodic customer business reviews: We recently experienced a client whose president made a demonstrated commitment to periodic business reviews (PBRs) with all major customers, and customers of significant potential. Like many successes in life and business, preparation and relentless follow-through are keys to improved performance results. And without exception, they’ve increased their revenues and opportunities with every account they’ve had a PBR — which to date numbers more than 25 accounts.

Quote Logs: We have two clients who are diligently working to better understand and manage their quote logs. Revelations for additional, immediate business opportunities occur almost daily. Improved revenues, profitability, and customer development are occurring. There are also elevated expectations from sales representatives — in coordination with estimators, customer service representatives, and production management. Quotes are more customized and useful to customers. Proposals are targeted to significant opportunities that were previously unrecognized. In effect, the organization is more focused, purposeful, and productive.

Major customer surveys: With few exceptions, every customer survey we’ve administered over the last 16 years has revealed immediate opportunities to improve performance for customers that touch almost every department; immediate additional business on an account-by-account basis; follow-up opportunities for each sales rep with customers; and what the organization was doing right that customers cherished. As an opinion, if an organization is looking to improve its performance and value to its customers, for constantly developing its market differentiation, then a major customer survey should be conducted about every 18 months. Why approximately 18 months? Because customers’ needs and expectations are constantly changing, and just because revenues and profits at this time are decent or acceptable is inadequate evidence that customers have a high opinion of your performance and value to their welfare.

Recognition, and celebrations: I believe most folks go to bed every night wishing someone knew how hard they’d tried that day, and what they’d achieved. Too often, when I ask, “What do you celebrate here?” The response is, “When someone is leaving.”

Organizations, departments, and individuals should have publicly recognized performance goals that are challenging, and recognized when achieved. Too few management teams celebrate their achievements, or track and frequently communicate their progress, direction, or performance objectives. For example, we have one client president who offers a weekly or biweekly letter to all employees that contains customer feedback on company performance; what he sees that is improving; what needs to be improved; what’s scheduled to occur over the next week or month or two; and how customers expectations and needs are changing.

Summary
To paraphrase Mark Twain, “Progress I’m in favor of, it’s change I’m against.” The capital intensity of our industry creates significant hurdles for most organizations’ development. With that as a given, the paradox is that human resources and management practices within our organizations — and our suppliers — represent significant, untapped, additional resources for leveraging-up an organization’s performance.

Systematically applied, these resource and management opportunities are available to all organizations, and represent significant potential for improving performance, however, leadership and the commitment for self-examination and change are required.

Perhaps that is partly why open markets are such a continuing challenge and bonanza to our freedom and civilized way of life. Customers can discern the difference in suppliers’ management practices through improving performance and communications they receive.

In effect, customers are ultimately determining who gets to stay in business, and suppliers are determining their future by what they’re willing to change, and improve.

About the author: Sid Chadwick, president of Chadwick Consulting, Inc., has spent most of the last sixteen years as a business development and management performance improvement consultant in the graphic communications industry. He regularly writes for both regional and national associations, such as IPA, and is a speaker for national conferences and company meetings. Chadwick Consulting’s web site contains useful information, including more than 40 recently published articles. Chadwick Consulting can be reached at 336-945-0645, or .