The success or failure of any performance management system is dependent on its ability to generate a continuous stream of business improvements, and the speed and effectiveness with which those improvements can be deployed and generate value.
onVector’s approach to rapid performance improvement is based on five distinct characteristics:
Containment of scope
While some improvements are wide and far reaching, involving many organizations and process interfaces, the vast majority of business improvement occurs within very narrow boundaries that can be controlled and influenced by a handful of managers and supervisory personnel. Keeping it simple, and helping our clients resist the temptation to over-complicate the challenge is one of the hallmarks of our approach.
Rapid mobilization
Embedded into our performance management program is the “bias for action” that is present in all phases of the process. Having the right metrics and up-front reporting processes helps to quickly identify and diagnose deviations from course, and enables course corrections to be more quickly deployed.
Targeted expertise
One of the disadvantages of using consulting organizations is their inherent need to keep their partners and staff fully utilized. This often creates the motivation to grow the scope and complexity of projects and initiatives. In contrast, our business model is set up to avoid this dilemma by employing a staffing model that optimizes only the unique skills required of each task. We accomplish this through a unique combination of project leaders who are focused on skills transfer rather than dependency, and a stable of industry and process experts who can be “vectored in” on demand at the right times where specific industry and functional expertise is necessary and vital to success.
Standardized problem solving
As with any business activity, standardization can be a huge force in gaining efficiencies and improving quality of output. While there are always unique characteristics of any improvement initiative (the process, function, or industry in focus), there exist many parts of the improvement process that can, in fact, be standardized. By deploying consistency in analytical methods, problem solving approaches, and deployment processes, the need to manage every improvement as a unique, first-time initiative is greatly reduced.
Attention to value delivered
Our approach hinges on a concept of “value release”– where each initiative is expected to not only identify potential opportunities, but actually deliver tangible value. By requiring the owners of initiatives to maintain a stake in “releasing value,” solutions begin to address the range of issues that are critical to capturing that value for the enterprise.
The result is a pipeline of initiatives that are releasing a steady stream of tangible value, where the success of each is measured in weeks, not months!