The following case study illustrates how performance analysis can significantly accelerate the launch of new technology, new work processes, or a new organizational design.

A refinery decided to enter the asphalt market, so it began by conducting a detailed performance analysis. The goal was to load and dispatch an asphalt delivery truck safely in less than 30 minutes from the time it arrived at the refinery’s gate.

To ensure a successful market entry, a performance analyst worked with management to identify company goals based on the needs of potential customers. The analyst then studied every facet of human performance that would be involved, including blending, testing, certifying, loading, and handling paperwork.

He also identified the major accomplishments and tasks required to meet the goal of dispatching the truck safely within 30 minutes. Finally, the analyst translated these accomplishments and tasks into work procedures, training, and job aids to ensure high performance for all workers involved in the process—from the operators blending the asphalt to the security force controlling truck traffic.

As a result of the analysis and implementation of performance improvement solutions, the asphalt facility was able to demonstrate a 75 percent return-on-investment in the first year of operation. Part of this success could be directly attributed to the targeted analysis that had been performed and the interventions derived from it.

Although you may not be in the asphalt business, you need to capture the profiles of your exemplary performers. Think of these exemplars as internal benchmarks already operating within the same organizational structure and culture as the rest of your employees. Yet, these individuals have found ways to exceed the organization’s expectations.

Next steps

Hopefully, you have been collecting data as you read these blogs? That data will serve as the foundation for a performance architecture that aligns all support required across the six components of a high-performance work system. It will enable you to shift the performance curve optimally to the right, producing significant improvements for your team and the enterprise it supports.

When you make that shift, Dr. Al Folsom and I will have accomplished our goal in writing these blogs. We’ll address that shift specifically during the ASTD Virtual Summit Webinar on November 7, 2013. We hope you can join us.

For more on how to shift the performance curve, check out Paul’s previous blog article in this series.