Put a good performer in a bad system, and the system will win every time.
~Geary Rummler
Small businesses drive today economy and are vital to the communities they serve. However, almost a quarter of small businesses fail within the first two years, and half are gone by the sixth year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Business processes and employee performance can make or break your business. Successfully executing business processes is not always an easy task but managing employee performance can almost seem impossible. With Human Performance Improvement, performance roadblocks can be removed and profits can be gained.
A small business will carefully consider before investing thousands of dollars into new equipment--but when it comes to hiring and retention, they should equally consider the tremendous financial impact that employees will have on the organizational bottom line. Employees are one of the leading expenses for a small business. However, most businesses do not set up their employees for success, which ends up costing thousands of dollars in wasted time, lost productivity, and low sales.
When employees are not performing well, many times businesses will attempt to fix a performance problem by providing more training, a performance improvement plan, or simply letting the employee go. Without giving it a second thought, they restart their hiring process all over, expecting different results. Often times, these approaches are not optimal in resolving a specific performance issue. These common mistakes can stifle growth and become a significant cost to small businesses.
There is no sense in throwing money away based on conjecture, and this where Human Performance Improvement (HPI) comes into play. Applying HPI techniques can help businesses identify their business goals and enable them to cultivate their employees, develop leaders, execute business processes, and make a direct and positive impact on business outcomes and the bottom line.
Here is how HPI works. Think of a bridge that is not fully completed, with a section missing in the middle. Your business is on one side of the bridge, but desires to cross over to the other side containing higher sales, engaged employees, transformational leaders, etc. Now imagine performance issues are preventing you from building the section of the bridge that will get you to the other side.
Performance consultants trained in HPI will identify the root cause of the business performance issues and provide recommendations, solutions and tools to solve the real issue and close the gap on the bridge. Not identifying the gaps and the real cause of performance issues can be very dangerous to the health of your business.
According to a study performed by the National Institute of Health, 90% of incidents, defects, and loss of productivity are a result of human performance issues and errors. If businesses resort to training or other solutions without first identifying the root cause of these performance issues, they may end up treating symptoms and wasting precious time and resources without solving the problem. HPI can improve business processes by helping businesses identify their business goals and enable them to cultivate their employees, develop leaders, execute business processes, and make a direct and positive impact on business outcomes and the bottom line.
Where does HPI fit in with your business? Have you been looking to improve performance in your company? Do you have high turnover and disengaged employees? Have you spent money on training but failed to see measurable results or positive changes in employee behaviors? Do you have business processes in place or does your business operate in chaos? Are sales figures down?
Building and running a small business is enough work without wondering how to create a business environment that allows employees to flourish. You must have effective business processes in place and employees who are willing and able to perform. Without those key elements, your business will fail. Applying Human Performance Improvement principles within your business can drive business growth and help prevent your business from becoming a statistic.
