BTSR guidebook ~ Training & skills self-evaluation

What provision at this level looks like and feels like

For the organisation

In 2008, 16% of broadcasters evaluated at this level.

The organisation should feel charged, focused and dynamic. Everybody knows what needs to be done. Those who succeed are rewarded. Those who acquire new skills get to use them. Those who struggle are placed where they can do better, within the organisation if at all possible. Those who need training and development – or maybe just want it – get it… and it is demonstrably effective. People cooperate because they understand that everybody’s contribution is important to the goals of the organisation. All of this is virtually impossible without a well designed, well implemented performance review system.

Of course the organisation is not perfect. Nothing ever is. But it’s a place where merit is valued above all else. Where people come to do good work. Where people like to work… including the high-flyers that every organisation wants to attract.

For the training function

Managements that value performance also tend to value those who enable performance. Trainers with good ideas often find they are pushing at an open door.

But – especially if it’s been a bit of a struggle to reach this level – you can easily be wrong-footed. When everybody is focused on job performance, everybody is at least a little bit a trainer. At this level, you need a very collaborative style. And, as more people come to know what you knew all along, it could be time to think about raising your skills to a new level.

Benefits & risks of provision at this level

Benefits

The benefits of provision at this level fall into several categories:

• The organisation’s performance: When everybody pulls in the same direction, progress can be swift and appear effortless
• Morale & retention: When people feel they are being treated fairly and supportively, they try harder and succeed more. And when the organisation notices and deals with under-performance, that also helps morale; after all, team members know who the plonkers are… and if they seem to be getting away with it then that can demoralise everybody else
• Adaptability: This one’s easy to miss. Once you’ve mastered the art of aligning people’s performance to the organisation’s current needs, you’ll have a valuable trick up your sleeve when new needs come along.

Risks

The main risk at this level is that management takes its collective eye off the ball. It’s a tough journey to get here, and once the organisation arrives it simply has to turn its attention to all those things that have been waiting on the back burner.

But actually that’s not all bad. Once everything – goals, people, training – is in alignment, it should need no more than a light touch to keep it that way. If senior management continues its highly visible support for performance reviews, the actual effort required can fall back a little. If…

Processes & benchmarks for evaluating provision at this level

Distinguishing from «medium« provision

The key differences between this level and medium provision are:

• Feedback is not confined to the formal system. Team members receive feedback – on both good and EBI Even Better If… (= not so good!) aspects of their performance – frequently
• Performance reviews that measure each individual’s impact on the organisation are carried out at least twice a year; the criteria used are linked – in a way that is obvious to all – to the organisation’s goals
• The reviews capture both future training needs and past learning outcomes; this information is aggregated across business units, and drives training & development provision
• Reviews are documented promptly and systematically
• The performance review process itself is formally reviewed – and if necessary enhanced – at least annually.

Provision at this level often involves an element of 360° feedback, in which team members receive feedback from some or all of their:

• subordinates
• peers
• internal clients
• external clients

…as well as from their line managers. However 360° feedback is not a requirement of this level.

Processes

Here are some diagnostic questions:

• Are promotion & pay decisions, training & development decisions and performance reviews all closely interlinked?
• Are performance reviews:
  • systematic?
  • regular?
  • frequent (at least twice a year)?
  • consistent and comparable across the organisation?
  • consistent and comparable That doesn’t mean static, rather that you can compare results between periods from period to period?
• Do senior executives strongly support the performance review process:
  • committing resources?
  • driving the planning?
  • respecting its findings?
  • carrying out their own reviews to an exemplary standard?
• On average, do reviews report average performance? (In other words, is there a realistic mix of positive and EBI feedback?)
• Do managers willingly spend all the time needed to plan, consider, conduct and document each team member’s review?
• Is the training & development cycle firmly locked in to the performance review cycle?

If the answers are mostly Yes, that’s a fairly strong indication that the organisation is providing at this level.

Reference material relevant to this strand and level

Need it meets	Title	Words	Link

Examples of provision at this level

Here are some examples of evidence used by broadcasters, in previous years, to demonstrate provision at this level:

• Personal Development Review (PDR) briefing document
• PDR review form
• Sample job description
• The performance management calendar
• The EMS [employee management system] and MyGoal tools
• Appraisal forms; individual training plans; memo to appraisers about the appraisal process
• Emails about the development of competency standards.

The wording is broadcasters’ own, and does not necessarily follow our usage preferences

Case studies that illustrate high provision in this strand

• BBC Leadership Essentials
• CNBC - Session C
• Discovery Networks - Utilising Performance Management to Best Effect