Implementation and Execution

The Value

In over 90% of our company’s engagements, performance improvement occurs at the interface of people, business process, and execution – with 58% of program barriers attributed to the difficulty in changing behaviours and leadership capability (KPMG 2010). In organizations today, the human factor has emerged as the biggest cause for the failure of change and performance improvement initiatives (Gilley et al, 2009).

Fiscally, the impact of failed performance improvement programs is even more concerning. Over 60% of strategic projects fail to meet their time, budget, or quality goals (IBM 2008), and 17% of large scale projects go so badly they threaten the very existence of the company (Oxford 2012). Billions of dollars are spent on transformational change programs, operational excellence initiatives, training programs, and big IT investments, and not towards the ROI and program benefits as originally planned.

Our Approach

The Engine Room’s approach involves accelerating the implementation of behavioural practices and competencies in a manner that is digestible, understood, owned, and executed by local management, ensuring the tools are applied to each business unit’s unique situation. We take a blended learning approach consisting of training, coaching, and experiential implementation. This ensures processes and behaviours are anchored, and yields productivity increases four times the level achieved by a one-dimensional approach, such as training alone. Our solutions are successful because we work with all the employees, managers, and executives in alignment and in a position to influence the true root cause of performance issues throughout the implementation process. (We don’t write a report and leave.) The Implementation and Execution phase typically includes:

• On-site coaching of middle managers and frontline leaders to support the application and anchoring of the right behaviours needed for superior results
• Re-enforcing management skills, including properly providing feedback, soliciting input, engaging employees, clarifying expectations, and communicating effectively
• Improving the quality of each component of the management meeting process, such as department head meetings, business reviews, shift start huddles, and one-on-ones
• Executive coaching to strengthen management, executive practices, and accountability with respect to operational leadership
• Improving the effectiveness of compliance and incident root cause investigations, and avoiding common pitfalls, such as a “rush to judgment” and inappropriate blame
• Developing rigor around compliance processes, such as compliance audits and corrective actions
• Converting the knowledge delivered in leadership and customer experience training into skills which are applied, understood, owned, and executed by local management
• Effectively cascading communication from the organization to the respective shifts, and vice versa
• Proactively dealing with performance issues and challenging circumstances

Expected Results

Successful Implementations and Execution require well-designed action plans, with everyone, from frontline employees to support groups to executives, operating effectively in their respective roles. This anchors communication, role clarity, responsibility, and ownership of operational performance. However, The Engine Room pays particular attention to the bottom line impact to ensure:

• Behaviours and competencies are anchored from your training investments
• Field adoption and application are accelerated and transformed into operational results
• The time to reach benefits realization is reduced and expedited through ownership and involvement
• All behaviours and competencies are tied to business outcomes that are aligned to operational goals
• Capital investments are protected and realize the operational benefits they were intended to influence