Business Performance Assessment Program Best Practice 8 – Documented Business Performance Assessment Process

Effective performance improvement programs promote alignment of business operations with the organization’s vision, mission, values, and goals. Such programs consistently identify opportunities to improve high value-adding operations and to eliminate low value-adding activities. These programs themselves are highly efficient and capable of producing repeatable results. Documenting the business performance assessment process provides the framework necessary to achieve this level of focused execution consistency.[wcm_restrict plans=”47758, 25542, 25653″]

Components of a Well-Documented Business Performance Assessment Process

Well-documented processes are clear, concise, and comprehensive; easily understood and executed by those participating in its performance. Consequently, the business performance assessment process should contain the following documents:

• Process Procedure containing:
  • Introduction and Overview describing the business performance assessment process, its role in the organization’s overall performance improvement program, and desired outcomes to be achieved
  • Roles and Responsibilities listing the obligations, by role, of those individuals participating in the business performance assessment process
  • Precautions and Limitations listing the risks that may arise during the performance of an assessment and the associated mitigating actions to be taken
  • Procedure providing step-by-step instructions on how to perform a business performance assessment
  • References listing supporting documentation, commitments, etcetera
  • Glossary listing acronyms and terms with associated definitions
  • Exhibits providing forms and checklists to be used when performing assessments
• Business Performance Assessment Calendar typically updated on an annual basis
• Business Performance Assessment Program Metrics monitoring overall process execution performance and follow-up improvement activities
• Business Performance Assessment Program Basis Document providing detailed program implementation information including:
  • Program Overview describing the overarching assessment program, its role in the organization’s overall performance improvement program, and desired outcomes to be achieved
  • Program Maturity Model revealing the performance characteristics of a business performance assessment program across five sequential maturity dimensions
  • Roles & Responsibilities listing the obligations, by role, of those individuals participating in the assessment program
  • Global Principles, Best Practices, and Warning Flags applying across the program as a whole
  • Program Performance Measures including definitions
  • Process Flowchart showing activity-by-activity flow of the business performance assessment process including its interrelationship with other programs
  • Process Flowchart Functional Description providing the underlying performance details associated with each program activity
  • Activity Principles, Best Practices, and Warning Flags applying to an individual program activity or group of activities
  • Forms and Checklists including use instructions
  • Data Synthesis and Analysis Models including use instructions
  • Glossary listing acronyms and terms with associated definitions
• Business Performance Assessment Training Program for team leaders and members

Final Thought…

In our experience, it is the function of the Business Performance Assessment Program Manager to oversee the development, training, implementation, and maintenance of these documents. Centralizing responsibility for the program in this way further contributes to the consistent performance of individual assessments.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember plans=”47758, 25542, 25653″]

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About the Author

Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.