Performance Culture

In many industries, competition a decade ago was not severe, customers were pliant, and change episodic.  (Think about industries such as utilities.)  Talented employees were not held to high levels of performance because it wasn't required.  The institution survived (and even thrived) because it was largely protected from the performance demands brought on by fierce competition.

That's no longer the case, even for government institutions.  Today, because of globalization, deregulation, fierce foreign competition and technology that has blurred the boundaries of industries, nearly every company faces competition and rising customer demands on an unprecedented scale.  Government agencies, meanwhile, must do far more on often limited resources.

Forum helps such organizations shift to a culture of performance that drives results.  Whether your goal is to align your people around a new mandate, equip them with skills to work effectively across organizational boundaries, or build a culture that shifts the focus from activities to outcomes, Forum will partner with you to address your most important people development issues.

Read more about Forum's point of view on building a performance culture

How we have helped a client develop a performance culture

A US Government agency, created from 28 previously disparate agencies, was experiencing problems with a workforce that was not collaborating or communicating effectively.  The agency realised that it needed to come together as a high-performing workforce and align strategic priorities with the mission.

Forum worked with the agency to create a more collaborative and high-performing workforce through a transparent performance management process.  This process provided leadership at executive and mid-management levels with the skills required to shift the culture from one of entitlement to one based on results.  They engaged lower levels of management in setting clear direction through establishing and assessing performance goals and collaborating throughout the department.

This was the first enterprise-wide leadership training and the first joint experience that focused on performance culture within this agency.  Participants reported tremendous gain from networking with peers and, for the first time, engaging in dialogue around the strategy.  Over 85% of participating managers / supervisors agreed that they would recommend the program to others in similar roles.