ManagePro Newsletter November 2000

This month and next we will be focusing a part of each letter on review issues as the year races towards a wrap-up. Be sure to let us know if you have any questions we can address for you in this area.

NOVEMBER TOPIC HEADINGS:

1. Tips from our consulting group on the organization of your Top Level Goal Planner.
2. Basic Tips for creating a performance based review for your employees.
3. Evaluating your use of ManagePro and using our consulting services.
4. Seeing is believing - a link to try out the web-enabled version of ManagePro.

# 1. The transition to a goal/plan based work process is a considerable challenge (and very beneficial one). If you are like many, you will notice that it can be difficult to know where to place many tasks that you are working on in the Goal Planner because you are not certain where they fit. Most of us work at the level of completing tasks, responding to email, generating reports and attending meetings. Having goals and a clear plan of action to accomplish them can be quite a departure from business as usual. In ManagePro you are challenged to raise the level of your business game by asking the larger question, "Where are we going with all of this... what's the purpose... what's the goal, what's the plan?"

One of the benefits of this process is that it gets you and your people to be more forward thinking and more plan-full (and as a result more organized and effective) about what you are doing. From this perspective, tasks need to support a goal, an initiative, or a strategic intent as a way of answering the question. Sometimes the tasks seem to spread all over creation and you are forced to begin grouping them under themes or headings. The themes may be such things as training or technical support, and represent operations that are important, but not directly tied to any one project or strategic intent. Here are two suggestions:

1. As much as possible enter your tasks and follow-ups as To-dos within ManagePro and attach them to an existing Goal using the To-do button.

2. You may need to build a matrix of organizational headings before you can identify specific goals. For instance under a goal of operations your sub-goals will at times be reflective of an organizational chart, but ultimately should reach a level of depicting goals and action plans for reaching goals within that operations area. Example - OPERATIONS (top level goal) - Sales (sub-goal to top level, functions as a heading) - Product Development (still at the level of headings) - Project Zebra (Goal needing a plan) - Gather requirements (Plan or Action Plan) - Define specifications - Build project - Confirm customer acceptance

2. BASIC TIPS FOR CREATING A PERFORMANCE BASED REVIEW FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES.

       If you haven't done this already, your first step should be to build a screen in the Individual Goal views to represent all goals worked on for the year 2000 for each individual.

I would suggest you include title, who, start, due date, original due date, priority, status and FINAL RATING AND SUMMARY COMMENT. Having defined which fields you are going to use, set a filter and give the screen a name such as 2000 Goals. Set the first filter to Status - Not Equal - Not Started. This will give you all the goals that have had activity during the year.

This will give you the opportunity to review each employee's goals and provide a basic final rating (either for goal completion, or for performance during the year), and to make a summary comment about the individual's performance. Take a look at the measurement criteria as you provide your feedback, if you are using that field. You might also star which goals you want to enter feedback comments on in this process. You can enter feedback through the People Planner, then highlight the person, and then click on the Feedback and Add buttons.

Having basic feedback comments about individual goals is a basic step towards creating a performance review platform. Moving that towards performance metrics such as # of goals completed on time, or with high customer satisfaction ratings, or completed with above average communication and teamwork skills is a major second step. Your decision about which metrics to use and why, and what compensation to tie to them too are all major questions - questions which may cause you to need more data. Let's go over the specifics of setting up these three metrics next month.

3. EVALUATING YOUR USE OF MANAGEPRO AND USING PST'S CONSULTING SERVICES.

  This  This brief announcement is partly a reality check for you, and partly an advertisement for us. The message is simply step back and take a look at what you have accomplished in rolling out ManagePro across your work group, your team, your organization this year. Rate yourself on the ability to plan, update and get feedback on both projects and performance. If you are not where you want to be, what has got in your way... and what's going to change? We have a very capable consulting staff to help you get around the typical ManagePro implementation and utilization corners people face. Contact us and ask about the money back guarantees we offer on specific performance metrics.

4. SEEING IS BELIEVING - A LINK TO TRY OUT THE WEB-ENABLED VERSION OF MANAGEPRO.

You can view and work with a demo version of ManagePro running over the web today by going to the following link, but please make sure you are using IE 4.0 or greater and have http://www.trylive.co.uk setup in your browser's trusted zone before trying the ManagePro test link http://www.trylive.co.uk/tsweb/manageprotest.asp?FS=1

Final comment

I come across sites that have helpful information on teamwork and performance, and thought you might find some value in this one. http://partnerwerks.com/What_s_Here_/Jump_In/Library/Article_Archive/article_archive.html

Have a great month.

Rodney Brim

Performance Solutions Technology, LLC

ph.

    Fax:
Email: Technical Support Email:
International Fax:

 

| Order Online | Management Products | ManagePro | Review Writer | Decide Right |
Training Materials | Download Demos | Articles & Reviews |
| Training | Consulting | Support | Affiliate Program | About Us |
| Business Associates' Links | My Cart/Check Out | Home |