Application of SHOD Framework and the resultant outcome

This is an example of application of the SHOD Framework and the resultant outcome that was achieved.

The Origin

Based on the results of the Global Employee Satisfaction Surveys conducted at regular intervals, and other inputs, it was sensed that most of the colleagues within the business subsegment believed that the performance management system and the processes around that:

• Didn’t really help them with their work and well-being
• Were not designed to support them 
• Were not effective in helping with the business outcomes

The Impact

That aforementioned belief negatively impacted:

• The quality of the conversations between the colleagues and their respective line managers around performance
• The frequency and regularity of the conversations around performance between the colleagues and their respective line managers, because there was a general lack of genuine interest in those conversations
• The relationship of the colleagues with their respective line managers 
• Ultimately the performance of the colleagues and the business outcomes

Measurement

Even though it was not difficult to sense that there was a strong perception within the organization that ‘the performance management system’ was not really good for the members of the organisation, there was a sincere desire to measure the strength of that perception; so that the extent of shift in that perception, which was expected to be achieved through SHOD Interventions, could be measured.

Assessment

An assessment mechanism was designed, in the form of a survey, to measure the extent of the strength of the perception that ‘the performance management system’ was not really good for the colleagues. The assessment was designed around the Collective Belief System element of the SHOD Framework.

A cultural shift

It became very clear very soon that a cultural shift was required. And for that cultural shift to happen, a shift in the underlying Collective Belief System was needed. And for the shift in the Collective Belief System to happen, a significant positive shift in the perception that ‘the performance management system’ was not really good for the colleagues was required.

Interventions

SHOD Interventions were designed around the Collective Belief System element of the SHOD Framework to generate a positive shift in the perception that ‘the performance management system’ was not really good for the colleagues. Of course, it didn’t start with a specific perception shift target, like let’s try and shift the perception by X%. However, the idea was to generate a significant positive shift in that perception.

Further assessments

Further assessments were created to ascertain if the impact on the Collective Belief System element impacted the Organizational Culture element of the SHOD Framework and showed up in the form of visible changes in behaviours, and if the changes in behaviours led to changes in results for individuals, teams, and the business subsegment in question.

The outcome

The key challenge was to generate a significant positive shift in the perception that ‘the performance management system’ was not really good for the colleagues. With the SHOD Interventions implemented, a 55% positive shift in that perception was achieved. More on that and the wider context is available in this whitepaper: Organizational Behaviour Engineering for Sustainable Global Software Development: IEEE ICGSE 2016, Orange County, California, USA, Electronic ISBN: 978-1-5090-2680-7[Link].