High Performing Organization

What is a High Performing Organization?

It is an error to think that an organization that adopts a high performance mindset focuses on maximizing profits above all else. The truth is quite the opposite. While financial gain does matter to the success of any business venture, the concept of high performance requires an emphasis on long term success rather than short term profitability. These businesses focus on providing exceptional results in all that they do, including customer service, employee development, social responsibility, product and service innovation, environmental impact, and financial gain.

The Role of People in Organizational Success

A primary principle of the high performing organization is the simple belief that people are at the heart of the success of any business.

Talent Management

When it comes to staffing, the emphasis is on hiring and retaining the right employees. Organizations focused on achieving optimal performance adopt a talent management philosophy of employee development. They provide employees with opportunities to reach their potential, thus preparing them to be able to make even more valuable contributions to the organization’s strategic goals.

The work environment is one characterized by:

• Empowered Decision Making
• Innovation Encouraged
• Team-oriented Work Force
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Promotion Opportunities
• Performance Appraisal and Feedback
• Rewards for Cross-Training

A positive side effect of implementing this approach to human resources management is cultivating increasingly productive and loyal employees who choose to stay with your organization for the long-term.

Stakeholder Approach to Decision Making

High performing companies recognize that employees are not the only people whose needs must be considered when making business decisions. Organizations with a high performance operational philosophy utilize a stakeholder approach to decision making. This mindset recognizes that the actions of a business impact many individuals and groups of people, referred to as stakeholders.

A stakeholder is any person or group of people that affects or is affected by an organization. Instead of allowing the interests of the owners and shareholders to guide all decisions, a company using a high performance approach considers the impact of its actions on all stakeholders, including:

• Community Residents
• Competitors
• Customers
• Employees
• Owners/Shareholders
• Suppliers
• Others

In practice, a stakeholder philosophy of doing business results in decisions and actions often described as ones that exhibit corporate social responsibility. Short-term gains might not be as great when filtering decisions by considering stakeholder impact. However, over the long-term, organizations that function in this manner tend to be the most successful in every aspect of their operations.

Emphasis on Strategic Planning for Long Term Success

In addition to emphasizing talent management and remaining focused on the company's impact on stakeholders, high performing organizations also make a commitment to strategic planning. They exhibit the traits of learning organizations, focusing on leading the way when it comes to innovation. This is done through diligent and ongoing research and strategic planning efforts. Company leaders look at where the business is now and consider a variety of factors in evaluating where it needs to be in the future.

Further, effective strategic planning involves identifying and implementing changes that need to take place today to help the entity accomplish its long-term goals. Individuals in leadership roles within these types of organizations are constantly monitoring and planning for factors in the business environment that can be expected to impact the organization's future. They focus on staying a step ahead of the game rather than reacting to competitive, economic, and other changes after it is too late to lead the way.

Leading the Way

For most companies, truly adopting a high performance business model requires major changes in thinking patterns and actions. As with any major change, it must start at the top of the organization. The proper employee development and reward systems must be put into action before employee buy-in can be expected.

Management must set the example by recognizing the value of people and treating employees as valuable resources that are to be developed and nurtured. Once employees experience the benefits of this new way of doing business, their mindsets will shift and high performance can become the norm for standard business practices.

Resources

• High Performance Tips from Resource Development Systems
• Creating High Performance - from the Center of Ethical Business Cultures