Poll on high performance generates some unexpected responses
Jill Miller analyses the findings of a poll on the drivers of high performance and draws out the key messages
We had an amazing response to our first web poll: 838 people shared their views on the factors they see as key to building sustainable high performance organisations. Thanks to everyone who took the time to complete the poll.
|
Statement |
Strongly agree
% |
Agree
% |
Neither agree nor disagree
% |
Disagree
% |
Strongly disagree
% |
| There is a clear sense of shared purpose |
73 |
12 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
| HR practices are aligned with our shared purpose |
66 |
16 |
11 |
4 |
1 |
| People have the resources and support to be innovative |
61 |
19 |
10 |
5 |
1 |
| The work environment is designed to enable people to work at their best |
63 |
16 |
11 |
7 |
0 |
| There's a high degree of trust between leaders and employees |
68 |
13 |
8 |
6 |
2 |
| There are a balanced set of performance indicators that address organisational and individual needs |
55 |
26 |
11 |
5 |
1 |
| There's a clear process for mapping how changes in the external world might affect our business |
47 |
24 |
17 |
8 |
2 |
Whilst most of the responses were in line with our expectations based on our working model of sustainable high performance, some challenged our thinking. We will be following up these different viewpoints over the next stage of our journey.
As the findings in the table indicate there was a high degree of consensus about the importance of having a clear sense of shared purpose, with 73% of respondents strongly agreeing that this is a key ingredient of sustainable high performance. As other research has indicated
Having a shared understanding of why the organisation exists provides the glue that binds members of an organisation together and facilitates achievement of its aims. In addition 66% of the people who completed this poll strongly agreed it is important for HR practices to be aligned with the organisation’s shared purpose.
The importance of trust between leaders and employees is evident from the poll results - 68% of respondents strongly agreed that trust is a driver of performance. Most people would agree that trust is the foundation of a healthy business, underpinning other aspects of high performance.
In terms of organisational design, 63% of respondents strongly agreed that it is important that the work environment enables people to perform at their best. In addition, 61% strongly agreed that people need to have the appropriate resources and support to enable them to be innovative. This finding is particularly important at the current time. Many organisations are looking to employees to come up with innovative ways of responding to the current economic downturn. HR too is under pressure to come up with innovative ways of engaging employees during these difficult times.
Surprisingly, only 47% of respondents strongly agreed that having a clear process for scanning the external environment was important: a finding that was particularly surprising given the current economic downturn. One of the core capabilities needed in high performing organisations is speed of execution, therefore it would seem important to have mechanisms in place that would alert organisations to external factors that may affect future performance so that they can plan accordingly.
The other finding that surprised us was the different views on the importance of having a balanced set of organisational and individual performance indicators: only 55% of respondents strongly agreed that this was important. The STF team feel that having a balanced set of performance metrics is crucial for long term growth and sustainable performance. As we have seen in recent months, a focus on financial performance alone is one that is not sustainable.
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