Benchmarking the Job

Benchmarking

 

If the job could speak what would it say are the competencies necessary for superior performance?

This is the big question in performance management. The natural tendency to focus firmly on the person about to be employed for the job, or currently doing the job, is a major mistake. It is putting the cart before the horse. Only in rare cases do people shape the job. Enterpreneurs are good examples of this, but even they eventually have to learn professional management best practice as they move beyond the one-man-band stage of their development.

Two critical job areas can be assessed.

We measure both areas against the job and the person. Identifying the match or fit between the right job and the right person is performance management in action.

Every job is unique. Every organisation is unique. Every team is unique. Most unique of all is a system to identify, prioritise and calibrate high performance criteria for a job or a position. Positions are very difficult to analyse because different people performing the analysis see the job differently. There are three different ways people view a position:

 

Century Management has one all embracing model which can be adjusted and manoeuvred to fit the client’s needs in the most appropriate way. Every organisation has different needs and, therefore, every framework and formula inevitably takes a different shape. We do however, follow certain over-arching principles, as follows:

The competency based position survey helps to sort out underlying `biases’ and get to the real performance issues’. It is a system for analysing the unique configuration of skills, knowledge, intelligence, experiences, behaviours, attitudes and beliefs required by a specific job.

When you match a person who brings those unique talents to the job, you are on your way to predicting’ superior performance. When you mismatch the job and the person, you always end up with poor performance.

Benchmarking performance requires a thorough and objective view of the position. If you benchmark a group that is only delivering average performance, the benchmark will naturally reflect average performance.

Benchmarking is only effective when it is done with people who are superior performers.