Putting Performance At The Heart Of Your Training Programme

Measuring performance in training understandably must relate to what goals were set in the first place and the SMART protocol, to make your goals Smart, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely, invariably holds true.

But…

The attainment part of this principle can often cause problems because, whilst attainment is obviously a vital part of any sales programme, how that attainment is actually achieved is also something that needs to be scrutinised.

That is because attainment on its own does not tell the whole story – no matter what the outcome, questions will arise such as:

• Were the correct protocols followed?
• Are the targets too high, or too low?
• If attainment was low, was useful information uncovered in regards why sales were missed?

Measuring performance can address all these questions and more and provide very valuable information.

Here are four major benefits you will drive from assessing performance as part of your training programme:

• Focus on best practice: It is vital to instil the notion that following best practice is more important than getting lucky. Therefore, rewarding the execution of a process, as opposed to simply the result, underlines the importance of following the process that is proven to work best.
• Specific feedback: It is all too easy to view a lost sale as a simple failure, but looking at the process of the sale can result in feedback that can be prove valuable in the future.
• Mid-cycle feedback: In sales cycles with multiple interactions, performance can be measured at every step and provide valuable feedback, both in terms of what has been done right and wrong, that can be put to good use later on in the cycle.
• Promoting mastery: Many people are motivated by mastery, meaning they always strive to do their best, but others are not, which can ultimately be harmful. Focusing on performance encourages everyone to look at how they work and try to do better.

So, training programmes must take in to account both performance and attainment to provide a rounded picture of how well the process is progressing. In short, don’t just look at the destination – look at the journey as well!

How do you measure performance? Do you regard it as an important part of the training process? Please leave a comment below, or contact us. We’d love to hear from you!