The Who, What and Why of Performance Consulting Part 2 of 3

By John Errigo, M.S.

In Performance consulting it is a good idea to get those who have the authority to change involved at the beginning and if possible to work with them directly. If a gap was identified that would need to be closed which would affect more than her department, her boss, the Director, would have to be involved to be able to get the authority to implement change. Not that this is a bad thing, or uncommon in performance consulting to work with a middle manager, it is important however to be able to consult for those who could have considerable influence or power to address and implement change on behalf of closing the performance gap.

Gay and Labonte (2003) also identify other characteristics to look for which are subtle but often easy to spot. “The client generally: (1) is a good listener, (2) is known for being “employee sensitive” (3) is the leader of a high-functioning work team, (4) is considered a “results-oriented” leader, (5) asks important questions in meetings regarding people and the impact of strategies on the workforce, (6) won’t hesitate to commit resources on projects, (7) isn’t afraid to invest in workforce initiatives, (8) is a process thinker, (9) has an important itch to scratch –a perplexing performance problem.” All of these characteristics are important since it shows the dedication, commitment and determination of a client to resolve a performance issue. Of course they are subtle characteristics, since the foundation of any client-performance consultant “marriage” is relationship building, and without a having a good foundation of developing a rapport and relationship with your client, in the beginning, and subsequently throughout the project, you will not be able to pick-up on these subtle characteristics. It is always important to make sure the relationship is built within the spirit of collaboration. “Get the client involved, if the consultant is doing more than the client, the ownership isn’t where it should be” (Johnson, Hall, Swinney, & Vanhala, 2004, p. 14).
The Art and Science of Performance Consulting

Performance consulting is a process that follows a model, however the actions of the consultant and “how” they get to know and understand the process is an art form. In performance consulting there are fundamentally two distinct concepts, the “art” and “science” within the consulting process. When and how to use these two distinct concepts is the difference between a successful and mediocre consultant. Tom Gilbert asks readers to look at HPT as a science in his book entitled ‘Handbook of Human Performance Technology. “He describes the characteristics of a science, as it relates to HPT, in this manner a science is: (1) has clear subject matter, (2) simplifies focus, (3) is grounded in measurement, (4) is careful of its language, has consistent terminology that is understood by practitioners in the field” (Robinson & Robinson, 2006, p. 6). These methods of looking at consulting as a scientific process is helpful, since there has to be a fundamental process consultants refer to, since there are measurable outcomes and there has to be a process to be able to get to those measurable outcomes to be able to close a performance gap. ‘The techniques and practices of performance and cause analysis, intervention selection, and measurement are all based on scientific principles” (Robinson & Robinson, 2006, p. 6). The performance consultant then has a guide of principles to follow in order to “bring about sustained changes in human performance and result in achievement of business and organizational goals” (Robinson & Robinson, 2006, p. 6).

Performance consulting involves relationship building. Without having the ability to build relationships with senior management, company CEO’s, and those who have direct authority to make decisions which will help close the performance gap, the performance consultant can be the best “scientist,” but nothing will happen, nothing will be accomplished. Therefore the art of consulting is something that requires mastery of specific competencies, but it is also something to a small degree is innate in nature; you must have the gift of artistry to be able to grow and cultivate the artist within. “The art concept primarily refers to how consultants seek to understand manager’s needs and influence managers to support the use of HPT, The science is the what; the art is the how” Robinson and Robinson (2006, p. 6).

All rights reserved (2010) and my not be duplicated or refernced without written permission of author: John Errigo, M.S., by corporate authorization, HODT, Inc. (synergy@hodtinc.com)