Case Studies

Performance Management & Appraisal

Liberty IT - Performance Management

Background

Liberty IT provide IT and Development services to Liberty Mutual one of the worlds largest provider of insurance services. The company has grown rapidly in terms of revenue, services and employees. As part of their strategy of being a preferred employer the company regularly bench mark salaries and benefits against local and sectoral markets. They also survey employee opinions and satisfaction and incorporate feedback in their management planning and activities.

Inputs

Whitewater has been engaged by the Head of HR for a number of exercises.

Bonus and Incentive Schemes

Recently we were commissioned to undertake a benchmarking and desk research exercise on Bonus and Incentive Schemes and asked to make recommendations on the effectiveness of the Liberty IT system and suggest improvements or changes to their bonus schemes.

Performance Management

In response to feedback on employee perceptions on the companies Performance Management and Appraisal processes Whitewater were asked to review the process with employees and managers and identify possible root causes to some more critical perceptions and make recommendations to the senior management team on how the process could be improved. This involved focus groups, one to one interviews and desk research on best practice in Performance Management and Appraisal and reporting to the Senior Team on findings and recommendations.

Results

As a result of these exercises Liberty IT have a better understanding of the effectiveness of both their current bonus schemes and their appraisal process and plans to enhance and improve their processes to optimise employee performance and commitment.

Almac - Performance Management

Background

In April 2007 Whitewater Consulting commenced work with Almac on a performance management project. This project involved Whitewater Consulting working in partnership with Almac on a process that could be implemented fairly and consistently across all five divisions of the organisation to allow Almac to grow as a company with a strong developmental focus on its people. Almac had identified a business need for a performance management process that:

Was clear and easy to implement for managers and employees.
Was focused on delivering business results and individual competence.
Had ‘Buy-In’ from staff and managers at all levels.
Reinforced the Almac core values.

Input

The design of the solution was based on the assumption the assumption that buy-in and involvement is just as important as the quality of the solution. The performance management project involved Whitewater Consulting facilitating a review of the existing appraisal process and the design and implementation of a new performance management process. The implementation of a new performance management process aimed to ensure that individuals in the organisation would be focused on delivering results in line with business strategy. The Whitewater Consulting Team worked with a project team from all divisions to achieve this. They did this through facilitating a series of workshops and focus groups where they provided input on best practice and facilitated feedback to a decision making process.

Results

Almac now have a new performance management process that is benchmarked against both internal and external best practice. The key features of the process include:

· A strong developmental focus

· A balance of both personal business objectives and personal development objectives

· Alignment of individual objectives to organisational strategy

· The introduction of a core competency framework
A continuous process that ensures and promotes management of performance throughout the year

The new process and the contribution of Whitewater Consulting have been was well received by Almac:

“We worked in partnership with Whitewater Consulting to design and roll out a new Performance Management process. Whitewater took time to understand our business and key drivers for the new performance management process. They worked with our internal project team to present best practice ideas which helped to inform our decisions and drive the process forward. They helped us to successfully implement a new process which took account of factors such as staff buy in, communication and training to ensure it would have a real sustained impact on our business that will deliver real results”

Adrienne Gilleece HR/Central Services Almac